Paula Cox Loses Her Devonshire North West Seat
Premier Paula Cox has lost her Devonshire North West parliamentary seat to Glen Smith in what could be considered one of the most dramatic upsets in Bermuda party politics since 1968.
She is the first sitting Premier to lose her seat since the introduction of the Westminster-style political system to Bermuda more than 40 years ago and only the third major party leader to lose her parliamentary seat at a general election.
Earlier this evening [Dec. 17] Ms Cox conceded defeat and congratulated her One Bermuda Alliance opponent on running a solid campaign.
Mr. Smith polled 470 votes compared to Ms Cox’s 377. Technically, Deputy Premier Derek Burgess – who was re-elected in his Hamilton Parish constituency – automatically succeeds her as the new leader of the Progressive Labour Party.
Ms Cox won Devonshire North West with a lopsided 70 per cent of the vote at the last election in 2007. But the constituency’s boundaries were subsequently redrawn.
Redistricting resulted in more than 200 former Devonshire South Central voters and 353 from Devonshire North Central being included on its electoral rolls today. Devonshire South West is widely considered a One Bermuda Alliance stronghold and the PLP only took Devonshire North Central by a slim margin in 2007.
Every opinion poll released in the run-up to the election listed the economy and jobs as the top priorities of Bermuda’s 43,767 registered voters. Internal polls commissioned by the two major parties reflected the same widespread concern with economic issues. Because Premier Cox also served as the island’s Finance Minister, her role in presiding over Bermuda’s sluggish recovery came into heightened focus throughout the five-week election campaign .
First elected to the House of Assembly in October, 1996 when she won a by-election in the old Devonshire North constituency, Ms Cox has served as Bermuda’s Finance Minister since 2004 when she succeeded her late father, C. Eugene Cox.
She was elected leader of the PLP on October 28, 2010 in a special election held following the resignation of Dr. Ewart Brown. She was sworn in as Premier the following day by then Governor Sir Richard Gozney.
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Ms Cox did not put in the work, I bet we will no longer be taken for granted. Congrats to Glen Smith he could tell everything happening in our constituency, he pounded the pavement day in day out he supported events,he turned up at events. He knew what was happening in the households. Too bad Mr Butler lost his seat,a man who has been so faithful and yet gets screwed by the PLP, have to fight like crazy each and every election yet Johnnie come lately gets safe seats and Ministries. Ms Cox made sure called the election after her birthday so as to gurantee her pension, she did not want to lead or even keep the seat, if she did she would not send her husband to hand out the platform of the party she would have come out and do it herself. She was absent in all the areas, I even heard the people at Cedar Park and Mary Victoria were fed up with her.
She did NOT have the testicular fortitude she said she had. She was not a politician.
If you knock a person down in a boxing match you do not offer him tea and cookies when he gets up. You knock him the hell out. Paula Cox said it was against principle to call an election when the Opposition was weak. So she waited till they were strong enough to even defeat her. If she had resigned when Butler Lister and Horton and James resigned she could talk about principle. Basically principle and having testicular fortitude were a fantasy and never was or could be a reality… practically or theoretically so she and the party lost. Good riddance to her. The worst leader the world has ever had.
No she can go and sign more TIEAS which did what for Bermuda?
Paula, you let DREB, Derrick Burgess and Leroy Bean spend your political currency and you have paid the price for it.
I agree somewhat. She is a great woman and she is hard working, has morals, integrity, and is well spoken and I have the utmost respect for her and her family for jumping on board of this sink ship when it was abondened by Dr. Brown. I think she represented Bermuda very well overseas. However, I never got the feeling that she was in charge. Just my opinion.
Brown, Burgess, Burch, Commissiong, and Bean did damage to the reputation of the PLP and Bermuda that many would not ignore anymore. I hope she stays involoved in politics as I believe her heart was in it. I hope the PLP becomes an effective opposition.
This should be a wake up call for the PLP supporters… when the people does not have faith in the leader there is something wrong and the people in Constituency #14 have spoken.
Now let’s see what party wins.
This loss will be good for the PLP
Other than the OBA winning, the Cog losing her seat was the best Christmas gift EVER!
I agree 100%…
De beeg wheel jes went rollin dahn de heel, no wait, it was jes a cog in de wheel……
LOL. You crack me up.
Now we will see where all the money has gone!
CONGRATULATIONS OBA and BERMUDA!!!!! Now the hard work begins.
Yes – the hard work to rebuild this great country begins.
PLEASE, PLEASE OBA – DO NOT CALL FOR A PUBLIC HOLIDAY TO CELEBRATE LIKE THE PLP DID.
Congratulations Glen, you’re like Santa Claus this year! your hard work and honesty paid off.
