Sen. Terry Lister has withdrawn his bid to seek leadership of the Progressive Labour Party, it was announced at a private party conference last night.

Speaking for the first time on his reported challenge to Opposition Leader of nearly ten years Mr. Frederick Wade, Sen. Lister told The Royal Gazette he decided not to run to ensure his party presented a united front.

"The whole object is to ensure the party is on firm footing and we are all going in the same direction and collectively achieving our goals,'' Sen.

Lister said.

He did not want to "rupture or fragment'' the party picture, he said. His decision was purely voluntary and came about after amicable discussions with Mr. Wade, he said.

Sen. Lister, a partner at Deloitte & Touche accounting firm, ran for the PLP in Southampton West in the general election last October. He declined to "speculate'' on whether he would challenge Mr. Wade again.

Mr. Lister's decision was announced by Mr. Wade in what was described as a "stirring'' opening speech to the PLP's three-day delegates conference at Alaska Hall. A copy of the speech was obtained by the Royal Gazette from party headquarters last night.

"We have to put our personal ambitions on the back-burner and the interests of our party and this community on the front burner,'' Mr. Wade told participants.

He noted the conference theme was "In Unity There is Strength''.

"This is a fitting theme for the year and particularly poignant today with the decision by Senator Terry Lister to discontinue seeking the leadership of the party,'' he said.

"Senator Lister and I had mutually agreeable discussion which touched on a wide range of issues. Senator Lister pledged that he would not be seeking the leadership office in the election. We also discussed the way forward and the best manner of proceeding in the interests of the party.'' Mr. Wade said the 1994 conference would be a historic one, because, "out of the differences of opinion and sometimes diametrically opposed views, we can and will weld a strong and formidable unit that will in the next general election show that the party is capable of forming Bermuda's next Government''.

Mr. Wade said the PLP wanted to dedicate itself "to the task of making our Country Bermuda the best it can be for the people we represent and Bermudians as a whole''.

"We can and we must and we will deal head-on with difficult issues like the pervasive spread of the drug industry, the rising incidence of immigration abuses, the continuing dilemma of racism and the destructive impact of crime on our family structures and the community as a whole.'' However, Mr. Wade added: "We can only achieve that if we put aside our petty differences and work together to forge a strong and healthy PLP.'' The PLP members who attended also heard reports from secretary general Mr.

George Scott and chairman Mr. Victor Fishington.

Tonight, the conference is to hear a report from Mr. Wade and the party treasurer. Party resolutions are also to be debated.

And tomorrow night, the conference will be capped by election of party officers, including the leader, deputy leader, and executive officers.

Caucus members Ms Jennifer Smith MP, Mr. Alex Scott MP, and Dr. Ewart Brown had also been tipped as potential successors to Mr. Wade.