Bob Richards hasn't even commented yet on the speculation that he wants to replace Kim Swan as leader of the United Bermuda Party — and already the Progressive Labour Party is plotting his downfall.

The Opposition is said to be likely to switch Mr. Richards out of his Devonshire East seat and put him in a UBP stronghold to avoid a huge effort from the PLP to turf him out at the next General Election.

The PLP had already identified Constituency 11 as one it could poach, after Mr. Richards nearly lost the last election to Neville Tyrell despite it being considered a safe UBP seat, seeing the Opposition's winning margin slashed from 214 to 27.

And if the PLP targets Mr. Richards the way it went after then-UBP leader Michael Dunkley in 2007, observers expect him to be on his way out.

Sources say one safe place to put Mr. Richards would be the Pembroke South West constituency of Louise Jackson, who has reacted angrily in the past to rumours she would step aside but is known to support Mr. Richards' leadership bid.

One PLP source said of Mr. Richards as a future UBP leader: "He'd have to move to a safe seat because we should have beat him last time, and if he was the leader he'd likely be defeated."

Suggesting a nickname had already been coined to bait the Shadow Finance Minister, the source added: "As far as leadership goes, I'm not sure that 'Bob the Snob' as he's commonly referred to would do them much in their effort to broaden their base, but if they feel that's what works then we'll just wait and see."

A source close to the UBP said: "The PLP would go for that seat and put all their efforts into turfing him out. Bob would have to move. There's no way he could win that seat if the PLP went for it."

Mr. Richards declined to comment yesterday on a report in the Bermuda Sun that he had summoned fellow MPs to his office to canvass support for his bid to oust Mr. Swan.

But this newspaper understands Mr. Richards has confirmed his interest to all remaining UBP MPs, telling Mr. Swan out of courtesy that he's after his job.

The latest a leadership challenge could happen would be at the party's annual general meeting in December, although it could happen any time before then, and meetings have been ongoing continuously.

Mr. Swan previously told the Mid Ocean News he would welcome a leadership challenge, but Mr. Richards is said to be the only name in the frame at this stage.

A number of sources said Mr. Richards had been putting his case forward to the rest of the MPs since early September, two weeks before MPs Shawn Crockwell, Donte Hunt and Mark Pettingill quit to form their own party.

It's understood his main selling point has been that he is the man to lead the drive for change, and he plans to bring in a professional consultant to help push through reform.

Some close to the party suggested the elevation of Mr. Richards would mean one non-reformist is simply replaced by another, although Mr. Richards has previously told this newspaper the UBP had been too slow in its reform efforts.

He has also criticised the party for spending too much time reacting to Government issues and failing to tell people what the United Bermuda Party stands for.