The leader of the One Bermuda Alliance today claimed his party could attract investment to reignite the economy if successful at the General Election on Thursday.

Craig Cannonier said at a press conference the party fuelled the island’s economic recovery during their last time in office and could do it again.

Mr Cannonier said: “The one key factor between the OBA and the Progressive Labour Party is confidence. You are not going to get investment, direct investment into Bermuda unless there is confidence in Bermuda.

“Confidence is at its lowest that we have ever seen it. Investment is not coming in because they are not confident in who we are.

“The OBA showed that, once again coming out of a recession where confidence was low, it was able to get those willing to invest in Bermuda to come to our shores.”

He added: “We now need to get back to the basics of our economy because the best social programme is a job.

“We need to get our people back out feeling confident about who they are, confident that they can afford to put food on the table for their families, and let’s get on with creating a Bermuda that we know can thrive.” Mr Cannonier acknowledged that the party was hurt in its 2017 election defeat, but said it had learnt from the experience and rebuilt.

He said: “2017 was a blow. Absolutely. When the OBA Government had built the economy, created jobs, created opportunities for Bermudians and to then lose the number of seats that we did was a heavy blow.

“But we are people, and we have to learn from our past experiences, and the OBA has been building since then.

“This is a rebuilding process for us and the OBA platform reflects the fact that we recognise we can do well with the economy. We can turn the economy around. We are confident in that.”

Mr Cannonier added: “The OBA has learnt that moving forward, it needs to do two or three things at the same time, and part of that reform is ensuring that we have a social platform that remembers everyone.”

He said the OBA’s platform was only released this weekend because the party wanted to ensure that all voices in the room were heard.

Mr Cannonier said: “The timing has nothing to do with the election being just a few days from now.

“The key is getting the information out there so Bermuda understands exactly where we are as a party.”

Dwayne Robinson, the OBA candidate for Warwick East, added that the OBA intends to work with the island’s youth to create opportunities in the fields they want to pursue.

Mr Robinson said: “Constant solid engagement and investment in our youth is the only way to secure our island’s future.

“The OBA firmly believes that leadership is not about the next election, but about the next generation.

“A pillar of our development for Bermuda is to develop the environment in which our young people can comfortably live and work in the areas they are attracted to — areas that will increasingly be the top-earning sectors in the world.”

He said the OBA plan would expand opportunities for entertainment and culture along with technology and online business.

Mr Robinson added the party would also promote entrepreneurship, on-job training and create vehicles for home ownership

He said: “It is our intention to invest in our young people, to make them global citizens even as we secure the future of Bermuda, which our young people will lead.”

Mr Robinson highlighted pledges for tax breaks for those who hire Bermudians in trainee positions, the creation of economic development scholarships and the expansion of film and television incentive programmes to help create career opportunities and highlight the island internationally.