Video: 2025 General Election Announced

[Updated] The Progressive Labour Party [PLP] is holding a press conference this afternoon [Jan 8] and we will have additional coverage later on and in the meantime the live video is below.

Update: The PLP Leader and Premier David Burt has announced the General Election will be held on Feb 18.

Update: The PLP said, “The upcoming election on Tuesday, February 18th, is a choice between building a fairer Bermuda or returning our country back to a party that failed in Government. Together, we have raised pensions, introduced the minimum wage, lowered taxes for most Bermudians, and built affordable housing—and we have more work to do. In the next term, we will continue to expand affordable housing, open senior daycare facilities, provide free annual healthcare visits, and create the Bermuda Market for lower-cost goods. The OBA’s record? Costly bad deals at the airport and Morgan’s point, neglected public schools, JetGate, pepper spray and policies that put Bermudians second in their own country with Pathways to Status. We can’t afford to go back. Vote PLP for a Fairer Bermuda.”

The Premier’s full statement follows below:

Good Afternoon to the PLP Candidates, Party Executive, Party members, Supporters, family, friends, and members of the media. And, Good Afternoon to the people of Bermuda and Happy New Year to all!

The Progressive Labour Party recognises the challenges our people face. Rising costs, expensive healthcare, the need for more affordable housing, and fair opportunities for young people are not abstract concerns. They are the real, everyday struggles of Bermudians across this island.

The problems we are experiencing in Bermuda are not unique to these 21 square miles. Inflation and the rising cost of living are not just Bermuda’s challenges—they are global issues affecting nations large and small.

Rapid technological change, which creates uncertainty about job security, the decline of trust in institutions and community bonds, leading to feelings of isolation, mental health struggles, and rising crime, are crises echoing in communities across the globe.

But here in Bermuda, we face these global challenges with an additional weight—the legacy of colonialism, which entrenched wealth and comfort in the hands of a privileged few while leaving many Bermudians struggling to make ends meet.

Since returning to office, this PLP Government has worked tirelessly to address these challenges, to ease the burdens of Bermudians and to build a fairer Bermuda for all.

How have we done that?

The PLP raised seniors’ pensions 6 times in line with the rate of inflation, ensuring our seniors can live with dignity and respect.

The PLP reduced payroll taxes for 86% of workers and every local business, putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking Bermudians. We’ve also ensured that those who make over $200,000 a year pay their fair share – introduced taxes on dividends where they did not exist before to invest in healthcare and education.

The PLP introduced the minimum wage to ensure all workers can earn a fair wage.

The PLP expanded the Child Daycare Allowance, easing the financial pressures on parents, and the result – 146 parents have access to childcare assistance.

The PLP reduced energy taxes by 60% and froze local fuel prices at the pump to shield Bermudian families from increasing global energy prices.

The PLP eliminated customs duties on essential goods, helping to mitigate the cost of global inflation.

The PLP has invested record amounts in affordable housing, with 71 units completed and 118 more on the way, giving families access to safe, stable, and secure homes.

The PLP introduced a mortgage guarantee programme that helped nearly 40 first-time Bermudian homeowners and families afford their first home.

This Change didn’t happen by accident— these changes are the result of deliberate choices, people-focused priorities, and a Progressive Labour Party rooted in our communities. A party with a deep history, committed to uplifting the many, not the few, and dedicated to dismantling centuries of inequality to create a Bermuda where fairness isn’t just spoken about but felt by every family, senior, and young Bermudian.

And family, we know there is more to do, and the Progressive Labour Party remains focused on continuing to deliver the things that make a meaningful difference in you and your family’s lives. Things like…

• A seniors’ daycare facility that will provide meals, activities, and a place to go for our seniors while also easing the squeeze on the sandwich generation – the women and men who are raising children while caring for ageing parents
• Introducing a primary care visit every year for everyone on HIP and a specialist visit every year for everyone on FutureCare – this will reduce copays – keeping more money in your pocket.
• Continued investment in affordable housing because Bermudians deserve to be comfortable and prosperous here in Bermuda.
• And we will continue reducing taxes on workers, local businesses and families. We’ve demonstrated that we can manage the economy and we will ensure that while we reduce the burden on Bermudians today, we will ensure that we eliminate our debt so that the next generation will have a stable and secure Bermuda.

