Michael Dunkley has described the preamble to the Progressive Labour Party’s platform as “divorced from reality”.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the Premier dismissed language contained within Opposition leader David Burt’s statement as flying in the face of what was happening in the country today.

He referenced sentences describing the island as being in a state of peril, lacking in tolerance, and facing harder times under the current administration.

Dunkley said: “It’s the kind of talk that wants people to forget that people voted the PLP out of office because they were heading Bermuda in the wrong direction,” he said.

Joined by Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, Minister of Home Affairs, and Fabian Minors, candidate for Devonshire North, the trio highlighted their party’s record of fiscal responsibility, while scrutinising that of the Opposition.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin described the PLP’s record as one of “financial carelessness that brought the island to the brink of disaster”.

“When voters ask what will the Burt PLP do to Bermuda, I would say look at what they did,” she said.

Pointing to the plan described within the PLP platform to review the contract to build the new airport terminal, she addressed the possible implications of such a move — including lawsuits, loss of jobs, and damage to Bermuda’s reputation.

She said: “This, to my mind, may be the single most irresponsible and reckless thing [Mr Burt] has said.”

Statements previously made by Mr Burt on broadening the tax base also had wide-sweeping implications, Ms Gordon-Pamplin said.

In the PLP’s reply to the Budget in March, Mr Burt said that tax reform and broadening the tax base “cannot be effective if they are unwilling to look at taxing the passive income of the privileged persons in society”.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin said of such a tax: “It has implications for every Bermudian who earns income from savings, from investments and, most importantly, from rental income.”

While the party’s platform does promise the creation of a Tax Reform Commission, there is no specific mention of passive incomes.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin pledged that no such tax would be implemented by her party.

“It’s important that people understand this because it is a critical difference between the OBA and the PLP,” she said.

Mr Minors described rental incomes as vital dollars that the Opposition leader wanted to come after.

He spoke of two retirees who relied on the income generated by renting their one-bedroom apartment to make ends meet.

“The last thing my neighbours need is a tax on their rental income,” he said.

He also touched on plans announced by the PLP to earmark pension monies to start-ups, which he described as a gamble.

“Start-ups are very high-risk investments, with failure rates above 90 per cent,” Mr Minors said.

Mr Dunkley also used the press conference to address what he described as “disgusting” social media posts that had appeared online in recent days.

“I don’t care where they come from,” he said of the unspecified messages, which he said seemed to come from people supporting both parties.

“That’s not the Bermuda we know, that’s not the Bermuda we love, and we don’t need it as we head to an election,” he said.

“Stop the rot.”