B.C. Green Party leader Jane Sterk's statement on Carole James's resignation

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      B.C. Green Party leader Jane Sterk released today (December 6) the following statement on Carole James’s resignation as leader of the NDP:

      New leaders won’t fundamentally change the problems that stem from political parties demanding strict loyalty from their members

      The Green Party of BC would like to express our thanks to Carole James for her years of public service. Carole is a victim of the negative side of partisan politics. James and the executive of the BC NDP tried for three months to silence dissent amongst her caucus by demanding absolute loyalty to the leader and the party.

      Once the questions about her leadership were aired in public and 40% of her caucus would not support her continued leadership, it was inconceivable that James could stay in her role even though 84% of the party’s provincial council supported her.

      I would like to think that the dissent is an indication that MLAs want to be able to represent their constituents first and not be bound by party loyalty. I would guess, however, that the rebellion is more about wanting to win rather than about improving democratic processes. Once a new leader is in place, I expect the BC NDP will return to demanding absolute loyalty to the new leader and the real divisions within the BC NDP will be papered over once more.

      It is quite sad that political parties continue to centralize control around a leader and his or her unelected advisors. The caucus of each party has MLAs who were outstanding individuals in their professions. And yet, instead of using this wealth of experience, each party behaves as if the leader knows everything and forces the MLAs are to read scripted statements that reflect the party stance.

      I imagine it is a shock to be asked to run for a party based on the quality of your opinions only to be told your opinions don’t matter once you are elected. It is actually a healthy sign that some MLAs are finally saying that is not good enough.

      There are other ways of doing politics. In Britain, under the same parliamentary system as we have, members of parliament regularly disagree with their leader and the party direction. These are individual members who decide to express their opinion publicly.

      The Green Party of BC believes that the first order of loyalty of our elected officials should be to the electors. We would have free votes in the legislature on all issues, including the budget, so that members would vote their conscience.

      The deterioration of BC politics shows more than ever why we need to get Greens elected to the legislature so we can demonstrate that elected members of political parties can behave better,” concluded Sterk.

      Comments

      7 Comments

      RealityCheck

      Dec 6, 2010 at 9:26pm

      Who cares? The Greens can't elect anyone...

      eastvanman

      Dec 7, 2010 at 1:16am

      Until the BC Greens and BC NDP forge some kind of unholy alliance the Liberals will continue to dominate - we've seen it with Vision in Vancouver - it sucks but there ya go

      No electoral reform = no third party

      gumby

      Dec 7, 2010 at 1:51pm

      This actually makes sense. Let's craft a new dissident party.....the Orange Movement, or something

      Don Scott

      Dec 7, 2010 at 8:20pm

      Best commentary I've seen on this yet.

      Well done Jane. One MLA I've spoken with (not one of the brave dissenters) said you had to park your brain at the door when entering the NDP Caucus.

      Carole's my way of the highway attitude is far too typical of today's major parties and this focus on unity at all costs is destroying parliamentary democracy. Any notion of independence is soon dispatched with by the party brass.

      Kevin Dale McKeown

      Dec 7, 2010 at 9:43pm

      "The Greens can't elect anyone ..." unless enough real liberals, Red Tories such as myself and clear-headed social democrats can get into a quiet room together, drop our respective poses and accompanying rhetoric, and find a third way (and not necessarily a 'middle' way) between, over or around the stale-dated ideologies that keep our society so stupidly polarized.

      If you listen, really listen, to what they are saying, Jane Sterk is the only provincial leader actually putting forward new and interesting ideas.

      And, to answer eastvanmann, it is probably the Red Tories of the Green Party (self included) who ensure that the kind of dealing with the NDP thatyou recommend, won't happen.

      Yes, I have been involved and identified with the Green Party on occasion, but I am not deeply involved these days. Statements such as the one above reaffirm my belief that Ms. Sterk is the most genuinely 'progressive' leader our province has on offer right now. And her team are doing a great job of getting the message out there.

      Why, I think I'll go and renew my membership right now!

      MIKEO

      Dec 8, 2010 at 9:27pm

      The NDP has always asked voters not to vote for the Green Party because it would split the left vote. Hmm now that the NDP seem to be defunct why not vote for the Greens. They have a consistent platform, a leader and many great candidates. They could be great for BC.

      Gary

      Dec 9, 2010 at 2:31pm

      When the Greens issue a statement during this turbulent time in politics and that statement says thank you to Carole James.... the Greens take a nose dive.