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There's been plenty of talk lately about whether the United Bermuda Party should shut itself down.

It's run its course, the argument generally goes, and it can never win again. There are too many people who will never vote for the UBP, no matter what.

History shows there's only room in Bermuda for two political parties, the argument continues: So the UBP is just blocking the creation of a new and more effective political party.

But our democratic system is based on the notion of competition.

Political parties try to convince voters that their vision, their plans and their candidates are better than everybody else's. And (if all goes according to theory) the best party wins and forms the next government.

Anybody dreaming of better political parties to replace the ones we've got right now needs to actually get off their hind quarters and actually start a new party. Then they should get out there and compete for support.

They should stop expecting the UBP or anybody else to politely step aside and make room for some new political party that doesn't even exist yet.

Trying to convince the UBP to shut itself down, and thereby create a convenient void for whoever wants to move in, seems a lazy kind of way of going about a revolution.

Nobody deserves to get handed close to half the electorate on a silver platter. They should go out there and earn it.

What's more, it is an unfair burden on UBP MPs to expect them to seriously contemplate shutting down their operation.

They supported that UBP, were chosen by the UBP, ran in the last election for the UBP, were elected for that UBP, and collectively their party received 15,161 votes to the PLP's 16,800.

These UBP MPs have obligations that came with being elected - most significantly the duty of being a loyal Opposition - that would be hard to surrender with anything approaching a clear conscience.

It would be particularly hard to yield to some group that remains unformed and unknown, lead by unknown people, with plans and policies that haven't been formulated or articulated.

Clearly, the UBP MPs would be doing a terrible injustice to the people of Bermuda if they dissolved their party, and nothing worthwhile or honourable rose to take their place.

What's more, the UBP MPs have an insurmountable conflict of interest.

If they got involved in the formation of any new party - even if never amounted to more than dissolving themselves to make room for a newcomer - they would inevitably cripple the new party with their battered old UBP baggage.

Instead, in our competitive democratic process, these UBP MPs are the standard against which any new party needs to be measured.

If something better emerges, vote for it. If nothing better comes along, then we ought to stick with what we've got.

And so the UBP MPs probably serve Bermuda best simply by trying to be the best MPs, and best political party, and best Opposition, that they can manage to be.

Those who have had enough of the UBP, and enough of the PLP, would serve Bermuda best by starting their own party, and not by waiting for UBP MPs to do it for them.

It would mean plenty of hard work.

There would be long days and late nights, neglected children and disgruntled spouses, arguments, despair and uncertainty: Just ask those who helped get the PLP and the UBP started back in the 1960s. They know what's involved.

That is what it takes - and what it ought to take.

Yet in many ways, the timing couldn't be better.

We've just had an election, which means it's likely to be a good long time before the next one, giving any new-comers the maximum possible time to get their acts together.

Frustration with the Opposition UBP is high, as is the sense that its formula is flawed, or at the very least its reputation and image so badly damaged that it will take painful years to recover.

But frustration with the Governing PLP is running extremely high, despite its election victory in December.

Maybe this is the perfect time for a new party.

But how can we possibly know if it's better than the UBP? Nobody's formed it yet.[[In-content Ad]]

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