Members of the community expressed disappointment with the "appalling“ state of Bermuda’s economy during a town hall meeting on the high cost of living, according to an economist on the panel.

Robert Stubbs, head of research at think-tank Seed Bermuda, said that there was too much focus on the financial industry and that more needed to be done to support tourism.

Mr Stubbs spoke alongside Chris Furbert, president of the Bermuda Industrial Union at the third of four meetings organised by the union to discuss the cost of living.

Mr Stubbs told The Royal Gazette after the meeting held earlier this week at Sandys Secondary Middle School: “The audience expressed passionately their dissatisfaction with Bermuda’s management and the appalling state of our economy.

“They are keen to know next steps and there’s a clear demand for more public education, civil society activism and perhaps the development of some sort of participatory democracy. These sentiments were expressed throughout the meeting by each panellist and the audience.

“The dysfunctional nature of our democracy is a recurring theme where neither party, once they gain power, appears to be representing the interests of the people.

“I spoke about the Bermuda Government’s neglect of our tourism and domestic economy as regrettably far too much attention has been paid by the Progressive Labour Party, the One Bermuda Alliance and the United Bermuda Party to the development of Bermuda’s finance industry.

“I drew the parallel’s between Britain’s Brexit, Trump in the US, and the neglect of the non-financial portion of Bermuda’s economy, where most of our Bermudian jobs are.”

Mr Stubbs spoke about the Washington Consensus that prevailed in the 1980s and 1990s. It stressed sweeping cuts in regulation, tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, and ”opening up” to foreign investment all as a means of stimulating investment, new business creation and job growth.

“Bermuda’s current economic conditions demonstrate the failure of this model as we suffer from chronically weak investment, poor business creation and declining jobs.

“What we need to emerge is a new consensus on a development model replacing the old discredited one but this is yet to be fully developed and articulated.

“Political parties, governments, economists and think-tanks are struggling to articulate a new growth paradigm everywhere.”

Mr Stubbs said that about 50 to 60 people turned out to the meeting, considerably higher than the previous two meetings.

The fourth and final town hall meeting will be held at St Paul’s AME Centennial Hall in Pembroke on Tuesday from 6pm to 8pm.