The Opposition’s ‘new-found compassion’ on the topic of health care costs represents an ideological conversion, says Neville Tyrrell
Statement by Neville Tyrrell, PLP MP for Constituency #26, Warwick South Central:
The One Bermuda Alliance’s latest comments on health insurance costs are either another example of them saying what they think our people want to hear, or a truly remarkable ideological conversion.
For years, Bermudians have struggled with rising insurance premiums, medical bills, and the growing cost of healthcare. This is an issue to be addressed and not just one to be exploited by an OBA pretending to have suddenly grown a heart.
When the PLP brought legislation in 2024 to help prevent healthcare costs from rising, (saving Bermudians nearly $600 in insurance costs) The One Bermuda Alliance voted against it. Where was their compassion for Bermudians then?
Beyond their record on opposing efforts to keep healthcare costs down, for years the OBA preached less regulation and less government “interference.” Now, when they think they can exploit people’s struggles, they are claiming to have changed.
Give us a break.
Unlike the OBA, The Bermuda Progressive Labour Party has always believed that we have a responsibility to make sure Bermuda works for ordinary working people, not just those at the top. That belief is reflected in the work already being done to ease the cost of living, including lower payroll taxes for workers and other measures aimed at putting more money back into the pockets of Bermudian families.
While the OBA is desperately “ambulance chasing,” trying to get on whatever side of an issue they think might make people forget who they truly are, we are doing the hard work of bringing costs down and improving access to care.
Government says the move is designed to further reduce the cost of living
The Ministry of Home Affairs is pleased to advise the public that further cost of living relief has been introduced through an expansion of the Essential Commodities Regulations.
As part of the Government’s Affordable Bermuda Agenda, additional everyday items have been added to the list of essential goods, making them more affordable for Bermudian families. These changes were Gazetted on May 8, 2026, and will allow the relevant Customs tariff codes and duty relief to be applied to the newly added items.
The expanded list includes a wider range of products commonly used by households, such as:
Infant nutrition and care: Baby food, baby wipes, children’s medicines, and formula.
Household cleaning and hygiene: Bleach, lotion, paper products, soap, and toothpaste.
Maternal: Specific named brand breast pump apparatuses.
In addition, some existing items have been clarified to make the list clearer and more precise. For example, “sanitary products” is now specified as “sanitary towels/pads and tampons,” and “diapers” are now described as “napkins and napkin liners for babies.”
The Ministry notes that reducing duty on these items is expected to result in meaningful price reductions at the register, particularly for commonly purchased goods. For many essential products, duty relief can translate into price decreases ranging from approximately 5% to 25%, depending on the item and retailer, providing monthly savings for households on frequently purchased groceries, baby care items, and hygiene products.
The Ministry also reminds the public that while the Essential Commodities Regulations and the Customs Tariff Act are separate pieces of legislation, both work together to help reduce the overall cost of goods. Residents are encouraged to visit www.gov.bm to review the Customs Department’s updated duty and tariff information.
This expansion reflects the ongoing commitment of the Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Alexa Lightbourne, to tackle the cost of living in a practical and measurable way, targeting relief where it will have the greatest impact for Bermudians who need it most.
Minister Lightbourne stated, “Families across Bermuda are carrying real pressure at the checkout. This expansion of the Essential Commodities list targets that pressure directly, adding fresh produce, dairy, infant nutrition, and household basics to the goods that qualify for duty relief. The savings will be visible at the register on the items households purchase most often. The Affordable Bermuda Agenda was built to deliver relief that is practical, measurable, and targeted. Today, that relief expands again.”
The Ministry will continue to assess additional measures to support households and ensure that essential goods remain accessible and affordable.
The push for financial market players to be supervised at a European Union rather than national level is part of the EU’s plan to redirect trillions of its citizens’ savings, now idling in bank deposits, into more productive investment in Europe
International News via Reuters:
Finance ministers from the EU’s six biggest economies (E6) agreed among themselves on Friday to support more centralised capital markets supervision, in a breakthrough crucial for deeper integration of Europe’s fragmented capital markets.
The push for financial market players to be supervised at a European Union rather than national level is part of the EU’s plan to redirect trillions of its citizens’ savings, now idling in bank deposits, into more productive investment in Europe.
