Given the state of affairs in BC right now, if I was a betting man, I’d bet on the NDP not just winning the next election, but betting the BC Liberals lose official party status too. The next BC legislature would probably have a landslide NDP government, and the opposition split between BC Conservatives and the Green party…the BC Liberals might hold on to 2-3 seats.
This isn’t because the NDP are popular and loved by the people, they’re not. Its that the BC Liberals are so hated, that BC is set to return to the party they once loathed as much in the late 90’s.
But what can we expect from the NDP and have they learned much from being in opposition for 12 years (by the time the next election is scheduled to happen)?
When the NDP left office, they left under such a dark cloud. They had their own scandals, but it seems that voters tend to accept corruption to a degree these days. The NDP was acting more and more like the conservative BC Liberals that they campaigned against. The NDP was attempting to balance the budget by cutting into social programs, cuts to education and healthcare; and were giving into to the mistaken opinion that major tax cuts pay for themselves by magically creating economic activity that generates new government revenue.
I remember the NDP when they were in power. Scandals aside, they were the first to take a deep knife to social programs in BC. Remember BC Benefits? That was a response to conservative pressure to reign in spending in welfare funding; violated recipients privacy and started a downward spiral in the system that the BC Liberals were only too pleased to carry on with once they got into power.
If I am disgusted with the BC Liberals in power, then I am equally disappointed with the BC NDP as the Official Opposition. Carole James as leader has been weak and ineffective as a leader. I remember the old NDP pit bulls that ripped apart the former (pre-1991) Social Credit Government under then-Premier Bill Vanderzalm. MLA’s like Glen Clark, Moe Sihota, Robin Blencoe, Dan Miller, Andrew Petter – they tore new holes in a hobbling government that likely sped their ultimate demise in the October 1991 election. I see no blood thirst in the current NDP front bench. The only MLA it seems with an ounce of testosterone is probably Adrian Dix. Maybe another term in opposition would hone their skill more, but can anyone stomach another four years of Gordon Campbell?
The big elephant in the room however is the HST. If the NDP took power tomorrow, what will Carole James and the NDP Government do? Will they send official notice to Ottawa that they we no longer wish to participate in the HST, along with a refund cheque of $1.6 billion? Will the NDP negotiate a lower rate of 10%? Right now, everyone is furious at the BC Liberals for lying to BC about the HST. But this is a matter that the NDP will ultimately have to deal with. Will the NDP determine that the HST is good and keep it? If so, why would we vote for them at all?
In the end, the NDP should win this election outright. Its time for change. But we the progressives of BC are less than enthusiastic about the NDP as they have pretended to be conservative before and acted as such. We’ll certainly give them our votes in this election, possibly even some cash and volunteer hours. But if the NDP fails to reconnect with its progressive roots, then we will prepare ourselves to move to a new political movement. One that stands on the principles and ideas that it was founded on.
