The One Bermuda Alliance is set to elect its new leader on December 4 when it holds its party conference with MPs backing interim leader Jarion Richardson.

Mr Richardson was appointed as interim leader when Cole Simons stepped down from politics this year. He confirmed this month that he would be standing for the leadership role.

It emerged last night that Mr Richardson has the backing of OBA MPs including former premier Michael Dunkley, Susan Jackson and Scott Pearman.

Mr Dunkley said: “I support Jarion. I think it is time for some new blood to come in and take some responsibility. He has done a commendable job and I will support him.”

Ms Jackson added: “He is intelligent and energised. He is a fresh face, and he is ready.”

Mr Pearman said: “When Jarion Richardson stepped forward as opposition leader, he demonstrated the strength of character and the convictions necessary to solve Bermuda’s problems.

“Jarion tells the hard truths about multi-year failures by the PLP Government — he recognises that we must diagnose problems accurately before we seek to cure.

“Jarion communicates clearly the vision of a Bermuda we must become. And he will ensure the future OBA government is based on principled leadership.

“Simply put, Jarion Richardson has what it takes to tackle Bermuda’s challenges as our next premier.

“I will certainly be supporting him for party leader, and will support his team in seeking to make Bermuda a better place for all.”

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Ben Smith, who won the by-election for Constituency 8 triggered by Mr Simons standing down, has previously refused to rule out a run for the leadership.

Asked in an interview before the by-election whether he would throw his hat in the ring for the top job, Mr Smith said: “I’m not going to say ‘no’.”

He added: “Right now that’s not the focus for me. The focus is to be able to become the representative for Constituency 8.” He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The OBA decided to wait until the by-election was over before deciding on a date to elect a new leader.

Asked during a recent interview with The Royal Gazette if waiting so long could mean a loss of momentum, Mr Richardson said there were both risks and benefits.

He added: “It's easy to say that you risk losing momentum, but to be fair, at this point, what we're trying to do is make sure that our momentum is again optimised, so that we're paying attention to the pieces.

“It's not just the candidate roll-outs, it's not just the pop-ups, it's not just the canvassing, it's not just the blitzes, it's not just the membership meetings. It's all of these things put in order so that we're gaining more and more momentum, so that when we do go into conference, we have as many members as possible, and those members have been properly apprised of what's taking place and feel confident in their vote.”

The OBA party conference will take place on December 4 at Pier Six at 6pm. It is open to all members.