The United Bermuda Party spent 30 years in office before its decisive loss in the 1998 General Election.

That record means at least that it had the confidence of a majority of voters during that time and in their minds, served the Island well. By the same token, the 1998 election result showed that the voters were no longer satisfied and wanted a change to a party that they felt would better serve their interests.

While the UBP continued to get high marks for its economic management, the voters made it clear that they felt that the then-government had failed to recognise or deal with the social challenges that many Bermudians faced. Perhaps most importantly, it failed to address the feelings of many black Bermudians that they were not getting an equal share of the opportunities that Bermuda offered.

On Tuesday, the UBP unveiled its platform, and many people will look to it to determine if the party felt it was necessary to change. The answer, from the platform, is that it has and that it now places a greater emphasis on the social needs of Bermudians than it did before, while not neglecting the economic needs of the Island either.

It focuses heavily on three or four main areas: Housing, health, crime and education. This is politically astute as well as a sign of how the party has changed, because these are likely to be the key issues on July 24.

On housing, it has unveiled a wide ranging plan both for making more low cost housing available and for providing more incentives for people to build homes for sale. This is welcome, especially against the backdrop of the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal and the the fact that the housing shortage has not eased since 1998.

In health, it promises much needed relief for seniors, while proposing to revamp the hospitals and end their perennial financial crisis. It also promises to implement the reforms in the Oughton report and the never-released Andersen report. This all sounds very well; the UBP needs to describe more fully what these reforms would consist of and how they would deliver health care that is both high quality and affordable.

Much of what the party proposes to do on crime has been well flagged. Revising the double jeopardy rule would be considered and putting more Police on the street - while far from the only answer - would restore public confidence.

In education, much is promised.

Two reforms, one promised and later dropped by the PLP and one new, are the most important. The first is to set up individual school boards.

The second would be to devolve responsibility for individual schools from the Ministry of Education to the principals, who would then be held responsible for their success or failure. Only then will public schools be able to get on with the job of equipping Bermudians with the tools they need to take advantage of the opportunities they have before them - and the opportunities are enormous.

If there was one salutary experience for the UBP being in Opposition, it was to learn how frustrating it is to be shut out of the process of governing.

As a result of that and the PLP's failure to keep its promise of transparency, it has rolled out a range of open government plans which, if carried out, will do wonders for democracy.

Finally, the question has already been raised about how the UBP would pay for so many initiatives in so many areas while lowering taxes. The platform does not full explain it and it should. In 1998, the PLP, when asked the same question, said it would eliminate pockets of inefficiency but ended up raising taxes. The voters deserve better from both parties this time.