Access to such a large amount of capital for investment would boost the bloc’s chances of competing against the United States and China.
Supervision of significant market infrastructure would be gradually transferred to the European Securities and Markets Authority in Paris, the finance ministers of Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands agreed after they met in Berlin on Thursday to discuss the issue.
The issue of handing over local powers to supervise trading platforms, central counterparties and central securities depositories to the EU has been difficult because of vested national interests and opposition from Ireland and Luxembourg and initially Germany.
But the issue will be decided by qualified majority, meaning it needs the support of 15 out of the EU’s 27 countries representing 65% of the bloc’s population.
With the backing of the E6, which represent 70% of the EU’s population, centralised supervision is now much more likely to happen.
“The fact that the EU’s six largest economies are prepared to leave national self-interest behind and move forward together is an important signal for the entire European Union,” German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said in a statement.
ACCOUNTABILITY MUST BE ENFORCED
The European Commission presented its plan to better integrate EU capital markets in December, and Germany’s finance minister has said he expects the package to be adopted by the end of this year.
“In an uncertain international context, Europe needs deeper and more integrated capital markets,” Spanish Finance Minister Carlos Cuerpo said. “This joint positioning is a decisive step towards a true savings and investment union.”
ESMA’s governance structure must be set up efficiently: expertise, supervisory and market experience, and geographical balance should play a decisive role, the ministers agreed in a paper seen by Reuters on Friday.
In addition, costs must be kept under control and accountability must be enforced, the joint paper said about the ESMA.
However, the paper said that in their current form and size, German trading venues would currently not be subject to mandatory European supervision.athorities over trading in crypto-assets, and to reduce barriers to cross-border funds to help company financing, according to the paper.
Reporting by Maria Martinez, Friederike Heine and Kirsti Knolle in Berlin, Jan Strupczewski in Brussels and Victoria Waldersee in Madrid, Writing by Madeline Chambers, Editing by Friederike Heine, Kirsten Donovan
Wang said he thought Canada’s exports to China could increase by 100%, building on momentum between the countries
International News via Reuters:
China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said on Friday that Canada could surpass its goal of increasing exports to China by 50% by 2030 during a meeting with Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand.
Wang said he thought Canada’s exports to China could increase by 100%, building on momentum between the countries.
Wang is on a three-day visit to Canada, the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister in a decade and the latest step to improve ties.
Wang is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Canada and China struck an initial trade deal in January to slash tariffs on electric vehicles and canola, when Carney became the first Canadian prime minister to visit China since 2017.
China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, and Carney has sought to reduce his country’s overwhelming reliance on the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, a longtime ally.
“Canada is focused on growing our economy and diversifying our trading relationships,” Anand said during the meeting.
“The Canada-China economic relationship is significant,” she said.
The two ministers met after the Canadian warship HMCS Charlottetown completed a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on May 23. China said on Friday it firmly opposes any attempt by any country to undermine its sovereignty and security “under the pretext of freedom of navigation.”
Reporting by Promit Mukherjee, Daphne Psaledakis and Frances Gao; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Rod Nickel
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended down 0.2% and posted monthly gains of around 0.3%
International News via Reuters:
UK indexes marked a second straight month of gains on Friday, buoyed by hopes that the U.S. and Iran were nearing a deal to extend their ceasefire.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended down 0.2% and posted monthly gains of around 0.3%. The midcap FTSE 250 gained 0.4% on the day and 4.3% for May.
• Shares of Ocado soared 7.1% after supermarket group Asda struck a deal with the technology firm to overhaul its online business across the UK.
• Oil prices slipped nearly 2% after the U.S. and Iran reached an agreement to extend a ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters. [O/R]
• President Donald Trump said he would make a final decision on Friday.
• Shares of oil majors Shell and BP were mixed. A broader gauge of British energy stocks posted its biggest monthly drop in a year, as crude prices eased.
• Hopes of de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict and easing bets on UK interest rate hikes have buoyed domestic stocks over the past two weeks.
• Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said that allowing inflation to run above the central bank’s 2% target is justified given the economic uncertainty and reiterated that the BoE had tightened monetary policy by taking rate cuts off the table.
• Money market bets show traders are pricing in at least one 25 bps interest rate hike this year and see a 28% chance of another such move, down from 50% probability earlier this week.
