The Progressive Labour Party’s overwhelming share of seats in the House of Assembly will prove unsustainable when Bermudians next go to the polls, a bullish Michael Dunkley said in the wake of announcing his retirement from politics.

Mr Dunkley, who informed the House on Friday that he was hanging up his hat after 27 years in politics, told The Royal Gazette: “I’m not going to make a prediction about the next election, but certainly there’s no way the PLP is going to have that supermajority.”

The PLP at present holds 30 out of the House’s 36 seats.

Mr Dunkley, the former premier under the One Bermuda Alliance who resigned as party leader after its trouncing in the 2017 General Election, conceded that the party had “struggled” in opposition.

However, he credited Cole Simons, the former opposition leader, for putting the OBA on a better footing — and endorsed Jarion Richardson as the new leader.

“Jarion has taken over, and I have seen some rebuilding take place,” he said.

“The OBA is a different party than it was a couple of years ago. Our values have not changed. We are still about community.

“We have a very, very broad church. Everyone is welcome. But we’ve start to rebuild the branches again and attract more people.”

Mr Dunkley said he expected the party to bring a full slate of candidates to the next General Election that could be counted upon in “a lot of constituencies”.

He warned the PLP: “They have to be careful, because the longer it goes until the election is called, the more frustrated people are getting.

“Because, in my view, PLP supporters are greatly concerned about the direction of the island.”

He said that the 30-to-6 balance in the House was “not working well for Bermuda”.

“People need to think very seriously about who they vote for, and hold those people accountable.

“There are not enough politicians who are able to be reached by the constituents when they are needed, and that must change.”

Mr Dunkley said that the “two Bermuda” narrative rang true, adding that he was grateful to international business for carrying the economy and bringing job growth.

However, he said, Bermudian businesses had “struggled under the PLP before Covid-19, and Covid really put a pin in their balloon”.

“Now it’s been hard to recover with the cost of living. We need to pay attention to that, and the PLP has not. We also see our infrastructure become more dilapidated. Not only the roads but government buildings.”

Mr Dunkley highlighted the no-bid contract during the pandemic for the software firm resQwest, saying: “Why did government money go into an account that wasn’t a government account, against financial instructions, and there’s been no accountability to that?

“We’ve seen a cyberattack with little comment from Government on what happened, what’s been paid, and are our people’s private records safe and recovered?

“This shows you a government that’s becoming more and more disconnected from the people, and it’s not good. For a strong democracy, we need to put ourselves in a better position.”

Asked on his timing, Mr Dunkley said he had been thinking of retirement for some time — and had “no intention of running in the next General Election”.

Nor was he prepared to wait and see when it might be called.

“I was not going to wait around. It could be as far back as two years. It would have to be called by October 2025, and you still have three months from that period.”

Mr Dunkley, who came to the House as an MP under the United Bermuda Party in 1997, shrugged off the suggestion that the OBA stood to benefit with the departure of its final member from the UBP — and who is repeatedly cast by opponents as the back-room leader of the OBA.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

“I want the party to do well, and I want the party to win the by-election in Constituency 10, but I’m also cognisant of the fact of my record and performance.”

He said he might prove “difficult to replace”.

“You never know what’s going to happen until somebody walks away or is taken from you. But people rise up. Within the party, we have a lot of younger people, and people will rise up.”

Mr Dunkley would not be drawn on a potential candidate.

“I can call some names. But you don’t know who is going to stand up.

“I’m involved in the party, I will remain involved in the party, and I see the passion that people have for the future of Bermuda.”