The United Bermuda Party was rocked last night as three MPs quit — along with a Senator, the party chairman and former deputy chair — to form a new party.

MPs Shawn Crockwell, Donte Hunt and Mark Pettingill, as well as Sen. Michael Fahy, Sean Pitcher and Wayne Scott, hope their move will shatter the racial division they say has blighted politics in Bermuda for years.

All six tendered their resignations to UBP leader Kim Swan last night. The three MPs, who say they have backing from their branches for the move, will sit as independents before the new party is formed; the other three will work in the burgeoning project's development.

They say they have received overwhelming support from both sides of the political divide after revealing they were considering walking out on the UBP over the weekend.

A number of community and business leaders are said to be prepared to jump on board their venture, which the gang of six describe as an Obama-like movement with a manifesto of equal opportunity, social justice, security and fiscal conservatism.

They insist supporters, which include at least one well-known former Progressive Labour Party politician, come from a diverse racial and political background, of a mixture of all ages, while major funding pledges are already in place.

A letter signed by all six members and handed to Mr. Swan last night states: "We believe that in the best interest of Bermuda it is incumbent that a new political party is formed to provide the people with a better way unencumbered with the division and the polarisation of racial politics which has fettered the community for too long.

"Consequently, we intend on offering Bermuda that better way through a new party with a new vision."

The Opposition now has just nine MPs, or 25 percent of the House of Assembly's seats, following the resignations of Wayne Furbert and Darius Tucker in the past 12 months.

In a joint interview with The Royal Gazette yesterday, the six defectors explained they had been pushing in vain for change since the UBP lost its third consecutive General Election in December 2007, with the party said to be ageing and suffering from its image as white and elitist.

After the failed motion of no confidence against Premier Ewart Brown's Government, they privately told Mr. Swan that if he did not resign, and four veterans pledged to retire within months, they would quit.

Since this newspaper reported that ultimatum on Saturday, the reaction has helped convince them they must walk out.

Mr. Crockwell said: "We had a meeting with Kim at his request. We put together the only option we could but nothing emerged from Kim that we thought we could live with.

"In addition to that, we have now come to our individual and collective opinions that we need to go forward and start a movement that is a better option for the Country.

"We recognise through focus groups, polls and interactions with people that this is the right thing to do."

Mr. Crockwell said too much party politics was dominated by racial division, adding: "The last ten years the PLP has successfully branded the UBP as a white elitist party.

"We hope to provide a political party which will liberate the Country from politics of division. We think the Country is ready for that.

"Too often people have been loyal to parties in this Country. It's time that people become loyal to Bermuda over party politics."

Mr. Hunt said: "This movement is because we want a better Bermuda, but most of all it's an answer to a call. It's a call from the majority of Bermudians out there. Whether it be staunch UBP or staunch PLP voters, I have heard the support that's out there.

"In caucus, all of us here have been beating the drum in terms of change. We presented in detail what we thought needed to be done. There's been no movement, not even a compromise; we have been the same UBP in terms of structure. We have been quite patient. This is not an overnight thing.

"I want Bermuda to be a place where when it comes to an election, we can concentrate on debating the issues of the day."

Mr. Pettingill said: "We cannot honestly sit within the framework of the UBP when we know there's a better option out there for Bermuda."

He said the three MPs and Sen. Fahy all had mixed race children, adding: "Our concern is that if we cannot do this for us, then maybe we can for our children."

Sen. Fahy explained why the group believed in a serious change of personnel: "It wasn't a simple matter of saying certain people have to go. It was a comprehensive plan for change. In our view, if you are going to change, not everyone can come along for the ride."

The six defectors stressed they did not have any personal problems with the individuals within the UBP; adding that they felt the need for change was so important they were prepared to make the sacrifice of risking their own political futures for the cause.

On the possibility of being tagged a "new UBP" by the PLP's spin doctors, Mr. Crockwell said: "The UBP is still alive and we are something different. We know there's going to be all sorts of political manoeuvring but our focus right now is to focus on what the Country needs."

Asked about the constituents who voted them in under the UBP umbrella, Mr. Pettingill said the branches were in support of the move to a new party.

"Once you have the majority support of your branch, which acts as a measure for how the whole constituency feels, you should not resign your seat," he said.

The three MPs said they believed fighting for the cause of the new party would be the best way to represent their constituents, while they would be out canvassing to explain their position.

Mr. Scott, who was also chair of the Way Forward committee which was analysing possible change within the UBP, and ran unsuccessfully as a candidate in Warwick North Central in the last election, said: "I got involved with politics because I wanted to see a better Bermuda. I chose the UBP for that avenue because I believed we were serious about real change in doing something different.

"After so long pushing for change, I believe the best way to make that happen is to go in a different direction."

Mr. Pitcher, who ran for the Opposition in PLP stronghold Pembroke East in 2007, said: "I believed we could change from within but over the course of time I have come to believe this way is the better way."