Although the formal dissolution of the United Bermuda Party won’t take place until Tuesday, the UBP effectively shut down this week, and did so not with a bang but a whimper.In many ways, this is bittersweet, and it would be wrong not to acknowledge the enormous good that the party did for Bermuda during its 38 years of existence. The fact its first leader, Sir Henry Tucker, is being honoured as a national hero next month is testament to that.In its first 30 years of existence, the UBP built an economy which was the envy of the world. It ushered in universal suffrage, desegregated public education, laid the foundations of the Island’s social services, ensured the independence of the Island’s governing institutions and advanced the Island politically.If at times it was forced into these measures, then so be it. And if at times it did not move fast enough, then that should be acknowledged too. As a “small c” conservative party, it was always gradualist in its approach. Often this was done in the name of stability, and in the name of maintaining the delicate balance between the need for growth and investment against the legitimate desire for equity and social justice.There are many today, as the Island is roiled by the recession and the seeming inability of the current Government to get a grip on the Island’s problems, who are wistful for the “old UBP”.To some degree, that is a product of looking to the past through rose-coloured glasses, and there can be no doubt that Bermuda before 1998, when the UBP lost, also saw a large segment of the population feeling increasingly frustrated. It is true also that the UBP gradually lost sight of its founding principles, and could only point to its ability to manage (not a bad thing at all) as a reason to stay in power. In the end, that was not enough. Bermuda wanted change, and Bermuda got it.In opposition, the UBP seemed unable to adapt to the changes that had been wrought in the political landscape, and failed to remake itself. In part, but only in part, through effective propagandising by the PLP, it could not shake the perception that it was still being directed by a shadowy white elite determined to maintain its own economic privileges.And clearly in a community where race is always present, the UBP lost because of changing demographics. In 1968, roughly 60 percent of voters were black and 40 percent were white. As long as whites voted overwhelmingly for the UBP, it needed to only get another ten percent of voters or one sixth of the black vote to win. In fact, it often got considerably more than that.By 2007, the white vote had shrunk to around 27 percent of the electorate, while the black vote was around 70 percent; a very different proposition. But if whites tended to vote en bloc for the UBP, then its possible that many black Bermudians support the PLP because they feel they have nowhere else to go.And it may be that the PLP, having successfully demonised the UBP, needs the UBP in order to have something to run against in order to retain power. If the UBP dies, and is replaced by a party that genuinely does not have its legacy, then its possible that voters will choose who to vote for based on their overall philosophy, their policy ideas and the quality of the candidates; not out of loyalty to a party label, regardless of how shop soiled it has become.And if that is the case, then perhaps Bermuda will be able to claim it has reached true political maturity.