David Burt needs to appear less like an autocrat after being re-elected leader of the Progressive Labour Party following a battle to hold on to power, a former premier has said.

Alex Scott, who was premier and PLP leader, between 2003 and 2006, called on Mr Burt to listen more and act as a unifier after the heated contest with Curtis Dickinson, a former finance minister, to run the Government.

Mr Burt beat his former Cabinet colleague 97 to 56 in a delegates’ vote at the end of a campaign beset by claims of “dirty tricks”.

Regarding Mr Burt’s leadership style, Mr Scott told The Royal Gazette: “He has been deemed to be somewhat autocratic in that regard.

“He should listen more, and act as best you can to create a broad tent.”

His advice for Mr Burt was: “Don’t dismiss the people who voted against you — 56 of them — but try to understand the message they are giving you.

“The voters, or the delegates, in this case, have spoken, and I think they made the right decision because of the experience that Premier Burt has.

“I was elected by delegates to try and bring the party together because of the situation between Dame Jennifer Smith and Ewart Brown — to stabilise the situation.”

Referring to Mr Burt, Mr Scott, whose son Lawrence Scott is the transport minister, said: “He could learn a lot by observing — I stop short of saying dictating.

“I think Premier Burt has a lot of new information to work from. He has heard in the campaign from the general public and their feelings.”

Sir John Swan, a former United Bermuda Party premier, also said it was now time for Mr Burt to try and bring unity.

He told The Royal Gazette: “The Premier needs to work hard to bring the PLP back together. He needs to be inclusive.

“I’ve been through this before — if you want to represent the people, you have to pull people together.”

Cole Simons, the One Bermuda Alliance leader, said 97 PLP delegates had decided the fate of Bermuda for years to come.

He said: “The delegates have now spoken, but have the people? Now that Premier David Burt has survived the leadership challenge within the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party, what does this mean for the country?

“It’s no secret most of the country is dissatisfied with the state of affairs in Bermuda.

“The leadership challenge offered many a ray of hope for a better tomorrow if Mr Dickinson won.

“But 97 delegates made a choice that all of Bermuda must live with — another four years with David Burt if an election is not called.”

He said leading up to Thursday’s vote that “there were assertions made about the state of our island. They cannot be ignored”.

“It begs the question, will we be in a better place with Premier Burt? It’s difficult to envision as we’ve been under his guard for five years and his leadership has resulted in very little improvement for Bermuda and its people.

“It’s imperative that our state of affairs improve, and quickly. If not, Bermuda will be clawing for its future.”

The PLP leadership race saw Mr Dickinson pull out of a head-to-head debate because he said assurances he had been given regarding the format had not materialised.

On the final day of the campaign, he complained that, unlike Mr Burt, he was barred from addressing delegates at the party conference.

Mr Dickinson also branded the Premier a liar who would lead the PLP to defeat at the next election if he remained at the party’s helm.

Mr Burt said he had been subjected to “vicious” false stories about him.

As the result was announced, Mr Burt refused to say whether he would seek to bring Mr Dickinson back into the Cabinet.