The best deal for Bermuda is the UBP, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Maxwell Burgess insisted yesterday.

And he said the party was best-placed to keep Bermuda's economy strong and Islanders working.

Mr. Burgess said: "There is a lot of noise right now and most of it is not about the issues.

"The issue is jobs, job security and more jobs.'' Mr. Burgess said confidence was vital for anyone making an investment -- and international business was no different.

And he said that he and Finance Minister Grant Gibbons were the best team to keep the economy buoyant and keep Bermudians in good jobs.

Mr. Burgess appealed to voters to consider who can "cut the best deal'' for Bermuda.

He said: "It is self-evident that international money is always looking for the best and the safest deal.

"They may be good corporate members of our community but they are always looking for the best and safest deal.

"It's Grant Gibbons' job to make sure Bermuda is a good and safe place to invest and that we can afford the services Bermudians need and want.'' He said Bermuda was friendly, the Island was beautiful and it had a "great infrastructure.'' But he warned other countries could boast the same amenities -- and that the PLP were an unknown quantity.

Mr. Burgess said: "We have the business because business has confidence in us and in the United Bermuda Party -- that's why they are here.

He added: "I warn you, failure to have someone at the helm who understands these issues... and who don't have the wherewithal to call on people who can assist in these matters can put that business, our business, and our children's jobs at risk.'' Mr. Burgess added that a probe by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development into so-called tax havens and a similar probe by the EC, as well as talks about the US/Bermuda tax treaty posed real threats to the Island.

He said: "If not handled right, all these could mean the loss of jobs and the loss of confidence.'' Mr. Burgess added the recession of the early '90s predicted by the UBP had been dismissed by the PLP as scaremongering.

And he warned the world was facing similar financial turmoil.

But he said: "We saw a recession I have never seen the like of in my lifetime.'' And he said it had cost 4000 jobs in Bermuda -- around 3700 of them non-Bermudian jobs, which acted as a cushion.

Mr. Burgess was speaking at a press conference on the economy, supported by St. George's North hopeful Kim Swan.

Mr. Swan brandished a telephone directory and challenged voters to count the small Bermudian businesses which depended -- directly or indirectly -- on international business custom to survive.

He added: "I bring this message forward because it's so easy for us to lose sight of what's really important. This election is about issues, it's about the future and it's about jobs.'' Mr. Swan said that Camberley had put their decision to invest in the old Club Med on hold until after the election.

And he added: "I am a small businessman... and I have learned and I have learned well that if international business disappears, jobs disappear. Jobs at that small hotel disappear. My small business disappears.''