• Shares in UK retailers B&M, Currys, Dunelm, Wickes Group dipped in the range of 0.9% and 2.4% after Deutsche Bank downgraded their ratings, citing weaker consumer spending and confidence.
Reporting by Medha Singh and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Diti Pujara
Sources had said a deal was in the offing to extend a truce in place since early April for another 60 days to allow oil and gas shipments to resume through the strategic waterway
International News via Reuters:
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would make a final decision on Friday over a deal with Iran to extend their ceasefire that would need to include opening the Strait of Hormuz and dismantling Tehran’s capacity to make a nuclear weapon.
“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” he said, referring to the White House’s nerve centre for monitoring global crises.
Sources had said a deal was in the offing to extend a truce in place since early April for another 60 days to allow oil and gas shipments to resume through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle tricky issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.
“Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions,” Trump said, adding that nuclear material would be “unearthed” by the U.S.
Earlier, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had sounded sceptical.
“We do not trust guarantees and words, only actions are the criterion. No action will be taken before the other side acts,” Qalibaf said in a social media post, without elaborating.
“The winner of any agreement is the one who is better prepared for war the day after.”
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, citing sources, said there was a “mixture of truth and falsehood” in Trump’s comments which were an “attempt to portray a fabricated victory.”
After the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian ships, the strait would be reopened under Tehran’s arrangements, Fars said.
There was no provision to destroy nuclear materials in the sides’ Memorandum of Understanding, the agency said, though there was agreement to release $12 billion from Iran’s frozen assets.
THOUSANDS DEAD, GLOBAL ECONOMY SUFFERING
The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices due to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fell and stocks rose on Friday over the potential deal. [MKTS/GLOB]
In his post on Truth Social, Trump said mines would be removed from the strait and ships trapped there may start to go home: “Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!”
He added that no money would be exchanged “until further notice” – a possible reference to Iran’s demands for toll payments in the strait, war damage reparations or a release of Iranian funds frozen abroad.
Kazakhstan has signalled it is willing to take Tehran’s stockpile of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels if the U.S. reaches a deal with Iran, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told the Financial Times.
Kazakhstan hosts an internationally controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies for power stations in International Atomic Energy Agency member states.
In further diplomatic movement, the foreign minister of mediator Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, arrived in Washington on Friday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Iran also wants sanctions lifted, U.S. forces withdrawn from the region, and for any peace deal also to end U.S. ally Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.
Israel has displaced hundreds of thousands of people with a push deep into Lebanon in pursuit of Iran’s main ally, the Hezbollah group.
Israeli strikes have pummelled Lebanon’s south and east plus its capital Beirut, killing more than 3,200 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Israel says 23 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.
Reporting by Reuters’ bureaux; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Sanjeev Miglani
The One Bermuda Alliance has called for the government to end the 75% tariff on sugar-sweetened products that they said is a burden on shoppers
Long awaited figures tied to government receipts for sugar tax are in. Today, Minsiter of Finance Premier David Burt revealed the government collects $6 to 7 million annually from sugar tax on high sugar content products.
The tax, which is a 75% import tariff applied to sugar-enhanced beverages, candy, and cocoa was designed to tackle high rates of obesity and diabetes, introduced back in 2018.
Shadow Finance Minister Dr. Douglas DeCouto today called for it to be scrapped and for health officials to find a system that properly incentivises choice for lower sugar options.
Minister says Government is moving with “purpose” and “speed” on affordable housing projects
Proposed drawings by the Bermuda Housing Corporation
Plans have been submitted for two residential developments at opposite ends of the island.
The projects would bring a total of 48 affordable housing units online, contributing to the more than 200 homes planned under the first phase of Government’s Affordable Housing Programme.
Minister of Housing and Municipalities Zane DeSilva sought to reassure parliamentarians that Government remains committed to delivering affordable housing, despite criticism from what he described as “detached commentators and predictable political critics.”
“Despite the absolute nonsense being spun in the media, you can see that no one is dragging their feet on this side of the House,” he said. “We are moving with purpose, we are moving with speed, and we are moving to deliver for the Bermudian people.”
