For the past several weeks, the political participants have been attempting to convince you of how good they are and how bad the others are. If nothing else, this election campaign should be convincing us that all party politics does is try and divide us.

We are now only a short while from when Bermudians should be deciding the destiny of Bermuda for the next four years, and perhaps for decades to come. On Tuesday, each and every one of us has the opportunity to cast our vote for our future.

The independents have been on the doorsteps and in the media making clear the need for change, and explaining how and why a vote for an independent candidate will be a vote for the change needed so desperately in Bermuda. We have not been telling you how bad others are; we have been saying we need to change, we need to get better. We need to act together.

We all know in our hearts that Bermuda is in a dangerous place. We also know that despite all the promises made over several elections in glossy party platforms, so many of those promises have not been kept. We know that if we keep voting the same way, we cannot expect different results. So, this time, we need to take a chance on a new idea and vote for your independent candidate.

We know:

• Our economy is faltering, the cost of living is rising at a far greater rate than our wages, our pension fund is being emptied at a faster rate than it is being topped up — your future pensions are threatened

• Our healthcare system is failing, with thousands of Bermudians not even insured and many, many more unable to afford treatment or needed prescription drugs

• Our housing situation is in crisis; so many are unable to even think about owning their own home or afford the rents being charged

• Our education system is failing to prepare our most precious asset, our children, to meet the needs of the future

• We know so many have left Bermuda because they cannot afford to live in their own country and many, many more are thinking of leaving – none of this is fair, none of this is right

It’s time for change.

Independent candidates will:

• Seek solutions from all of Bermuda’s residents and beyond; anyone with the skills and will to help can be engaged in finding and delivering solutions to these and our other problems

• Work together, bring all of Bermuda together, put an end to the “them and us”, and introduce the we — a government of the people, by the people and for the people

• Form a movement of hope, eliminate the endless political bickering, focus on solutions and not blame. Get Bermuda moving forward again, together

We must create change and on Tuesday it's our time to make our voices heard. On Tuesday, vote for your independent candidate, vote for Bermuda.

• Sir John Swan, Premier of Bermuda between 1982 and 1995, is the independent candidate for Smith’s North (Constituency 10)

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