The latest op-ed from former One Bermuda Alliance Cabinet minister Michael Fahy is interesting to say the least, especially with the upcoming by-election in Smith’s South.

His call for a third party seems very conveniently timed. One would wonder why the former Cabinet minister would not just use his influence over the OBA caucus to once again bend his party into whatever shape he would like it to be.

During his time as the minister responsible for immigration, he had significant influence over the leadership. Such was his control over the OBA that he convinced his caucus to propose unworkable immigration reforms such as granting status to thousands and allowing children of guest workers to work summer jobs, which would have led to a dearth of opportunities for Bermudian students.

Yes, these are the type of things Mr Fahy had convinced the OBA to do to Bermuda under the leadership of Michael Dunkley.

Now, suddenly, he wants to come across as “non-partisan and altruistic” by calling for a third party to do what he believes is not being done by either of the two existing parties.

Have we not seen this before? In 2020, a third party emerged, led by someone who was no longer part of the legacy parties, with the hope of disrupting the election and causing an upset victory. We all saw what happened there. We have seen this same narrative with every by-election and General Election.

This latest op-ed from Mr Fahy is more of the same — hoping to discourage those voters who are more often swing voters ahead of next week’s by-election in Smith’s South.

It is no mere coincidence that in the past few weeks we have seen more opinion columns from Mr Fahy than ever before, especially since his OBA party was defeated in 2017 — largely as a result of his very own extreme immigration policies.

The Progressive Labour Party stands strong on its record. We have always represented labour. Take a look at recent legislation such as minimum hourly wage, the banning of management taking tips, and enhancements to the trade unions.

Let's be crystal clear: the very reason we have immigration controls in place is to protect Bermudian workers. We have always represented all socioeconomic classes and we stand for and with all of the people. This was made abundantly clear during 2020.

These are challenging times, and that has never been denied, but our leadership, our Cabinet, and our back bench remains committed to serving the people of Bermuda. No amount of attempts at rewriting history from Michael Fahy will dilute or reduce our connection to the people of Bermuda.

• Christopher Famous is the government MP for Devonshire East (Constituency 11). You can reach him on WhatsApp at 599-0901 or e-mail at carib_pro@yahoo.com