One of the interesting oddities of driving in the United Kingdom is going to a service station.

It is all self-service because you have to pump your fuel — quite a big difference from Bermuda, where you don't have to leave the comfort of your car.

What was mind-blowing to me was that you pump your fuel, then pay afterwards.

Basically, you get out of your vehicle, pump the fuel and then go inside, tell the attendant which pump you are at, and then he charges you whatever registers on the pump.

That is entirely trusting, eh?

I asked someone what if the person just filled up and drove off without paying.

Their answer was as follows: "Don't worry mate, there are about ten cameras at each station, and facial recognition would sort them out within an hour."

The other noticeable thing was that the highways, or as they call them, the motorways, are devoid of the billboards and advertisements that pollute America's roadways.

The most that you will see are overhead signs that indicate exactly which motorway you are on and or the distance to the next exit.

This lack of signage allows drivers and passengers to see more of the picturesque English countryside.

Now back to politics.

Last week, it was interesting to read some of the comments in response to my piece pointing out that the Opposition is woefully unprepared or unwilling for proper debates in Parliament.

Let's accept the fact that everyone has their own political favourites.

We also have to accept the fact that the Government and their MPs have a job to do, and so do the Opposition MPs.

Part of the job description of the Opposition is to show the people of any given country where they stand socially and ideologically.

This cannot be done solely by putting out well-crafted op-eds or sound bites in the media.

In Bermuda, we can safely say that at least 30 to 40 per cent of the electorate are supporters of the One Bermuda Alliance.

Yet how many of those supporters actually can say that they know where their party stands on issues?

As a prime example, one minute, they put out releases saying that the Government should ease up on travel authorisations and let travellers come in on pre-arrival tests.

Then a few weeks later, they are suddenly putting out statements demanding mandatory vaccinations for both teachers and healthcare workers.

That is not to say there is no merit in either claim.

However, when the catalyst of their claims are more often than not based on populism and not realism, it simply says they are not prepared to stick their necks out against public sentiment.

Essentially, from a media perspective, put out whatever sounds good at the time.

That shows no real political spine to stand up to critics internally and externally.

Not does it help to build a national consensus either for or against a particular policy.

The One Bermuda Alliance cannot simply expect that the voting public will give them credit for being populist.

No, they have to stand up as elected officials and do what their voters expect them to do. That is to debate like adults versus hiding behind press releases.

That is what real politicians do.

The OBA seems to be attempting to gain or regain political respect by relying on scores of nameless online bloggers to carry their messages in the media.

You know, those that hide their names week after week and take pot shots at anything the current government says or does.

Let's call it for what it is.

Like the OBA, these nameless bloggers prove, that they too, are not prepared to stand in public for what they truly believe.

This leads one to ask whether they truly believe what they write week after week.

For those that claim that they hide their faces "in order to protect their anonymity", let's put things in proper context.

The Progressive Labour Party does not control the banks, so the bloggers won't lose their mortgages.

Nor does the Progressive Labour Party control who gets hired. So, these bloggers won't lose their jobs.

Bermudians need to ask themselves why are they really hiding their true identities?