If you had told Donte Hunt a few years ago he would be an MP he would have laughed it off.

But now the 30-year-old is one of a new group of United Bermuda Party MPs trying to work their way through the reasons behind another election defeat.

Mr. Hunt beat Attorney General Phil Perinchief by 25 votes in a seat previously held by the Progressive Labour Party's Renee Webb by eight votes.

While PLP sources have claimed their candidate Phil Perinchief didn't work hard enough in defending the seat, Mr. Hunt said he often came across his opponent or heard tales of him being through an area several times.

"He worked a lot — alarmingly," he said. "He wasn't this lazy guy I hoped he would be — people said he came across well on the doorstep. He was a formidable opponent."

But Mr. Hunt got the sense that things were going his way.

"As it got close to the election we were more and more confident. Your mind does drift into 'What next? After we win'.

"I must confess I thought we would be Government and I would be acting with a little bit more authority to do things. Right now, in Opposition, I have very little.

"The PLP ran a very strategic election. You have to give them credit for their campaign."

He believes his party lost a lot of votes on the immigration issue with people misunderstanding how the status policy would play out.

And now he said the party needs to do a seat-by-seat breakdown on why progress was made in some and ground was lost in others.

Mr. Hunt is viewed as the "one that got away" by at least one PLP figure who had hoped he would join their party because of his family connections. But he said he comes from a family which has supported both parties although his mom's sides is more heavily pro-PLP.

"It's not like I have been UBP since I was a baby."

Asked why he chose that party, he said: "I like the 'united' part — I was fortunate enough to travel to a lot of cultures and people.

"I truly believe in a united Bermuda. I didn't see that side as much from the PLP in terms of race."

He said he has always been interested in social justice and has done missionary work.

"I saw things happening after the 2003 election. I didn't like the way Bermuda was going. Housing was an issue. I didn't think families were being supported as much as they should — families were out in the cold. I thought this can't be right.

"We were contemplating going overseas to live."

A chance remark urging him to try politics got him thinking and he ended up joining the UBP and became chairman of MP Wayne Furbert's branch.

"I had no intention to do this," he said. "If you had asked me about three years about doing this I would have said 'are you out of your mind?' I had the view a lot of people had about politicians — somewhat negative — people plotting for selfish reasons."

Often described as a "nice guy" by those who meet him, can Mr. Hunt make his mark in a system which requires the Opposition to voice criticism?

"I don't share the view that because we are the Opposition we have to oppose them all the time or speak negatively. My focus will be on solutions and what we can do," he said.

"I find it very hard to just slander anybody or criticise for its own sake. It is counter productive. People would rather hear a solution."

Family issues will be his focus. Understandably for a family man with two daughters, aged two and five,

"Nations are only as strong as the family, if you have good parents you have good kids. If you have good kids you have a good future," he said.

"That sort of philosophy will be the driving force of my decisions in what I choose to pick up."

And he has plenty of work to do at the constituency level with the largest seat geographically which crosses several parish boundaries and wraps all the way around Castle Bay Harbour.

But he said he can get the furthest extremity within 15 minutes from his Hamilton Parish home.

However, he is not about to compromise his core beliefs to curry favour with constituents.

"I will approach this like anything in life — by sticking to my values," he said.

He defined those as: 'Family, being a good parent, being polite — having a large dose of love and empathising — how would I feel if I were them? You need a large dose of empathy.

"What happens to a lot of politicians is that you are more focused on staying in, you are more interested in agreeing with people — whatever doorstep you are on, those are your values. You get jaded.

"You need to stay closer to your values. They may evolve. I don't think you should change just because it is the most popular thing to do — you will get more votes.

"I would rather lose the seat but stay close to my values."