Carole James betrayed the confidentiality she was supposed to uphold when members of her caucus gave her advice she didn't like. That sealed her fate.

Corky Evan's 'open letter' covers that issue admirably.

Jenny Kwan's own letter, the 'bombshell' that precipitated the special Sunday caucus meeting that wasn't, spelled out clearly the reasons for the need for a review of James' leadership.

The Bob Simpson dismissal for what should have been taken as 'constructive criticism' of her leadership, something that could have won Ms. James great support from the public at large if she had handled the issue properly and demonstrated that, unlike Gordon Campbell, she was a leader who "listened", also illustrated a developing problem.

Surely it must be clear that no one can 'lead' when so many others, stalwarts of the NDP, too ~ normally a Party of 'solidarity' if ever there was one ~ are no longer prepared to follow.

Ms. James could have called their bluff, put her right to continue to lead on the line, and submitted to a leadership review when pressed to do so.

If she had the support of the majority of NDPers she claimed, 84%, what would she have to worry about?

Even yet, if Carole James is indeed the best person to continue to lead the NDP, what would prevent her from entering the upcoming leadership race on a level playing field with any other aspirants to her former job? If she is, on reflection, the best person for the job, the NDP members will demonstrate that with their votes.

In my own opinion, the best hope the NDP has of forming government would be to demonstrate that they do, indeed, have different 'Policies' than the BC Liberals, and illustrate clearly that those 'Policies' can benefit ALL British Columbians.

To approach an upcoming election, even if it still is over two years away, with promises only to change the 'Methods' of implementing exactly the SAME failed 'Policies' offered by the BC Liberals, is no change at all.

I am not an NDP supporter, nor a BC Liberal, nor a member of any other political Party, and I really don't care who is elected government if ALL who are running are addicted to exactly the same prescription that's ruining this province.

That's what we'd have with Carole James's NDP, and I may be wrong, but I don't believe that's what MOST of us want. The NDP's best bet is to find someone who understands that, and of all the names mentioned as potential successors to Carole James, so far only one stands out clearly that he does ~ Corky Evans.

James did in fact,knuckle under to a minority.
Why?
If she really had the amount of support she claimed,why did she give up without putting her leadership to a ballot?
She did it because she knew that if she faced a leadership convention, she would lose.
The 13 who stood up and spoke out are very likely not the only ones who would have voted to turf James.
The others may not have had the guts to come out of the closet,but given a secret ballot,it likely would have been a lot more than 13.
Granted..the timing of Carole's James dethroning may not have been the best,but it was still something that needed to be done.
The NDP knew their was disention in the ranks a long time ago in regards to James's leadership,and trying to go to an election with a 2 time loser at the helm,would have been a fatal mistake.
If a new,stronger leader is found quickly,they will still have a shot,and that's the best they could hope for.
The general voter distate for Liberals will ensure that,and all the Christy Clarks in the world isn't going to change it.

You hit the nail on the head, socredible.

It is easy to lead when one has a flock of sheep.

I don't follow BC politics enough to know how good Corky Evans might be. Never heard him speak. I have seen and heard Bob Simpson in action on several occasions. I think he is very good in a debate. He can think on his feet and can speak to the issues. However, seems that he is not interested in leading the party. Not even interested in the party ..... well, maybe if someone will twist his arm. Who knows.

Again, where is the succession planning in both of the parties? Too much emphasis on leaders, in my opinion. And certainly way too much self-importance by the leaders.

Key attributes of a good leader, in my opinion? Lead the entity. Do not become the entity. Develop several people along the way who are ready to take over when the time comes. Step down, when the comes. Learn to recognize the signs when the time comes.

We have two great examples at the moment of two people who are in love with themselves rather than the party they stand for. THAT is NOT good leadership, in my opinion.

Corlky Evans? He doesn't want it. Move on already and look at people who are interested.

Socredible touched on something that is very important.
The Liberals are trying to entice the voters back with the same old,same old.
These are the very same people that B.C. voters are completely disgusted with.
They are also the same people who will try to keep Christy Clark out.
She has a rough ride ahead of her, and not just from the voters.
She is not a shoo-in,because this is not a election,it is a leadership race.
The liberals are attempting to make it sound and feel like an election.
She is not going to the people,she is facing the Liberal big guns who reside in the shadows.
What many will find attractive about the NDP in an election,is the fact that they are not trying to go with the same old,same old.
Me thinks the next provincial election will be more about new blood and a move away from restrictive and nasty Liberal policies.
Considering the Liberals are trying to run the old guard tells us that they may very well be underestimating the anger out here.

