St. David's islanders have long considered themselves distinct from the rest of Bermuda, but now moves are afoot to give them their own parish.

New MP Suzann Holshauser Roberts is pushing for St. David's to be made the Island's tenth parish.

The United Bermuda Party MP for St. David's said yesterday there was strong support for the idea among locals.

She admits she is not certain how to go about the changes because there is no mention of parishes in the constitution, but today she will table a motion in the House of Assembly calling for the map to be redrawn.

She told The Royal Gazette the idea surfaced repeatedly during pre-election canvassing and she has collected more than 200 signatures in support.

The move to give St. David's its own parish has the support of the UBP, she said, although Government's view is not known.

“Before the election, I was canvassing for a year and a half and it came up many times as an issue. Almost every St. David's islander I spoke to said ‘when are we going to become a parish?',” she said.

“I decided to look further into it and found that previously there had been three sets of petitions circulating over time but no one has pursued it, but I promised I would pursue it.

“The legal side is still being reviewed, because it is not part of the constitution.

“We researched the laws, and the eight parishes were formed in the 1600s. But we haven't actually found out how to go about it.

“Technically, when Bermuda came about in the 1600s, the eight tribes were for English landowners.

“St. George's and St. David's were not tribes, but because St. George's was the national town, it was named after the founder, Sir George Somers. And it seems St. David's was named after a Welsh saint.

“We are still researching the law on how to do it, but in the meantime, we are looking for St. David's to be recognised as the 10th parish.

“That means when people write on an envelope, they can put St. David's.

“It seems that to a lot of people it would mean nothing. St. David's has developed tremendously and there are some people who are not indigenous, who have come from other parts of the Island, and St. David's doesn't hold any romantic place in their hearts. It is just a place to live.

“I would quite honestly not understand any reason why there should not be one more parish, but I can't speak for the Government.”