Would-be PLP MP and Airport firefighter George Scott wants to douse smouldering resentment at the lack of opportunity for black males in Bermuda.

And he said that was the driving force which took him into politics and the PLP.

Mr. Scott said: "The plight of the black male in this country, going back as far as I can remember, has always been, in my opinion, some type of assault on black males.

"My reason for getting involved in politics is to open up the franchise and make things more fair for everybody -- no matter what colour or sex you are.'' Mr. Scott -- who lost out in last November's General Election in the same seat -- admitted he did not expect to fight it again only a few months later.

And he said he had noticed a difference on the doorsteps from being the representative of an untried Government to being part of the party in power.

Mr. Scott added: "The reception is better -- I would say a good majority of the people are saying so far the Government has done a good job.

"But we have to give them a chance -- you can't really evaluate a Government in six months.'' Mr. Scott said the main national issues in the constituency were education and the drugs problem. He explained: "It is about education and drugs -- and that's coupled with the effect that people see young men, black men, sitting off and there is often a bit of that drugs trade there, not everybody, but it's there, from Somerset to St. George's.

"And -- because Bermuda's so small -- they are near a school and parents don't want their young children to see that activity taking place.'' And he said what was needed was proper training for young adults -- and not just for the professions. He said: "They have stripped these young men of an identity and not given them the skills to go out and get a job -- perhaps as a carpenter or whatever. People say we have to provide jobs and that's part of it, but we also have to teach people who don't want to work for anyone else but work for themselves.

"Craftsmen and artists are not given suitable business training to set up a business plan which will work. For a long time, the emphasis was on academic achievement and professional achievement -- but not everyone is cut out to be the lawyer or the doctor.'' Mr. Scott said local issues in Paget West were dominated by the long-running battle to have a replacement built for Paget Post Office. Others included inadequate street lighting in some parts of the area and not enough safe crossing points and the need for a community centre.

He said: "I have heard about the Post Office issue going back 20 years -- it's new to the PLP because we're the Government -- but it's old to the UBP Government. It will be developed under a PLP Government.'' Mr. Scott added that local attention was focused more on how his rival candidate was selected than controversy over whether she had properly resigned as a Senator before being nominated.

Some UBP activists claim the UBP's constitution was ignored to select Mrs.

Gordon Pamplin over ex-UBP MP Ann Cartwright DeCouto. He said: "I don't know what happened in that meeting -- but quite a lot of people aren't happy about it.'' Name: George Scott (father of three). Age: 43. Occupation: Airport firefighter. Political background: PLP admin man -- at one point General Secretary. Worked in the Warwick branch, where he stood twice in 1989 and 1993. Former PLP Central Committee member. PHOTO No caption