Former United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan is calling for an end to what he says is the demonisation of the now defunct party he loved.The former St George’s West MP was the last leader of the UBP and fought to keep it alive before it made its final exit last year.“It is no longer necessary to demonise the UBP as it is now dead as an entity and unceremoniously buried,” he said.“Truth be told, few can dispute the many good achievements of the UBP over 47 years. However, in the end, its mistakes and the stigma of a direct connection with the white community were inextricably associated with Bermuda’s sad legacy of overt racism, segregation and even slavery.”Mr Swan was reacting to former PLP Premier Alex Scott’s view published in Friday’s newspaper that the UBP and the “Forty Thieves” had an “unhealthy grasp” on the community.He said the UBP’s demise came about partly because the party faithful failed to tell its story and celebrate its successes.“The narrative orchestrated by Premier Scott and his colleagues about the UBP served the PLP well. It also eventually implanted itself within the psyche of the UBP faithful,” Mr Swan said.“Their failure to tell our own story and celebrate UBP successes on behalf of Bermuda contributed in part to the self-destruction of the UBP as its supporters’ belief in themselves became sufficiently diminished.”Bermuda’s electorate voted repeatedly for the UBP for more than 30 years, Mr Swan said.“The irony of Mr Alex Scott’s article is that it was a PLP administration that inducted Sir Henry Tucker as a National Hero a position that we within the UBP successfully lobbied.”He said the party was now “shattered, with its supporters now redeployed en masse and its base reconstructed around a new identity”.UBP founder Sir Henry Tucker was the party’s first leader. He led the party to victory in the Country’s first election under universal suffrage and became Bermuda’s first Premier, an office he held until his resignation in 1971.Mr Swan said: “It is fair to credit the PLP for the advent of party politics in Bermuda, which was necessary and precipitated the formation of the UBP by the controversial conversion of duly elected Independent Members in 1963 to form a political party.”He added that Bermuda “changed for the better under the UBP Government and the PLP Opposition from 1968 until 1998.“Today, in the context of the UBP, both dominant political parties have the challenge of operating in the present tense whilst respecting and working hard at not repeating mistakes made in the past.“The OBA would do well to admit and accept that its formation is inextricably connected to the former UBP. The OBA must also respect the contributions of the UBP and not repeat UBP mistakes, nor those of the PLP’s tenure since 1998.”OBA chairman Thad Hollis said: “The OBA doesn’t feel the need to ‘admit’ anything as Mr Swan suggests we should. The party was formed in the open for all to see, bringing together supporters from the UBP, the BDA, Independents and even the PLP, all to help give Bermuda the best possible chance for a fresh start to solving the Island’s serious challenges.”Mr Swan ran as an independent during the last election but failed to secure his St George’s West seat in Parliament.In response to Mr Swan’s comments, Mr Scott said: “Over my time in the local political arena I have come to appreciate that the expectations and frustrations of Bermudians — black in particular — are both deep and complex.To address the needs of this society takes time and a lot of effort. To its credit for 50 years the PLP have been addressing those needs and concerns; to their discredit many have spent a lot of their energy and resources dismissing and distorting the PLP contribution.”