In the world of politics it is not just the level of support that is important, it is also the perception of how well the leader can resolve a problem. Obviously, Carole James thought that the intransigence of her opponents made it likely that this public disruption of the NDP would continue and even grow. Her resignation has made that unlikely now and the party will have an opportunity to coalesce once again. As I have repeatedly said on Opinion 250, I give full credit to Carole for her hard work in re-invigorating the NDP after the 2001 defeat, in which I was a candidate, and I would have preferred she remain as leader until the leadership review required by the NDP constitution, and perhaps thereafet if the members wished.

That, for me, is the main point. Carole was supported by a large majority of properly elected representatives of all constituency associations to Provincial Council, the governing body of the BC NDP. Most voted to refuse an immediate leadership review by a large margin. Those who refused to accept this democratic decision by elected representatives have put themselves above the party. It is not a matter of shutting up and not rocking the boat, it is about accepting the democratic decisions of the controlling body. Jenny Kwan, in particular, has shown she does not accept democracy and has lost all credit with me that she earned opposing the Liberals after 2001. The others expressed an opinion about Carole, but did not push after the decision by Provincial Council. There support for Jenny after her letter was released was, I believe, improper. Democracy is not optional, either individuals support democratic decision making or they do not.

I haven't made up my mind about Corky Evans. I was never much in favour of him as leader. He is certainly popular in a populist, down to earth way but that does not necessarily make him suitable as leader. Leadership skills and charismatic popularity do not necessarily go together, although they may. In him I do not believe they coalesce.

Who should be leader? None of the 13, for sure. How can anyone who rejects democratic decision making be the leader of a democratically run political party? To my mind they cannot. Once the various candidates have declared themselves it will bne time to decide.

Will the NDP win the next election, whether it is held next year or in 2013? I don't know, but the Liberal Party is in much the same boat. There is still distaste for those who supported Campbell and pretty well all those running as leader have been avid supporters of his and his policies, including the HST, BC Rail, education and health care. I do not think that the current situation means the NDP will automatically lose an election whenever held. They are now seen as a viable alternative to the Liberals to form government, having come within 2% of the popular vote needed to win an election during the last election.

Can the Liberals recover? Can the NDP recover? Good questions, and at the moment I don't know. I suspect it may depend largely on whom each party chooses to Lead them.

"thereafet" is "thereafter"

ammonra>>democratic means one member one vote....those 84% that everyone talked about didn't collect votes from the members of the NDP...I personally know a lot of NDPers who wanted to see Carole gone.

Actuaslly, Jim13135, it does not. Otherwise our representative democracy would be a lie and each and every MP and MLA would be perpetrating undemocratic decision making. In the NDP constituency associations the representative to Provincial Council is democratically elected from among anyone who cares to put their name forward. The majority vote wins the position and represents the constituency association on Provincial Council. We all may want one person one vote, and that is the current method for electing a leader, but the ignored decision of Provincial Council was nonetheless an ignored democratic decision. To say otherwise is to require a full member vote for each and every suggestion put forward, from changing the constitution to deciding whether to buy doughnuts with coffee.

The change of leadership in NDP was the result of their failure to win the past election despite winning more than 40% of the vote, which would have brought them into power.

NDP's mistake was in not forming a coalition with the Greens and encourage tactical voting in the election, the way Labour under Blair did with help of Ashcroft to win again against conservatives in the UK. James's later strategy in moving to center failed and backfired in response to the reality which is the merger of Liberals and Conservatives at provincial level.

James' shift in strategy was slow and the NDP's strategy to unthrone her suffered from the same slowness, lack of vision and very tactless. If they wanted a new leader, they should have done it in a more respctfull manner and right after the last election and not after Campbell announced his resignation. NDP's move shifted the spotlight from the Liberal's internal fight for power to NDP's internal fight for power.

There is certainly a gender factor involved in all this and the ugly catfight in NDP has damaged the party's prospect, especially among women. The joke will be on NDP if the Liberals elect a female leader and with that strategy win an early election against NDP lead by an intermediate male leader.

