OBA leader Ben Smith suggests that the bolstering of a candidate’s voter base with former political opponents is a strategy that has impacted both the OBA and PLP leadership elections
Ben Smith has ‘déjà vu’.
The leader of the One Bermuda Alliance suggests that a similar strategy is being used in the PLP leadership election as was used in the OBA’s internal vote last year.
In September 2025, Robert King was elected leader of the OBA. His opponent Ben Smith later said that ‘newcomers’ were in the room, including people who had previously run against the OBA in the February 2025 general election.
Fast forward to today, and the PLP has cited concerns over an influx of new memberships ahead of its party leadership election, with the bulk coming from the Curtis Dickinson campaign. Some of those applicants are said to be former major players in the OBA.
Mr Dickinson just won a legal case against the PLP executive, successfully halting new rules which could have prevented some new members from voting directly in the leadership election at the delayed party conference.
Gary Foster Skelton asked OBA Leader Ben Smith if he knew of OBA members looking to swap their red for green. WATCH the interview above…
