Ex-Pembroke West Central MP Ann Cartwright DeCouto may be out -- but she's by no means down.

And the 18-year-veteran of the House of Assembly is already drawing up her game plan to get back into politics.

Lawyer Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto -- a thorn in the side of her own United Bermuda Party as well as the Opposition -- and running mate Jerome Dill were squeezed out by two of the smallest margins of victory on November 9.

She said: "I'm a relatively young person on the political scene -- I'm rather amused when I see articles in the newspaper with people talking about new, young candidates.

"The large majority of those entering politics for the first time are older than I am.'' Bermuda's very own version of the Iron Lady may have been dented by rows ranging from fishpots through Sir John Swan's Independence Referendum to McDonalds -- but the mettle, or even metal, still shines.

And she still sizzles like a hamburger on a hot plate at suggestions her stance against Independence in 1995 and the McDonald's war which split the party like a bun was a contributing factor to the party's drubbing at the polls.

Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto -- one of the ablest of the MPs to lose their seats -- said: "I don't accept that, of course.

"There were two critical differences of opinion in the last term of Parliament.

"My friends and I took a certain view and championed our cause. We weren't afraid to tell people what we thought and why we thought it.

"And, quite frankly, we got overwhelming support from a cross-section of the population.

"I don't accept that failure to do what I considered our job in the best interests of the Country and a job where we were putting forward the views of the majority of the people of the Country can possibly be grounds for anybody to validly and reasonably criticise my friends and myself.'' She added: "When there are internal disagreements which are matters of principle, they are always regrettable -- but in the political process, they're often necessary.

"I'm disappointed that the UBP did not support me and my friends. We thought we were right and we thought the party should have been with us.

"That didn't happen, but in our view, the wishes of the people of the Country came first.'' Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto acknowledged the UBP took a hammering -- but said only around 10 percent of those who voted separated the winners and the losers.

And she added that, in the race to occupy the centre ground, the PLP got there first and pushed their message home harder when they got there.

She said: "The then-Opposition worked hard, you can't take that away from them, not that we didn't, and their message was attractive to that critical 10 percent who turned out to vote for them and that's what we've got to look at.'' Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto added: "The candidates they decided on this time were part of their push to the centre -- they attracted candidates who appeared more centrist in their views.'' But she said: "Time will tell, but they were put forward more as candidates of the centre.'' Both Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto and Mr. Dill were adopted as UBP candidates at a constituency meeting last week.

Mrs. DeCouto said: "My first loyalty is to Pembroke West Central because I know it and its people well.'' But she did not rule out standing elsewhere if the party decided she should.

And she added that, contrary to reports, she would have been prepared to sit in Senate -- but was never asked.

Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto did not attempt to minimise the scale of the defeat for the UBP, in Pembroke West Central and in the Country at large.

She said: "The trend in Pembroke West Central was no different from the trend in all the other seats.

"But it's fair to say we were the closest of losers -- we have that distinction. It was painfully close, if you can put it that way, but we were part of the overall trend.'' And she added her constituency was "adversely affected'' by boundary changes, giving up a small area to Pembroke East Central and gaining a larger area from Pembroke West.

Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said asking what went wrong with the UBP campaign was "too simplistic.'' She added: "We had a party which had formed a Government for quite some time, even though there were different figures in Government during that time.

"And we had an Opposition party which had made a conscious effort in the last couple of years to place itself as close to the centre as it possibly could be and which was successful in getting that message across.'' Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said: "It's not as easy as saying `what did we do wrong?' "The philosophy of our party, in my view, won't change -- it's how we translate that philosophy into policies.'' And she added: "An awful lot will depend on how we as a party react to changing times in the next five years and how our proposals are seen.

"An awful lot also depends, of course, on how well the new Government carries out its mandate to the people -- not for their hardened supporters, for whom they can do no wrong, but that crucial middle ground.

"It's about how well they govern and how well they look after the affairs of the country -- only time will tell on that.'' But Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said much would depend on the PLP centre holding -- or falling apart under pressure from the left, especially with such a convincing majority.

Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said: "The back bench has a much longer lead -- the PLP in Opposition were very disciplined in the last two years, but before that they had their problems.'' One of the eccentricities of Westminster-style Government is that vote share is not necessarily reflected in seats won -- the UBP got 14 seats for 44 percent of the poll, while the PLP got 26 for a share of 54 percent.

Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said: "I'm a bit of a student of mathematics when it comes to politics and we have to look at what happened and why we had that shift of around 10 percent. It was that 10 percent which swung it.'' And she added: "People voted for the UBP in all districts and we have a job to firmly represent our supporters and to do a good job in Opposition, be a vigorous, strong and vigilant Opposition -- and prepare ourselves for the next General Election.'' DOWN BUT NOT OUT -- Ex-Pembroke West Central MP Ann Cartwright DeCouto is already drawing up her game plan to get back into the House of Assembly.