August 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election

[CumbrianLefty]

Is it usual for leadership elections in Canada to take that long? Certain people here are having fits of the vapours merely because Corbyn intends to remain Labour leader until March

[CumbrianLefty]

That is very different to this country generally! Any possible reasons?

[CumbrianLefty]

This is actually an interesting discussion

I'm not mad keen on the recent trend for party leaders in the UK quitting almost instantly after a bad result (though occasionally, as with Jo Swinson, there may be little practical alternative) but it may be possible to overdo the "debate and discussion" thing too. On this at least, Corbyn maybe has it about right?

[CumbrianLefty]

So was our own Alec Douglas Home (very briefly)

[CumbrianLefty]

There is an article in The Hill Times on the possibility of a Fall election, it would be a good moment for the Liberals to win a majority. Pollster Nik Nanos "expects that once the money stops going into the system in the new year, and the government starts to introduce measures to cut programs and services, or to raise taxes, the government’s popularity will plummet."

"the Liberals have a legitimate rationale to call an election in the fall, considering the enormity of the crisis, and they can reasonably argue they need a fresh mandate."

https://www.hilltimes.com/2020/06/01/a-fall-federal-election-is-a-real-possibility-say-pollsters/250478

The Liberals are experiencing a bump in the polls because they've been measured & responsible during the COVID-19 crisis. Calling a fall election wouldn't be measured or responsible amid the virus. Calling such an election so rapidly could (& very likely would) undo a lot of the bump they've received, particularly if several provinces are still trying to get the outbreaks under control. To put it simply, an early election at this point would be widely seen as opportunistic & frankly dangerously reckless too if the virus is still around.

Yes, plus they will be wary in any case after what happened last time.

[CumbrianLefty]

The Conservative party has 269,469 members eligible to vote. That is about 10,000 more than in 2017.

Nice (though they should've limited it 269,420 for the double-nice).

What is the significance of that number?

[CumbrianLefty]

MacKay really is the most incredibly dismal politician isn't he.

He assumed the succession was his by right and fought the most complacent campaign imaginable, I am hearing? Can't think of any other recent examples where that approach has gone wrong, at all

[CumbrianLefty]

Things in politics that are asserted to be "forever" have this strange habit of turning out not to be

[CumbrianLefty]

It wasn't that long ago people were writing the Liberal Party's obituary.

Less than a decade ago, in fact.

[CumbrianLefty]

Unlike the tone-deaf Scheer, O'Toole seems like an astute observer of politics

Most people would compared to him tbf