NDP is in trouble.

Well Ben Miesner...Your story is lame..Gordon Campbell was given his hail Mary pass, ...The televised speech and 15% income tax cut...

When that failed Gordon Campbell was told to leave...If Campbell didn`t leave he would have been thrown out!..

Gordon got the message, Carol James did not!

There is no unity in the Liberal caucus..Bill Bennett, Leckstrom, Barnett.

The ndp rift story is dead...As is your BC Liberal spin.

Time to retire Ben.

We see right through you!

I can’t retire, even though I would like to, because then people such as yourself, who only can use “attack” as their best solution would take over.

Amen Ben:) how true

No Ben, we won't let you retire. No where else can we find sound reasoning and good judgement in an Interior media outlet.
Having boosted your ego, my opinion is
Carol James shot herself in the foot doing nothing. Perhaps Moe can bandage that up and go in to retirement with her.

I for one hope Ben hangs around for a while.

This site at one time was a rallying point that could have been called conservatives north - but now has some of the most reasoned and passionate debate from both sides of the table that exists in B.C. The Tyee is a little too left wing, and the righty's stay home. All types post here, including some, well, lets say 'challenged' folks as well,- as they should. Everyone has a right to an opinion - as evidenced by the moniker. It has a role beyond that of selling advertising (bit on the heavy side there). Ben - retire? Not while there's still air in his lungs.

Carole James, well, she was a great backup quarterback, but polls consistently showed that while she should have been shellacking the liberals, she wasn't. And really, how much more ammunition could you give the opposition?

The same applies to the federal liberals unfortunately.

News flash Ben...We already have taken over!

The spin cycle is finished.

The hurtland has awoken.

And no amount of Cants being shipped to China for nickles will change that.

Good Day

Ammonra, from what you're telling us of how the NDP's Provincial Council works, it sounds to me that those elected to it operate more in the role of 'delegates' than that of 'representatives'?

Would that be a fair characterisation?

I know that there's a fine line between the two sometimes, but it seems to me that a 'delegate' has considerable more latitude than that of a 'representative'. Who we'd normally expect to be in closer consultation with those who elected him, and is primarily the conduit for THEIR positions rather than HIS OWN.

Maybe, if that's so, that's part of the problem? While most of those on that Council might like to stick with Carole James, the rank and file of your membership realised change was necessary for electoral success?

I certainly don't agree with everything Corky Evans says, and all the positions he's taken on various issues. Though there are many more on which I do. And yes, he is a populist, as was our longest serving and best Premier. As well as some considered our worst.

He does have a somewhat unique ability for an NDPer. He commands both the attention and the respect of many people who ordinarily would dismiss anything coming from the NDP as the same old socialist claptrap.

His answer to one detractor in a previous leadership contest who said it wouldn't be dignified to have a NDP leader whose first name was 'Corky' ~ "..people would think we were nuts electing someone called that" ~ was a classic come-back. He said that the name on his birth certificate, "...was 'Conrad St. George Evans'. And if they still couldn't abide 'Conrad', then they'd have 'St. George' to deal with!"

People listen to him, because he makes sense to them. Dan Miller had a similar ability, and in my opinion, was the best of your Party's five past Premiers. It's too bad he didn't want the job, perhaps if he had, the results in 2001 might have been much different, and we might have been spared from Gordon Campbell.

I don't know whether Corky Evans would even still want the job, even if he was encouraged by many to run again for it. As I'm sure he has been, both by NDP members, and many others outside your Party. He would certainly be the most formidable opponent the Liberals could face, and I've no doubt he'd have them on the defensive for their past record. He could draw a lot of support from people who would only otherwise begrudgingly support the NDP to oust the Liberals, and retention of that support afterwards would be of great assistance in governing if your Party was elected.

Breaking news...Christy Clark up to her eyeballs in BC Rail...Her leadership ambitions have now ended!



http://www.theprovince.com/news/Dave+Basi+took+lobbyist+bribes+years+court+documents+state/3971905/story.html#comments

Socredible, Yes, they are delegates. Personally, I see little difference between the two terms. By virtue of being the Provincial Council delegate they are on the constituency association Board of Directors, so would be well aware of local attitudes.