Premier Alex Scott warned Progressive Labour Party delegates last night his Government would not let unions run the country.

He stressed the PLP was keen to keep its labour roots but he warned conference delegates governance of Bermuda needed to be a broad church in order to ensure Bermuda was free of rule by the few.

To applause he said: “We must avoid the danger of replacing a white business oligarchy with a black labour oligarchy.

“To ensure this does not happen we must abandon old tactics and adopt new strategies in order not to lose our way on the road to a new Bermuda.”

He repeated his pledge to serve the public better by working with the Opposition party.

Mr. Scott heaped praise on predecessor Jennifer Smith, deposed by the PLP after the last election, and she won a standing ovation from delegates.

Stressing party unity Mr. Scott spoke of the July leadership changes as being a victory for democracy.

In response to a question at the end about party divisions Mr. Scott admitted the “hurt and passion still existed” but had diminished since the summer.

In his speech he said a recent independent poll showed the new Government was winning public approval with seven in ten residents satisfied with its performance while dissatisfaction rates had fallen. “That's not bad for two months work.”

He said 80 percent of voters were satisfied with his personal performance while Government's handling of the Fabian emergency had been even more popular.

Party membership must be made to feel they are part of the Government, said Mr. Scott while MPs needed to be more involved with the membership.

“The time has come for the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party to be a truly national party capable of representing a significant and diverse majority of Bermudians of all races, beliefs and cultures.

He added: “We as a party should not be as preoccupied as to where someone has come from as we are interested and supportive as to where they want to go.” Celebrating some of the cornerstones of Bermudian culture he said his vision required a “respect for our neighbour and his culture, it will require our collective effort to reclaim those things Bermudian we are in danger of losing like civility, law and order, respect for each others' property and the belief that men andwomen are indeed created equal.”