A rookie MP, who has played a role in two embarrassing Government defeats on the floor of the House of Assembly, says there should be a review of the United Bermuda Party's leadership.

Mr. Trevor Moniz says UBP mishandling of the Independence initiative is bound to spill over into other party and government matters.

"It's fair to say it's time for the leadership of the UBP to be re-evaluated.'' Mr. Moniz, who represents Smith's South, claims many people are comparing the Premier with former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher in her final days when she pushed the poll tax against all advice.

The tax, which led to riots and division within the Conservative Party, cost Mrs. Thatcher her party leadership.

Mr. Moniz said the Premier possessed remarkable political resiliency and acumen and a wealth of experience.

"But the question is whether he has simply reached that point in his career where he is willing to go to the brink (on Independence) just like Margaret Thatcher.'' The backbencher, whose abstention in a House of Assembly vote last Friday contributed to the defeat of Government's Independence referendum legislation, said he didn't have a plan in mind in calling for a leadership review.

He wanted one, he said, because "we need a clear picture of where we are now and where we are going and whether we have the leadership we need.

"There appears to be a drift in the ship of state. And I think we need to reassess the course we're going to take.

"What we're seeing with the Independence initiative is an indication of that drift.

"My constituents are saying `Where on earth did this come from? You've got the Blueprint (of UBP election promises), the Throne Speech and there was nothing in it about Independence'.

"So I'm saying we've gone off course and before we go on the rocks we'd better decide where we're going and who is going to get us there.

"I'm not saying the present leader needs to go, but it seems clear to me that at least he'll need to shift his course.'' Mr. Moniz made the comments in an interview The Royal Gazette requested to shed light on Parliamentary actions that have earned him status as a UBP rebel.

The portrait that emerges is of a steely, conservative individualist, who condemns political expediency and who holds the right to buck the party line if he believes its work compromises the best interests of Bermuda.

The UBP, Mr. Moniz said, "can count on my support when it's right''.

His record over the years provided his party with plenty of indication it was taking on someone who is not beholden to the powers that be.

As a self-employed lawyer, Mr. Moniz has successfully sued the Immigration Department on work permit cases and the Bermuda Regiment.

In the early 1980s, he was fired as chairman of the youth advisory council for giving the Press copies of a Green Paper working document that was mildly critical of Government.

"I think people knew I was an independent person, a person of principle. If you're just up there rubber stamping, then you're really doing nobody any good at all. Anybody can do that. You're there for your good judgment and because you're in touch with the people.'' "It would be a betrayal of my constituents if I were to become a rubber stamp of the party.'' Mr. Moniz attained his notoriety at the first post-election meeting of Parliament when he voted with Opposition MPs to elect Mr. Ernest DeCouto Speaker of the House.

The vote humiliated his colleague Dr. David Dyer, who had been put forward by Premier Swan.

But Mr. Moniz maintains the Dyer candidacy was wrong-headed.

"It was my view that David Dyer, who is a very good, intelligent man, was being used for reasons of political expediency, that is to put a black man as Speaker.'' Mr. Moniz maintains the vote for a new House Speaker after the last election was substantially different in meaning from Friday's 17-18 defeat for Government.

"The vote on the Speaker is a matter of procedure concerning the running of the the House of Assembly,'' he said. "It was not really a matter involving the running of Bermuda or the running of the Government of Bermuda.

Mr. Moniz's opposition to his party's Independence initiative reveals concerns about its internal communications and colleagues whom he sees as rubber stampers.

He revealed that no one had asked him how he would vote on Friday despite his opposing arguments in the days leading up to Friday's session.

In referring to the Premier and his Independence initiative, Mr. Moniz said: "The emperor has no clothes.

"Anybody can see there aren't any, but there are few people willing to tell him that. It amazes me that there are so many people in the party who say they disagree and yet who are willing to go along with it.'' Mr. Moniz reserved his strongest comments for the "smoke and mirrors tactics'' that have been used by the party's leadership on the Independence issue.

"We decided we have a continuing problem with race relations, and then someone says we'll have a referendum on Independence which will bring the races together.

"That argument is pure smoke and mirrors, pure illusion.'' Mr. Moniz maintains Bermuda is heading into tough, challenging times with issues such as the Bases takeover and the new school system.

"I think it's inherently important for the party to make the right decisions for the right reasons,'' he said.

"What I mean by that is that it's important not to decide on the basis of political expediency but for the long-term best interest of Bermuda.''