After 30 years in power, the United Bermuda Party was relegated to the Opposition benches in November's watershed general election. Now, party leader Pamela Gordon, along with the tattered remains of the once-formidable party, face the challenge of redefining the UBP's purpose on the national stage. The Royal Gazette's political reporter, Raymond Hainey, spoke to her recently and files this report.

The long climb back to power will begin with a party shake-up from ground level up, Opposition leader Pamela Gordon said yesterday.

And first up on the agenda is teaching the old dog of the United Bermuda Party -- in power for 30 years -- new tricks as it settles into its role as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

Ms Gordon said: "Our job is to prove that, with all of our expertise in Government, it will allow us to continue to be a formidable force and to allow the people of this country to believe that country always has a choice.'' Ms Gordon was speaking at the now-subdued UBP headquarters in Hamilton's Chancery Lane, alive with party workers during November's short, sharp election campaign.

But she insisted her party would rise from the ashes of defeat -- with a fresh purpose, a new structure -- and a different name, if necessary.

Ms Gordon, quoting one of the UBP campaign slogans, said: "A new Bermuda for all of us -- 44 percent of electorate bought into that.

"I don't see a Bermuda going forward as strictly black. What we need is really a sense of comfort -- people joining a party because they believe in the philosophical position of the party.'' There were probably as many reasons advanced for the UBP's failure at the polls as there were ex-UBP MPs on November 10.

Smith's MP Trevor Moniz blamed the defeat on a failure to listen to the people and a misjudged campaign which stressed the economy rather than social issues.

Ms Gordon said Mr. Moniz, one of the UBP rebel five who stood against Independence and battled in the burger war, was "entitled to his opinion.'' But she added: "With 30 years of one Government and with an Opposition party which never formed the Government, people are going to come up with all sorts of ideas why we lost.

"I believe it was simply an idea whose time had come.'' Ms Gordon said: "People chose to support the PLP, not so much based on what the PLP had done, because they had never been a Government, but because they talked the talk and people wanted to believe in that.

"Now they have the opportunity to walk the walk -- and it's yet to be proven they can do that.'' And she pointed out the 10 percent swing which propelled the PLP to power for the first time, allied to boundary changes, meant that the triumph was "not as significant a victory as the new Government would like to believe.'' But she added: "One of the things which was clear is that the people have spoken.

"And -- after 30 years -- the people were looking for a change and that change wasn't going to be a change from within, because the UBP had changed significantly from within.'' Ms Gordon admitted that the UBP "had difficulty'' getting across its social agenda -- a major campaign theme for both parties -- compared to its financial one.

She said: "We were addressing problems like housing -- we hadn't got all the way, but people didn't see us as addressing the need and that was a large part of the problem.'' But -- like the song says -- Ms Gordon is looking on the bright side of life.

She said: "From a healthy perspective, there should always be an alternative to the Government and this gives us a chance to rebuild.'' Ms Gordon added: "We worked before more from the top down. Now we want to work more from the bottom up.

"We've got to get the feel from our branches and the people who work there to see if the system is effective the way it is.'' She admitted the 14-strong Opposition UBP had little chance of blocking legislation in the House of Assembly.

But she added: "We can certainly bring concerns to the forefront in the House and through the newspapers and the electronic media.

"And we can heighten the sensitivities and bring to the forefront peoples' concerns over various pieces of legislation which may be brought forward.'' And she took a swipe at the Progressive Labour Party's record in Opposition.

Ms Gordon said: "We've decided not to be the kind of Opposition the new Government was toward the previous administration.

"Everything was divided along the lines of black or white and us versus them -- it was criticism, in many cases, for criticism's sake.

"If we feel it's going to be good for Bermuda, we will support it. If we don't, we realise we can't block it, but we can sensitise people to the problems and they can lobby their political representatives.'' Ms Gordon admitted many black people saw her and others in leading roles in Government as "no longer black.'' But she said: "From a political perspective, we are going to have to pull much closer together in the future as it's no longer just about Bermuda and just worrying about ourselves.

"We've been moving along with the rest of the world and Bermuda has a strong international base -- which is what's helped us to acquire the standard of living we enjoy.'' Ms Gordon herself was perhaps one of the most internationalist of Bermuda Premiers -- and probably the most effective in the worldwide arena.

And she warned that Bermuda could not expect global companies to take on Bermudians in top jobs without top qualifications to match.

Ms Gordon said: "We have to be sensitive to the fact that this business which operates globally needs the best of the best to stay competitive.

"This is the point we have to get across -- the best person has to get the job. But we've become extremely xenophobic in Bermuda.

"At the same time, you can't believe that you can't achieve a balance of Bermudians who can get these top jobs.

"But for people to believe they can come home with a degree from a second-rate university, or even a first-rate one, and expect to get a top job, they're going to have problems.'' The UBP was also criticised during the run-up to the election for apparently being unable to field top-notch candidates.

Ms Gordon said: "This, being a watershed election, most people we were looking to run for us came back very discouraged saying it appeared to be very unacceptable to run for the UBP at this time.

"That's something were going to have to look at -- but fortunately there has been a lot of interest from people who now see us as the underdog and who are offering their services.

"These are things which didn't happen before. It's heartening that people want to help, but whether that equates to people actually wanting to run for us, I don't know.

"Politics became a dirty business in Bermuda and people didn't want the scrutiny of their personality and private lives which goes along with that.'' Ms Gordon said she didn't miss the trappings of power which went with the Island's top political job.

But she added adjusting to Opposition would have its challenges -- and that there were some things she missed.

She said: "You don't effect policy -- you don't have the opportunity to make the changes or make the difference. You can only approve or disapprove of the changes which have been made.'' Ms Gordon added a prime example of the public's perceptions of the UBP in Goverment was a PLP pledge to put taxi drivers behind the wheel on boards and advisory groups.

She explained the UBP had done that in the past and had discussions with industry representatives -- but that the taxi trade "never felt that degree of connectedness.'' And she warned the major barrier to easier transport for tourists was "protectionism'' and "inflexibility'' -- which also went for the ferry network.

Ms Gordon said: "Having the BIU president in Government may mean they are more inclined to work with the Government so that the visitor gets a better deal.'' She added: "There is a honeymoon period, everyone has one, but then we settle down to real life. Time will tell and we will see what happens.'' OUTSIDE LOOKING IN -- Leader of the Opposition, Pamela Gordon, says the new PLP government could "talk the talk. Now they have the opportunity to walk the walk and it's yet to be proven they can do that.'' She vows the UBP will be watching, providing a constructive opposition.