EDITORIAL – BC United faces loss of Opposition status as popularity drops

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

WHAT’S WRONG with the BC United party?

A new Abacus Data poll shows the party would attract only 17 percent of the votes if an election was held now. The governing NDP would be far ahead with 44 percent, while the Greens would be at just nine.

The upstart BC Conservatives? Twenty-six per cent.

Several factors have likely contributed to BC United’s shocking decline. The fingers can first be pointed to the name change. It was supposed to get rid of public perception that it’s connected to the federal Liberals, and kick-start a fresh new image.

Clearly, it’s back-fired. Voters aren’t buying the party’s “Join Us” campaign in which it attempts to paint itself as innovative and open to new ideas.

The challenge has been to get the public to understand that the party isn’t an unknown bunch of political newbies but one with both  experience and a willingness to change.

For whatever reason, people simply aren’t paying attention to it, so they don’t know anything about it or its leader Kevin Falcon.

Certainly it’s been trying. It’s met with some success holding the Eby government’s feet to the fire on issues such as drugs in parks. And now it’s joined the bandwagon of abandoning the carbon tax.

Yet, the BC Conservatives are ahead by several points. The Conservatives have no business being a political force — they barely even qualify as a party in the Legislature. Their caucus consists of a couple of former BC United MLAs — one who was booted out of the party due to some of the views he held, the other who left voluntarily.

But here they are, in second place in the polls.

This latest poll is consistent with others, so it’s clearly not just a blip. Unless Falcon, Milobar, Stone et al can turn things around, the NDP will easily win re-election next year… and the Conservatives just might become the Official Opposition.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.