Popular Government backbencher Dale Butler yesterday revealed he has turned down an approach to join Bermuda's new third party.

And a Royal Gazette survey shows the move would have been a massive coup for the fledgling group — with Mr. Butler enjoying a soaring favourability of 74 percent, beating all other 11 MPs featured in the poll.

Deputy Premier Paula Cox came second in the Research.bm survey with a 70 percent rating — but the remaining ten MPs came a long way behind with scores between 18 and 33 percent.

Mr. Butler, who quit Cabinet in the summer in dismay over Dr. Brown's handling of the Uighurs affair, said yesterday: "I have been approached to join the third party because I have always consulted their members when I was a Minister.

"But they are aware that I am a diehard PLP man, keenly interested in the working man and business which must have consistent actions that demonstrate basic principles for a successful Bermuda for all. So I remain where I am."

Mr. Butler's resignation as Social Rehabilitation Minister came in the immediate aftermath of the failed motion of no confidence in Dr. Brown in June.

He had led calls from the PLP ranks for the Premier to say sorry for his handling of the Uighurs affair, and resigned when that apology only came during a speech in which Dr. Brown angrily blasted his critics.

A breakdown of Mr. Butler's poll results shows he attracts support from all sections of society; with 67 percent of whites backing him, he is more popular with whites than any of the four United Bermuda Party MPs in the poll.

Reacting to the results yesterday, Mr. Butler told The Royal Gazette: "I will continue to do my best for the people I represent and for Bermuda as a whole.

"I am fortunate to have lots of people who help along the way and I am grateful for their support and best wishes. I can assure you the results will not go to my head as I place service in the forefront of everything I do."

Many people had said Mr. Butler could have been the ideal man to lend experience to relative political newcomers Shawn Crockwell, Donte Hunt and Mark Pettingill, who quit the UBP to form their own party last month.

Mr. Crockwell and Mr. Hunt both struggled in our poll, with 20 percent and 18 percent respectively, although Mr. Pettingill did better with 31 percent.

Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards' score of 32 percent was enough to put him well clear of the man he hopes to replace as Opposition Leader, Kim Swan, whose personal nadir of 19 percent was reported in this newspaper yesterday.

There was little to choose between the other MPs in our poll. Elvin James and Terry Lister, who both left Cabinet after publicly calling for Premier Ewart Brown to resign, each scored 33 percent, slightly better than Dr. Brown's 32 percent.

Deputy Opposition Leader Trevor Moniz scored 28 percent, while Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons, the most popular UBP leader of the past five years and still a major player in the party, got 31 percent.

The survey also showed Mr. Richards and Dr. Gibbons are unusually popular among the older community, with 56 percent and 61 percent ratings respectively from people aged over 65. Mr. Richards could only manage 20 percent with the 18 to 34 bracket, and Dr. Gibbons got just 11 percent with that age group.

Mr. Lister does not appear to have lost backing from the black community following his verbal attack on Dr. Brown, achieving a 46 percent favourability rating with blacks compared with Dr. Brown's 45 percent. Mr. James, who returned to Cabinet a few weeks after leaving, scored 44 percent with blacks.

In the telephone poll of 400 people from October 7 to 13, people were asked to give politicians a rating from 1 to 5. With the exception of Mr. Butler, Dr. Brown and Ms Cox, all the MPs in the list scored a high proportion of threes, suggesting many people are undecided over most of them.

Mr. Crockwell said on behalf of his group: "We are not surprised or concerned by the low numbers as we all have only been elected for less than two years.

"We interpret the significant number of undecided responses as an opportunity to share our vision and get to know the people and their needs. We are committed to working hard for Bermudians and are confident that the figures will improve as the new party gets up and running."

Mr. Swan responded for the UBP: "We have three observations about this week's Research.bm poll.

"1) Clearly, the public is disillusioned with the practice of politics in Bermuda today. There is a yearning for a fresh, more people-centred approach to public issues.

"2) The low ratings for the leaders of the PLP reflect public disappointment in their style and performance in office and their failure to give the people of this country reason to feel good about the way things are going.

"3) The results for the UBP are not surprising given that the party has been going through an extended period of self-examination and reform to provide the people of Bermuda with a more effective, grassroots-driven party. This process is moving toward fruition and I am confident our party is on the verge of an upswing, which will be driven by a new commitment to teamwork on behalf of people and communities in need."

Dr. Brown declined to comment, Ms Cox said she was busy in Cabinet, while Mr. James and Mr. Lister did not respond to e-mails.