The United Bermuda Party's dream tank is empty — and Bob Richards says he's the man to fill it back up again.

For too long, the UBP has concentrated too hard on what Government is doing and not enough on telling its own story, according to the man hoping to take over from embattled leader Kim Swan.

Locked up inside the laptop on his desk is the plan he believes will change all that, a strategy to get the official Opposition focused once more on what it can do for Bermuda.

The UBP lost power in 1998 because it had used up all the water in its dream tank while the Progressive Labour Party's tank was full to the brim with hope and expectation, Mr. Richards told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

The PLP's tank may have been steadily leaking since then as promises go unfulfilled — but the UBP's has remained dry as a bone as the party has continuously failed to give people any reasons to vote for it, he said.

"You have to have a vision. That's what I have tried to outline for our party to crystallise all sorts of things," said Mr. Richards, the son of Bermuda's first black Premier Sir Edward Richards.

"The job as Opposition now is that we have to react to what Government is doing. That's part of the job. But we also have to put water back in the dream tank. We haven't been doing it. That's really the essential problem.

"I was astonished when I heard somebody say publicly that they didn't know what the UBP stood for. It got me thinking.

"We used up our dream tank but we haven't been refilling it. I intend, if I have the privilege of being leader of this party, to spend a lot of time on that: articulate our dreams and visions for Bermuda and Bermudians, and communicate that to the public and listen to the feedback.

"Every child, no matter what their race, socioeconomic background or gender, will have access to a first class public education.

"That's a noble dream a lot of people buy into but hasn't been done. That every person irrespective of their race, gender or socioeconomic background has the opportunity to pursue their dreams in a career or as an entrepreneur.

"We also have to, as a government, create an economy that's stable and buoyant so those dreams can be realised.

"They are the type of things that I'm talking about. We have not had this conversation with the Bermudian people in a long, long time.

"We have been too focused on jacking up the Government. There's nothing wrong with jacking up the Government if they are wrong, but we have to put forward our own ideas as well."

Mr. Richards declined to give a detailed breakdown of his plan, saying he wants it to be accepted by the rest of the party first, and he is still in the process of promoting it.

The first person he showed it to was Mr. Swan, the very man the plan says needs to be removed.

"Kim agreed with a lot of what I had in there; he didn't agree with the part of him being replaced," said Mr. Richards.

"I believe it would be nigh-on impossible to convince voters that this really is a party for reform if the leader doesn't change."

He also wants to give more people a say in the election of the party leader, saying that is something he has been talking about for years, particularly in the past few months.

Mr. Swan had stated in yesterday's Royal Gazette that he had encouraged the modernisation of the party constitution in that respect, but Mr. Richards insisted: "The leader did not initiate it. The initiative for this came from yours truly."

Last week, before Mr. Richards had even confirmed his interest in replacing Mr. Swan, the PLP coined him a nickname 'Bob the Snob', and vowed to make it impossible for him to hang onto his Devonshire East seat at the next General Election.

"If that's their best shot I'm feeling pretty comfortable," said Mr. Richards. "People in Bermuda are tired of this kind of foolishness, really tired.

"They are looking for leadership that talks about the issues that affect people's lives. They are not interested in name-calling, race-baiting and other stuff.

"Some consider it good entertainment but this doesn't have anything to do with the future of Bermuda."

At the last election, Mr. Richards saw the UBP's victory margin in Constituency 11 slashed from 214 to 27.

With the PLP convinced it could poach the seat with a vigorous campaign, some have suggested Mr. Richards would have to be switched to a safer seat to ensure the UBP doesn't suffer the humiliation of losing its leader at an election again.

"Anything's a possibility. I'm not going to comment on that even at this stage," said Mr. Richards.

"The people in that constituency had been voting for my friend Mike Dunkley for a long time. I came there as a new person. The PLP guy (Neville Tyrrell) had run there before. The person they knew least well was me. I had to get around a lot, talk to a lot of people."

He said his face is better known in the constituency now, adding: "If an election was called tomorrow I would do a lot better than in the last election, for sure."

Equally he says people should look at other countries such as Barbados where parties have recovered from worse positions before writing off the UBP.

"Parties wax and wane," he said. "We have certainly had our issues in the last few years. I think once we start to focus on who we are and focus on what we are going to do for Bermudians and focus on party unity, those things will bring us back.

"As Mark Twain said: the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."