A UBP candidate planning to stand in a PLP stronghold believes people there have been let down by both Bermuda?s political parties and have lost faith in politicians.

Tillman Darrell, 39, who grew up in the disadvantaged Pembroke South East district that he plans to fight in the next election, set out his agenda yesterday.

?I know some of the social problems and the violent problems that have existed for a long time. With the people?s help, I want to make sure they are eradicated,? he said.

The area ? officially known as Constituency 21 ? is currently held by PLP backbencher Ashfield DeVent who won more than 70 percent of the vote in the 2003 election. The area has only once been won by the UBP in 1985 when Robert Barritt and Lawson Mapp held it for a term under the previous constituency boundaries and two-seat system.

Mr. Darrell, a first-time prospective parliamentary candidate, said his interest in standing was renewed when Wayne Furbert took over as UBP leader in January. He listed his priorities as including help for struggling parents such as more subsidised places at Government nurseries, and discounts on public transport, school uniforms and groceries.

?You would think food in Bermuda was a luxury, not a necessity,? he said of the high prices for basic items.

Asked about Mr. Furbert?s determination to defeat the perception of the UBP as the ?white party,? he said: ?This constituency has been ignored because the UBP never felt they could win it so they never canvassed it. The PLP felt they would win easily, so they never canvassed. You can see the dilemma ? their voices were never heard. They voted for the PLP on the basis this was a black government trying to do the right thing for black people. Now they see that not to be true.?

Explaining that he felt people were disheartened about politicians in general, he added: ?I?m not asking people to identify with the UBP here. I alone will be responsible for delivering on the issues. If they put me in charge, I will not fail them. ?

Although he has lived in Fairvale Lane, Warwick, for the past three months, Mr. Darrell grew up living in the constituency and said he visits his mother there on a regular basis. He entered politics in 1993 having joined the UBP at the invitation of the then-Premier Sir John Swan. He served as deputy chairman of the party from 1993-96, and also served as president of Young United Bermuda and on the National Youth Council in the mid-1990s.

Mr. Darrell studied architecture at High Point University in North Carolina and is a certified Network Administrator. He currently works as a Network Engineer with Telecommunications Engineering and Consulting Services, Bermuda and is single, with no children.

Announcing the prospective candidacy yesterday, UBP leader Wayne Furbert said the Pembroke South East area had been identified as an ?incubator? for his party?s economic empowerment plan.

?In this community we will provide the existing businesses with the tools and the opportunity to grow from strength to strength. Here we will create new business opportunities, increase the stock of affordable housing, and drive violent criminals off our streets,? he pledged.

No announcement has yet been made on when the next general election will be held. Political commentators ? including Christian Dunleavy in today?s ? are speculating that the stage may be being set for one as early as this summer. Premier Alex Scott remarked to a PLP meeting in West Pembroke in April that: ?If some of you think we are preparing for an election you might be right.? However, he later moved to play down speculation, and his only comment on the subject last night was: ?I will let the country know well in advance of any General Election call.?