Son of Bermuda’s first black Premier seeks leadership role

Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards, whose late father was Bermuda\'s first black Premier, has confirmed that he will launch a bid for the leadership of the troubled opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP), pledging to oust incumbent Kim Swan as quickly as possible, according to a report on www.cananews.net.



Richards told reporters yesterday that he has formulated a plan that he believes can bring the party back from its low ebb, maintaining that one of the necessary steps is a change in leader.



Five of the UBP\'s member of parliaments (MPs) have quit in the past 12 months.



\"When a team is on a losing streak, they change the manager, they change the coach, they change the leader,\" Richards said.



\"Changing a leader is a signal that reform is on the way.\"



Richards, whose late Guyana-born father Sir Edward Richards was Premier from 1971 to 1973, said he believes he has support from the UBP\'s remaining MPs. But he said a leadership challenge would have to wait until the party\'s constitution is amended to allow branch members a say in who leads the party.



This is unlikely to happen before the next parliamentary session begins in early November, due to the slowness of the process involved, sources said.



The UBP, which ran the country for 30 years before being toppled in 1998 by the Progressive Labour Party (PLP), won 14 seats to the PLP\'s 22 in the House of Assembly at the last general election in 2007.



If successful in his bid to replace Swan, Richards said he would seek to welcome back the five MPs who have left, leaving just nine UBP MPs in the House.