United Bermuda Party Leader Kim Swan has come under fire from his deputy Trevor Moniz for his "huge error" spending two years failing to push through change in the besieged party.

Mr. Moniz — a reformist left behind after three MPs quit in frustration at the UBP's stagnation — said his leader spent too much time worrying about his own alarming poll results instead of trying to transform the party which lost three successive General Elections.

He said Mr. Swan was initially firmly on the side of the Opposition's conservative group of MPs, who opposed a radical overhaul, such as a phasing out of older faces, campaigned for by reformists including defectors Shawn Crockwell, Wayne Furbert, Donte Hunt, Mark Pettingill and Darius Tucker.

The deputy leader said Mr. Swan now claimed to have had a "Come to Jesus" moment and finally appeared ready to embrace the overhaul some had been calling for since 2007.

Mr. Swan is now rereading the UBP's internal reports which advised reform but had been cast aside a year ago, said Mr. Moniz.

The latest poll in June showed Mr. Swan's favourability had dropped to 30 percent — just three percentage points higher than the record-breaking low achieved by under-fire Premier Ewart Brown in the same survey.

Mr. Moniz told The Royal Gazette: "Kim's a great salesman for the party, a very likeable guy. What the focus groups and polls don't show is strength as a leader. Unfortunate, I know, that's just a fact."

Asked whether Mr. Swan was the right man to bring the UBP back from its lowest point, Mr. Moniz replied: "It's a question of can he campaign for change.

"I don't know that he really understands what change is. Change is a word. He's now gone back, pulled out old reports, and is rereading them from a year ago, trying to absorb what we fellows were after."

Explaining why Mr. Swan had not done that earlier, Mr. Moniz said: "He felt he was absorbed with other issues the party faced, mundane things like fund-raising, being the public face of the party at events, the social aspects of leadership, the constant war going on with the PLP.

"You have to be able to lead, you have to have a team. You have to delegate. He really didn't believe in change. He says he's had a 'Come to Jesus moment' and he now favours change.

"Is he just being political or is he really converted? The jury is out. I'm there to support him. Will Kim face a challenge from within the group? I'm not sure of Kim's position with the group. I haven't really discussed it with people. He has his strengths and weaknesses.

"My personal view is he was worried about his poll results. What I tried to say to him is more and more exposure doesn't equal poll results. You can get a thing called overexposure."

On the failure to push for change, Mr. Moniz added: "I think he needs to admit that that was a huge error. That was a huge mistake."

He said if the UBP did seek a leader, his own name would come nowhere near the frame due to his position on reform and the way he has been viewed by his colleagues over the years.

"That question would never arise. I would have no support," he said. "Anybody is capable of doing the job. The question is who is the right person at the right time.

"Kim may be that person if he makes this major adjustment. He was thrown into a very, very difficult position. I give him kudos for taking the position and putting so much energy into it."

The UBP suffered six high-profile resignations eight days ago, with up to 20 party members reportedly announcing their departures in the following two days. Three of its ten regional chairs quit in the summer.

Mr. Moniz said the party was finding it very difficult to retain people in the branches, amid frustration at the UBP's culture of secrecy and top-down decision-making processes.

He predicted the breakaway group would struggle to win votes in any constituencies and believes they can be recruited back — as part of a completely new organisation.

"Shawn Crockwell and Mark Pettingill are in UBP safe seats. They will be washed away. No reflection on them, but the likelihood is they will," he said. "Look at the picture of them in the paper. They are a bit glum. They know that's the political reality.

"I'm talking to the leader. I think for the good of Bermuda we need to keep communication open. These are my friends and colleagues, our political views are by and large the same.

"I don't think we should close the door. I don't say let's get rid of these guys, chop them off at the knees. We need to maintain at least 14 Opposition seats we have and build on that. Pull these guys back on board."

Asked what kind of party the group would rejoin, he said: "A new vehicle. There's nothing sacrosanct about the UBP. You have to form an alliance, an umbrella that would hold everything together."