The economy should be a top priority in the General Election, residents and business owners in St George said.

Some said that it did not matter which party won the contest, as long as the country’s financial crisis was tackled.

Geza Wolf, a partner at Wahoo’s restaurant on Water Street, said: “I don’t mind which party wins as long as they solve the problems that we have — the economy. Save the dollars and bring the jobs back.

“They have to bring people in, that is the only way we can go. The One Bermuda Alliance had the right idea, but they took the wrong approach.”

Mr Wolf added a new marina for St George would be a step in the right direction.

He said: “For ten years they have been talking about a marina. Hamilton has a marina, Dockyard has a marina and all the yachts are coming into St George’s.

“That would be a big plus, especially now we are having the hotel being built.”

Michael Denbrook, who was born and raised in St George, said that Dockyard was better served than the Olde Towne.

He added: “It’s ignorance. The economy needs reactivating. You have a World Heritage Site and all the facilities for tourism here, and it is not being utilised.

“The hotel will be good for us if, and only if, it is going to give jobs to locals.”

Mark Rowe, a St George’s resident for 35 years, said: “Boosting the economy is important, especially the retail sector in St George’s.”

Agnes Pitt, a manager at The English Sports Shop, said: “We need to get more tourists into the town. We need more people flocking to the Olde Towne. I think the hotel should be a good thing for us.”

The town and its immediate surroundings are split into two constituencies, both of which were won by the Progressive Labour Party at the 2017 General Election.

Renée Ming, now the national security minister, won St George’s North, with 61.78 per cent of the vote against the One Bermuda Alliance’s Kenneth Bascome and Kim Swan took St George’s West with 65.71 per cent of the vote over the OBA’s Nandi Outerbridge.

Mr Wolf said: “I think they did a fantastic job of bringing tourists down to St George’s. I have a good relationship with Renée Ming.”

But he added: “There has been no Opposition for the last couple of years and that is what is missing.”

Mr Denbrook said: “Renée Ming is a St George’s girl and her interest will be St George’s, but she is a political neophyte and all her acts will be dictated by those above her.”

Mr Rowe said he did not see much difference between the parties in St George’s.

He added: “It is not as political here in St George’s — we seem to get addressed or neglected in the same way.”

He said the lack of a police presence in the Olde Towne and poor road maintenance on its north side were also concerns.