Young disaffected PLP members actively sought to form a breakaway group because they felt locked out by the party's old guard.
According to PLP chairman David Burt, the group launched a "real and concerted move" towards forming a new rival party. Mr. Burt has now begun an urgent modernizing of the PLP in order to bring the younger generation in from the cold. He hopes the move will not only "stave off dissent" but will also inject fresh ideas and energy into a PLP policy platform that is looking increasingly tired.
Mr. Burt told the Bemuda Sun yesterday that allowing young grassroots PLP members through would also move the party in a more progressive, pro-labour, direction - giving voters a "real choice" over the conservative UBP. Mr. Burt, 29, urged more Bermudians of his generation to "step forward" to help draw up "the blueprint for our future." However, he said the party has to do more to make sure it allows young voices to be heard.
Mr. Burt said the threat of a breakaway had been averted for now, but more effort was needed to draw young members into the party's core.
Two other PLP figures, former senator Walter Roban and up-and-coming member Marc Bean, added their voices to the debate, agreeing that it is time for a fresh generation to start laying out a vision for the future. (See their comments in separate story, below right).
Mr. Burt said: "There are people serving in the legislature longer than I have been alive. They are just there, some of them. It's kind of like going to church to them. It's a problem when you don't have a lot of turnover... There is a new generation, in their 30s, 40s, who want to go up, who want to run for a winnable seat, but there are those who don't want to step aside."
Mr. Burt continued: "I hear rumblings that those members are so frustrated with their inability to influence policy that there was actually a real and concerted move to start a new party with disgruntled PLP people. These things happen; we've seen them happen in political parties all over the world. As chairman, I want to make sure we involve as many people as possible. That's why our number one task now is to modernize the party; not only will that help to stave off dissent but it is also the only way to improve and stay relevant."
Mr. Burt said that it should be the job of the wider PLP to be the "think tank" to form a coherent vision for the future of the country. He said the structures and committees to allow that to happen "exist" within the PLP, but at the moment "It's just not functional... That is something I have promised the executive I am going to do my best to rectify."
He said the PLP, as a party, had been "burned out" by a tough election campaign, and therefore had "lain dormant" for the past year. However, the process of reform and modernization has now begun in earnest. Mr. Burt said of a decade of PLP power: "No one can tell me we haven't done an excellent job." However, he said the next 10 years promise to be even better so long as fresh voices and ideas are allowed through.
He said: "One of the more disappointing things in politics in Bermuda is that the policy differences between the two parties is relatively small. Some people actually see the PLP as being more conservative than the UBP, in some ways. The thing about that new generation we've talked about is that I would view them as more progressive, if not radical. That will move the parties apart; voters should get a real choice. And that should raise the level of political discourse. [As things stand] because the policy differences [between the parties] are so minor, we end up calling each other Nazi and so forth. That's the level of political discourse that exists in this country. We [the PLP] are guilty in a lot of ways, but in politics if you are not playing the game, you are getting rolled out of the game."
Mr. Burt said the more young people join the party, and the more of them who speak up from the shadows, the more chance there is that their fresh ideas will help to shape Bermuda. He said: "My generation have gone away to school; they are fortunate to have been exposed to many different ideas. That's what it's about; that's what's lacking within our party. I hear encouraging things: there are people within the party with the ideas to move Bermuda forward. We need those grass roots to speak up; and we need more of that fresh blood. And now is the time. I hesitate to talk about Obama, because everyone wants to talk about him at the moment, but I think the idea that people can actively affect change is a lot clearer in people's minds since his victory."
He added that the upcoming branch elections are an ideal opportunity for grassroots PLP members to stand up and let their voices be heard. He also pointed out that while some of the "old guard" may be obstructing progress, there are far more older members who are doing fine work. He said there are also "weary warriors" who would actually welcome the rest from the frontline if younger members would step forward and take responsibility.
