The Throne Speech and the Opposition’s reply were put under the microscope during a debate by senators today.

Discussions followed on from last Friday’s debate in the House of Assembly, when Government MPs repeatedly attacked the One Bermuda Alliance and its new leader, Jarion Richardson.

That strategy was played out again in the Upper House by Government Senate Leader Owen Darrell, who kicked off the debate.

Mr Darrell said that he was “proud to be part of a government that continues to serve the people“.

But he spent little of the next 25 minutes explaining Government initiatives for the coming year in the Throne Speech.

Instead, he said he wanted to give the Opposition “a lesson in civics” in order to teach senators what the role of a political opposition was, “because I don’t think some senators understand what that means”.

He said: “In politics, Opposition means to be opposed. We knew that no matter what went into this speech, the OBA would do the lazy thing, the easy thing, and oppose everything we put in this book without any critical thought without any analysis ... without any trace of any facts.

“They are supposed to offer genuine alternatives to what the Government is saying. Sadly, and I don’t know why I continue to be disappointed, but as I listened to the reply to the Throne given Friday last, the problem became abundantly clear.

“The leader of the Opposition who sits in another place offered no alternatives. Fluff.

“The PLP has a very aggressive and full legislative agenda. Serving the people was our mandate when we got elected in 2017, it was our mandate when we got re-elected in 2020 and it continues to be our mandate today.

“Here we have an Opposition leader ... I don’t think he’s just imagining things. He’s got to be dreaming. Dreaming that he and his party could genuinely lead.

“Sadly for the One Bermuda Alliance, they are in no position to lead this country. Despite their newly-touted leader, interim leader, soon-to-be-contested leader.”

Robin Tucker, the Opposition Senate Leader, was the first to respond.

She said that she would focus on policies during the debate, rather than become entangled in political theatre.

She went on to list several initiatives in the Throne Speech that the Opposition largely supported, including upgrades to the CCTV system, the streamlining of government services, speeding up the processing of death certificates and a new cadet scheme for young people thinking about a career in the uniformed services.

Ms Tucker suggested ways in which some of those initiatives could be improved or expanded.

Like her party colleagues in the House of Assembly, her one criticism was to point out that many of the ideas were “long overdue”.

She said: “I heard some updates that were good, but it does make me wonder if the Government is in touch with the people and the reality of what life is like for the ordinary person and the sense of urgency needed so that they can have relief.”

Ms Tucker went on to list a series of issues that the Government had failed to tackle and were not addressed in its Throne Speech, including the rising cost of living, spiralling national debt, underfunded pension funds, a failing tourism industry and an infrastructure “we all know we are less than proud of”.

She said: “I beg the Government not to present a picture to the public that things are not as bad as they seem because there are countless examples of where they are, and it is disingenuous to do so.

“While the Throne Speech is not all bad, it does lack specific direction for how we are going to stop Bermuda from sinking. As important, I believe there is no sense of urgency that is needed to act on pressing matters. It offers very little hope that the Government can address the problems facing our island and put us back on a right path of progress.

“I have no doubt that the Government will say that my comments are all about doom and gloom and that we ignore all of the good work that they are doing. The Opposition has given credit where credit has been due.”

Independent senator John Wight forged a middle path in which he saw things neither as “rosy” as the Government nor as “dire” as the Opposition.

He said he supported the creation of an education authority but said it would only be able to improve results in the public education system if it had strong and independent leadership.

Mr Wight said Bermuda’s finances were “challenged” and that the Government had to prioritise paying off the national debt.

He said that while a proposed global minimum corporate tax could boost government coffers, he had concerns that successive administrations had failed to collect even basic taxes.

Mr Wight’s third area of concern was the need to increase the population.

He said: “The Throne Speech offered no details as to how the Government is going to achieve this.”

Lindsay Simmons, the Junior Minister for Social Development and Seniors and Home Affairs did run through Government achievements in the past year and how initiatives in the Throne Speech will continue that progress.

She said: “I applaud the Government for continually putting Bermudians first.”

Other speakers during the lengthy debate included Dwayne Robinson and Douglas De Couto for the OBA, who argued that key issues were omitted from the Throne Speech and that it lacked detail.

For the Government, Leslie Robinson said the Speech from the Throne was a well-thought out plan. Her presentation focused on “the positive accomplishments” that the Government has achieved and its “vision“ for the future.

She said: “We are delivering and will continue to deliver.”

Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister for Labour, Finance and Health, said that Bermuda was not alone in its challenges, and that, while “sweet”, it was not true to say that Bermuda is another world.

Mr Darrell closed out the debate as he had started it, launching a second tirade against the OBA.

He said the Throne Speech was an opportunity to “reset the dial as to what your particular party ideologies are”.

He said: “I would like to commend my Progressive Labour Party team here today for reminding the public that we are here to serve them.

“Turning my attention to some of the points that came from across the aisle, they accuse us of political theatre. I am shocked to hear the One Bermuda Alliance refer to anything in this Throne Speech as a theatrical production.

“What the Opposition senate leader may review as a show was a passionate speech and a passionate example of what this party is dealing with every single day to serve Bermudians.”

He said that he was “happy to serve the people” before adding: “Unfortunately I cannot say the same for individuals who wear the colour red to represent their political party.”