Congratulations Mr. Glen Smith and the OBA on their victory. PLP, you are so outta here.
@MP Mountbatton, Dredd, Politely Pompous, betty trump, laverne, et al…..OH HAPPY DAAAAY….OH HAPPY DAY!!!! What say you now with all your confident “CRAP”????
@ john Charles….who’s pissin’ in their cornflakes now?????
Well done Bermuda!!! A truly historic event tonight!!!
Yeah there is no peep out of any of them… so sad.
Now she can get a real job.
Yes, she can get a job in a hotel in Bhutan or in Islamic Finance in Middle East
I am just as excited but to be honest I am sad that Cox is out and people like Desilva and Commissiong is in.
Anything unpleasant you have to say about the former premiere is unhelpful. The brutal fact is that the OBA won. I would have voted for the OBA but I couldn’t come back to do it.
Bermuda needs to come together and fix the damage done by successive PLP administrations. We have no other choice. It’s do or die. We must cooperate or we will perish. It’s time now that we really live up to the talk that both parties sell. This idea of unity has to be real. Not just black unity but everybody unity.
Anything else will fail.
STEP UP!
A fantastic result. It could have been better but it is enough. The PLP candidate in my area has been very good. He won too and deserved to. I am also happy for him. Now Bermuda can breath a deep sigh of relief and move forward again. Amen. Was ready too take a sleeping pill, 1)If the PLP won to calm my worried and disappointed soul 2)To calm me done from all the joy and excitement of an OBA win. I feel that we can live again.This election shows that Bermuda is maturing in that the RACE factor did not win out and the people did look at the issues that really mattered.
How sweet it is!!!!!!!
Jennifer needs to make an appointment at HWP to have her car spray painted back to its original color LOL
That is the taxpayers car.
Now is not the time to gloat.
We have an island that is in serious financial trouble, political differences need to be put aside and we need to work together with the new government to help them to help us.
Congrats to Mr. Smith, I didn’t think it was possible but just goes to show, politics is a funny, unpredictable game.
Premiere Cox has always been a classy lady.
But unfortunately, and much like Mitt Romney, she has little sway over the more radical elements of her Party.
Would much rather of seen Ms. Cox retain her seat as compared to having the hate filled Commissiong in the House.
I can’t help but think that if Ashfield’s car had not been fire bombed, and he had stood as an Independent, we might have him a winner today instead of Rolf.
So it is interested that Derrick automatically got the position.
Congrats OBA, waiting to see the changes that will take place with regards to Immigration, Work Permits and Permits in general.
Congrats, Glen Smith for a job well done!
This is a sad day in Bermuda! When will it ever end? What is sad is that you are all blind. The UBP put us in this mess for over 30 years and the PLP has tried to help get us out of it..
What has PLP done for Bermuda…aaas let’s see: I have seen the PLP put affordable housing up in really nice areas. Areas that the UBP government didn’t want housing going because black people moving in the area would cause the value to decrease. Transportation for seniors and children and the list goes on.
Let’s talk about the gang violence. Gang violence has nothing to do with PLP, it’s to do with poor parenting. Lets see OBA fix that. Why are there more blacks in prison than whites? Is it that white people don’t do wrong? I don’t think so…whites are at the drivers seats pressing the buttons. Craig will see in a bit, just wait.
Let’s talk about the education problem and low grades. That stems from Mr. gibbons creating these mega schools, try a keep blacks in one area, away from the white population. Black on black violence. They sit back and laugh saying look at all those monkeys in a cage fight. Let’s see them fix that problem.
This seems so familiar to me, just like Obama’s situation. I guess rich white people will start spending money now and creating jobs now that UBP is back so that it looks like they are turning around the economy for the better. Prayer is needed.
Tiptoes…go have a drink. I think you need it!
Paula Cox presided over the most fiscally irresponsible regime this country has ever seen. Both as finance minister and subsequently as premier.
If you take the position that she was not culpable for what happened under her watch, then you have to fall back to the position that she was grossly negligent of her fiduciary responsibility OR wildly incompetent. Take your choice. Either way, her party started with a reasonably healthy balance sheet and proceeded to expand it to an incompressible level. All the race rhetoric you can spew will not change that fact.
Can we have a forensic audit of the books going all the way back to 1998 please?
On the next “Hero’s Day” I wwould like to nominate the OBA, or Glen Smith.
I was at a election party in Cedar Park and many said they voted for Glen Smith because he was on their door step up to 4 times,right up to this past weekend and never saw Miss Cox. Glen even sent letters in his own hand writing, he pounded the pavement and it paid off.
Glen Smith – The little engine that could…..and Did!!!!!!