Speaking in the House of Assembly, Minister DeSilva reminded MPs that the initial phase of the Affordable Housing Programme is expected to deliver 229 residential units across four sites in Sandys, Southampton, St. David’s and St. George’s.
The Minister said traditional construction methods were considered, but precast concrete was ultimately selected because of its cost-effectiveness, durability and faster construction timeline.
He continued: “… despite what the skeptics are claiming in the media, this is no ‘untried experiment’. This method has an established and highly successful local track record. It was the exact methodology which was successfully deployed by the BLMC under its former entity, the West End Development Corporation—or WEDCo—to replace the dilapidated and now-demolished Victoria Row buildings. We know it works, we know it lasts, and because the BLMC has already done it, they are the ideal entity to lead this project.
“In fact, Mr. Speaker, let us not forget that if the OBA had not stepped in and scaled back that exact development following the 2012 election, this country would have had an additional 80 affordable homes available for our people well over a decade ago.”
So far, planning applications have been submitted for developments at both ends of the island.
The proposed Albert Row Village development near Dockyard would include 24 two-bedroom units in a three-storey residential building.
Meanwhile, plans for Tommy Fox Road in St. David’s call for two three-storey residential buildings containing 12 two-bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom units.
The first phase of the Affordable Housing Programme carries an estimated price tag of $114.75 million. Financing has been secured through local banks, backed by a Government guarantee.
Two overseas partners – Coastal Precast Systems of Virginia and Preconco Limited of Barbados – have been selected to support the developments. However, Minister DeSilva stressed that Bermudian contractors and service providers will remain central to the project.
“Subject to planning approvals, contract finalization and site preparation, we anticipate breaking ground in or around August of this year,” said Minister DeSilva. “From the moment construction begins, we are looking at an aggressive, highly efficient timeline of approximately 18 months to get Bermudians into these homes.”
The Minister also highlighted several housing projects already nearing completion.
Five new units at Chelsea Houses in St. David’s are expected to be completed in July, while twelve units at the Battery Phase II development are targeted for completion between August and September.
In addition, sixteen efficiency units at Harmony Terrace North are being repurposed, with completion expected in early 2027.
Commissioner offers reassurance in the wake of three firearms incidents in recent days
In light of three confirmed firearms incidents in a matter of days, I feel the need as Commissioner of Police to reassure the community that your Bermuda Police Service remains steadfast in its efforts to bring those responsible to justice and to prevent these situations from threatening the safety and wellbeing of residents.
To that end, there will be a further stepping up of our already heightened presence in communities across the island. This will likely result in some disruptions due to increased stop and search activity, traffic calming and other initiatives, the specifics of which it would not be prudent to disclose.
While the onus is on the BPS to make Bermuda safer, you, the public also have a responsibility in this. When these incidents occur, there are often witnesses or individuals with knowledge of what has happened. People who are aware of those involved. Yet when appeals are made for assistance, the silence is too often deafening.
That must change if things are to improve and this pattern of violence is to end. We have seen repeatedly that when the BPS is supported by individuals coming forward to provide information on criminal activity, the result is success. Most recently during Bermuda Day celebrations, two suspects were arrested following an assault on Front Street in the City of Hamilton, thanks entirely to members of the public saying what they knew.
I understand there is fear in speaking up. Possible reprisal, although very rare, is real. That’s why we have put measures in place to protect you. We’ve introduced an online reporting portal at bps.portal.bm where information can be provided anonymously. There’s also Crime Stoppers at 800-8477, which allows you to share information anonymously. Crime Stoppers is independent of the Bermuda Police Service and is based outside Bermuda.
What’s also important to address is the “no snitching” culture that keeps people silent. When you refuse to provide information on crimes and criminal activity, you’re not protecting anyone. What you’re doing is leaving your neighbourhood vulnerable. When information stays silent, criminals move freely in your community. When you speak up, you protect the streets where your family lives.
Providing information to the police isn’t snitching. It’s protecting your community and your own safety and wellbeing. It’s doing what’s necessary to make the place you live safer for everyone.
I won’t lose sight of the fact that it is the women and men under my watch who are charged with the responsibility to make Bermuda safer. It’s a responsibility that I can say, hand on heart, we are committed to. And all of Bermuda must do their part. We cannot do this alone.
Together, we can change this. Together, we can make our island home safer.
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