These aren’t just promises; They are steps towards a Bermuda where fairness isn’t just a word but a lived reality.

Today marks the beginning of another pivotal moment—not just for our Government or the Progressive Labour Party but for our entire island. This is a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come, to acknowledge the work still ahead, and where the people of Bermuda will have the opportunity to reaffirm their desire for this team, standing behind me, to continue building a fairer Bermuda or turning back the clock to policies that left so many behind.

Earlier today, I met with Her Excellency the Governor and invited her to dissolve the Legislature in advance of a general election.

We could spend the next months of 2025 playing politics, or we can put the power in your hands so that after the election, we can focus on you, your needs, and our shared work toward a fairer Bermuda for all of us.

This election is not just another political exercise — it is a choice about how we face these global and local challenges together. It is not about one person or party but about all of us. It’s about a single parent trying to balance work and childcare, a young Bermudian who needs access to higher education and seniors who deserve dignity and respect in their golden years.

This election is a choice between a Progressive Labour Party Government that has expanded childcare assistance to support young parents, increased scholarships to support young Bermudians, invested record amounts in affordable housing, increased pensions six times, and expanded future care to help our seniors and ease the burden on those assisting with their care.

It is a choice between that…

Or

A One Bermuda Alliance with a clear record of failure that left Bermuda worse off than when they took office. Who reduced childcare support, cut scholarships, and only gave our seniors one pension increase during their entire term on the eve of an election after telling them that ‘money does not grow on trees’.

Do not forget what else happened during their last tenure in government!

• The OBA neglected our public schools and instead spent tens of millions on a boat race.
• The OBA’s poor financial decisions cost Bermuda over $200 million on the failed Morgan’s Point deal and over $50 million in minimum revenue guarantees for the airport during the pandemic. That’s over $250 million of your money that could have gone to our schools, healthcare, infrastructure, and supporting our young people and our seniors.
• Remember, the OBA also tried to push through Pathways to Status, which tried to fundamentally redefine what it means to be Bermudian.

Let us not forget their record, let’s not forget the pepper spraying of our seniors.

Things that – to this day – the OBA has never apologised for.

But you don’t have to go back to their last time in office, as today’s OBA is no different.

Last year, they voted against freezing Government health insurance premiums for all people, which would have saved every insured person $540 a year. But, this team here with me passed that and ensured we froze premiums for the third year in a row. The OBA also voted against additional investments in affordable housing.

The OBA’s values and agenda are dangerous. They have a leader who ignores his own party Constitution and candidates who say that they have, and I quote, “no idea how to address the cost of living situation.”

You will not hear that from this team representing the Progressive Labour Party. You will not hear that because this party has a plan, a vision, and—most importantly—a track record to show that when we promise change, when we say we are going to reduce taxes, invest in our seniors, our communities and our schools, we deliver it.

So, let us keep the faith. Let us pray together, work together and renew together.

Let us stand firm with a Progressive Labour Party that deeply believes that we need a fairer Bermuda for Bermudians from all walks of life. Whether white, black, or portuguese fairer Bermuda for all means for all Bermudians and this team behind me are working hard to deliver that for you.

The team behind me represents Bermudians from all walks of life. They are your friends, your family and your neighbours. They are rooted in the community and share your concerns. They know deep down that this world is changing and evolving and that in times like these, we need stable leadership committed to building a fairer Bermuda for each and every one of us.

This Progressive Labour Party has steered Bermuda through uncertain times, and we are more determined and committed than ever to continuing to do what is necessary to build the fairer Bermuda you all deserve.

So tonight, I ask you to put your faith in this team that will stand as one on Nomination Day, January 31st, and on Election Day, February 18th.

With your support, the Progressive Labour Party will continue to deliver progress and real, meaningful change, ensuring that we deliver a fairer Bermuda for all.

Thank you, Bermuda. God bless.

#2025Election #BermudaPolitics

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