Smith's South candidate Graeme Outerbridge said national issues, not parochial ones will be critical in the contest for the seat vacated last Friday by C.V.

Jim Woolridge.

An NLP presence in parliament would bring "constructive engagement'' on the issues facing the country, he told The Royal Gazette . "The important thing in any election is if you make promises you've got to keep them,'' he said.

And among the promises he intends to keep if the voters send him to Parliament are to fight for lower taxes, a reduction in Government spending and improving the quality of public education.

Mr. Outerbridge also wants to bring a sharper focus to reversing the decline in tourism.

And, he says, the fact that job creation is concentrated in the international business sector should not lull residents into complacency.

Mr. Outerbridge warns that social ills which already need to be tackled urgently might be exacerbated.

"Not everybody's going to be an exempt company manager,'' he said. "How do we erect a safety net for those on the poverty line in Bermuda ?'' But the NLP, he admitted, does not have all the answers.

"These are national issues'' and the NLP's role in Parliament will be to try to come up with "workable solutions across party lines,'' he said.

The party will continue to be the standard bearer on conservation issues, added Mr. Outerbridge. Government should buy every open space that comes onto the market, he said.

The party supports a "humane'' policy on long-term residents. The roughly 1,600 long-term residents on the island today should be given status immediately, he said. And in the future people who have been on the Island for more than seven years should be considered for status, based on the amount of Bermudians emigrating to other climes.

On constitutional reform, the National Liberal Party does not differ from the ruling party's position on electoral reform. But they do agree with the United Bermuda Party that the people should be consulted, said Mr. Outerbridge.

The National Liberal Party will also champion individual rights if represented in Parliament.

"Freedom of information is a big issue in Bermuda,'' as is "Good government that does not trample on the rights of the individual,'' said Mr. Outerbridge.

Mr. Outerbridge, a 50-year-old father of three, was one of two potential candidates from the National Liberal Party said Jamahl Simmons, the party's secretary general.

"He was chosen because of his experience,'' said Mr. Simmons. "He has built a very strong base of volunteers and he is known in the area. He has paid his dues.'' Mr. Outerbridge told The Royal Gazette that a new political dynamic as a result of the change in Government may have improved his chances of winning the seat, but he is not about to take the constituents for granted.

"People can now vote on the issues instead of out of fear,'' Mr. Outerbridge said.

He explained that Smith's Parish was always caught in the "paralysis of negative campaigning'', in which voters were told that a vote for an NLP candidate would be a wasted vote.

"Insecurity was played upon,'' by both parties, he said. And the constituency was "caught in a political vice which was broken by the change in Government''.

Whatever the outcome of the election he will win top prize for persistence - he has contested every Smith's South election held during the past 17 years.

He came closest in the 1989 General Election when he was just 75 votes shy of winning a seat.

Today, said Mr. Outerbridge, there is a lot of opportunity for "broadening the political base'', something he senses Bermudians might possibly be ready for.

While acknowledging that Mr. Woolridge was a tough opponent, he couldn't say whether his absence from the political scene improves his chances.

"I would say on paper it might look that way but I don't take anything for granted.'' The by-election is an important measure of public sentiment, two and a half years into a PLP government, said the candidate.

"The question for the Government is `will their good showing in the last election hold?' For the UBP it's `is the votership disillusioned by the fact that it hasn't galvanised itself into a viable alternative yet?' For us, it's `will the people give us a chance ?''' Graeme Outerbridge