Skip to content

B.C. Conservatives get a boost

Randy White says provincial party likely to grow
81122parksvilleRandyWhiteweb
Randy White sees an opportunity in the leadership of Christy Clark.

Christy Clark’s victory in the Liberal leadership race will likely prove a boon to the provincial Conservatives, says party activist Randy White.

The former MP and current Qualicum Beach resident said he is already seeing an impact in swelling membership numbers as the political landscape becomes clearer.

“We have seen a spike in new members,” he said. “It’s mostly people who see her as much more liberal than the other contenders.”

This perception, he said, is just part of a re-ordering of the political realm in British Columbia, he added.

“The [conservative-minded] coalition was breaking down under Campbell anyway, but what we are seeing now in the province is a clearer definition of the three parties,” White said. 

“The Liberals have already moved into the bigger spending, more taxation area that is traditionally the Liberal approach. The Conservatives are stingier on spending and more attuned to balancing the books and the NDP is already talking about spending more again.”

What this means, he said, is voters will start a dramatic shift.

“It’s bringing back people who had no conservative choice to speak about in the last election and it is also bringing out people who felt confused before — who were really Liberals but who were parking their vote with the NDP.”

“That’s good for the province because people can look at the picture and say a Liberal is a Liberal, a Conservative is a Conservative and the NDP is what they are.”

This, White added, will likely also result in a big spike in the voter participation rate.

“There are about half the people out there who didn’t vote before who now know they can feel free to support for whatever they want,” White said. “This is good for the province.”

 news@pqbnews.com