The Progressive Labour Party has scotched speculation that former minister of finance Curtis Dickinson will be ousted from his seat before the next General Election.

Mr Dickinson romped to victory in Pembroke South East in the October 2020 election, securing more than 77 per cent of the vote in the PLP stronghold.

He resigned from the Government in February last year after a disagreement with David Burt, the Premier, over tax breaks granted to the developer of the Fairmont Southampton hotel.

Mr Dickinson later launched an unsuccessful bid for the party leadership, and has been largely silent on the back benches ever since.

There have been rumours that Owen Darrell, the Government Senate Leader and Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport, has been pencilled in for Mr Dickinson’s “safe” seat when the island next goes to the polls.

Mr Dickinson commented on those rumours when he appeared on a Daily Hour broadcast last week.

Asked to confirm or deny reports that Mr Darrell “may be placed in your seat for the next General Election”, Mr Dickinson replied: “This is a free country, and people can run wherever they want to run. I’ve heard similar things, so time will tell.”

Yesterday, a PLP spokesman denied that Mr Darrell was being lined up to replace Mr Dickinson as the party’s nominee.

The spokesman said: “Any rumours about candidates running in an upcoming General Election are nothing but mischievous speculation.

“The PLP has an internal candidate selection process. When this process has completed, we announce our candidates to the public. This has been the case in every General Election.

“There is no legal requirement to hold a General Election until after this term expires, which is the latter part of 2025.”

Mr Darrell, who is the Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports, also played down any speculation.

He said: "Some may want to focus on politics, but my focus is on serving our young people and our athletes as minister and continuing the work we are doing, such as increasing summer day camp spots, refurbishing sporting facilities, reopening the netball courts at Bernard’s Park, increasing access to the National Sports Centre for national sports governing bodies and increasing investment in our NSGBs and elite athletes through the sports investment programme.

"Right now our young people and our athletes are doing great things and need support, and that is where my time and energy will continue to be dedicated.

“I want to focus on their incredible accomplishments, like the success of our Special Olympians, the marks that our men's and women's national football teams are making in international competitions, as well as our men’s national cricket team, just to name a few.

“These are the stories I want to highlight because they are about our athletes continuing to make us proud and which I am proud to support as minister.

“As for the politics, I trust that the PLP members will select the best candidates across each constituency when it is time to make that selection."

Speculation that Mr Darrell was being mothballed by the party until a safe seat could be found for him increased in the run-up to the Smith’s South by-election this month.

Mr Darrell had contested the seat at the 2020 General Election, but suffered a heavy defeat to Cole Simons, of the opposition One Bermuda Alliance, in a constituency the PLP has never held.

After Mr Simons announced his retirement from politics in August, it was expected that Mr Darrell would represent the PLP again in the subsequent by-election. As a constituency resident, he has continued to canvas for the party since the 2020 General Election.

But in a surprise move, he stepped aside for rookie Mischa Fubler to contest the seat.

In an address to Smith’s South voters endorsing Mr Fubler, he said: “It has been a great honour and privilege to have worked in the Smith’s South area for the past three years.

“During this period, I advocated for you and have always kept your needs at the forefront.

“The time has come for the next generation of leadership to enter the political arena.”

Mr Fubler was subsequently trounced by the OBA’s Ben Smith by 457 votes to 167.