Shadow Immigration Minister Walton Brown said yesterday his party was “not exactly on the same page” as the People’s Campaign regarding the PRC controversy but that both had broadly the same aims.

The Opposition MP told The Royal Gazette: “Obviously, there are some nuances in our positions.” He added that both the Progressive Labour Party and the People’s Campaign — a protest group featuring prominent union and religious leaders — wanted a suspension of the granting of Bermudian status under a recently-discovered legal loophole and a comprehensive review of immigration policy.

Asked if the Opposition supported comments by the People’s Campaign last week regarding the need for any review to result in a “revised policy that would provide a reasonable and fair path to status for PRC holders”, Mr Brown replied: “What we are saying is we want to have a comprehensive review and we can’t predetermine what the outcome of that review will be.”

He insisted it was not the case that the PLP was against granting Bermudian status to any PRC holders and said the party did not consider the likely voting preferences of PRC holders to be a “critical factor” when forming a position on the issue.

“We have not put that issue in any of our statements,” he said. “It’s not the fundamental reason we are calling for a review. We are saying: pause, review and come up with a policy that takes into consideration the interests of Bermudians, PRCs and those other people who are long-term residents but not PRCs.”

The Opposition and the People’s Campaign object to the granting of Bermudian status based on a ruling by the Chief Justice on May 2, in which the Island’s top judge paved the way for permanent residents who arrived here before July 31, 1989 to apply for Bermudian status.

That judgement in the Supreme Court — and the Government’s reversal of a decision to appeal it — has led to public demonstrations, including a march to Cabinet on Friday, organised by the People’s Campaign and attended by leading members of the PLP. Last night, Mr Brown’s views were welcomed by the ruling OBA, which said it “signals a change in the Progressive Labour Party’s position.”

Government says the Chief Justice’s ruling will immediately affect just 1,455 people but Mr Brown said other estimates put the figure closer to 3,000.

Anti-racism organisation Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda claims it is likely that about 1,200 or more of the affected 1,455 PRCs are white and that an “analysis of Bermuda’s historic voting patterns, with monolithic white support for one particular political entity, suggests that the majority of PRCs would vote predominantly OBA”.

Mr Brown issued a statement yesterday clarifying his party’s position on the issue “in light of recent distortions”.

He said the PLP’s stance on the issue had been “clear and consistent” but it was necessary to restate it.

“We call for a suspension of the discretionary grant of Bermuda status under Section 20B of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 and a comprehensive review of immigration policy so that there can be developed a 21st century solution.

“We proposed an amendment to the Act to close what has been termed a loophole but this was rejected by the OBA.”

Mr Brown added: “We oppose the granting of status based on a judgement by the Chief Justice, since our view is that policy changes should be the express will of the people through their elected representatives and not a court decision. “It should be noted that both the PLP and OBA held the same position prior to the 2012 election on the granting of status to PRCs.

“The need for comprehensive immigration reform is obvious and the current OBA position is more rooted in political considerations than a desire to have proper assessment of all issues and all people affected by immigration policy.”

The politician said the review needed to answer many questions, including if there was an optimum number of PRCs or Bermuda status grants that should be issued annually and whether consideration should be given to people who came to Bermuda after July 31, 1989.

He added: “Should we adopt the principle that immigration policy should give all members of a family the same rights or should the current policy be retained? There are many more such questions which need to be answered but now any comprehensive review will be against a backdrop of bad faith by this

government.”

A recent poll commissioned by Government and conducted by Global Research found that 57 percent of respondents believed those people who have been PRC holders since July 31, 1989 should be granted Bermudian status, with 33 percent believing they should not.

An OBA spokesman said Mr Brown’s stance was a change of direction for the party. He added: “Until now they have been adamant that any granting of status was a red line issue for them. Now Mr Brown is talking about whether there is an optimum number of PRCs or grants of Bermuda status that should be part of a new approach to immigration, arising from a comprehensive review.

“This is a change of his position, a very positive sign, and we should say that it forms part of our own review of immigration regulations.”

The spokesman added that the OBA and Mr Brown agreed that a full examination of “rights and privileges” granted to Bermudians, PRC holders and other long term residents to craft a 21st century immigration policy needed to take place.

But the spokesman ruled out legislation designed to take away the right to status created by the 2001 loophole in the law. He added: “He [Mr Brown] should know, as any legislator does, that while changes are fine for the future, they cannot be made to reorder the past. We cannot undo what has already been done.”