Grassroots politicians : party activists in British Columbia / Donald E. Blake, R.K. Carty, Lynda Erickson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Blake, Donald E., 1944-

Contributor:

Erickson, Lynda.

Carty, R. Kenneth.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political activists--British Columbia.

Political activists.

Political parties--British Columbia.

Political parties.

British Columbia--Politics and government.

British Columbia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 155 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Vancouver : UBC Press, c1991.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Grassroots Politicians is the first systematic account of party activists at the provincial level in Canada. To understand the pattern of political polarization in British Columbia, the authors examine the values and beliefs of those at the party cores -- the people behind the party images who elect leaders, nominate candidates, and work in electoral campaigns. In the New Democratic Party they play a crucial role in determining policy, in the Social Credit they help to shape party direction and governing style by their choice of leader, and, among the Liberals, they form the small band that keeps the party alive in the province. The authors challenge the view that Social Credit is a homogeneously right-wing party and that the New Democrats have clearly opted for the political centre. They record how party profiles have changed over the years -- Social Credit activists becoming better educated, wealthier, and less diverse in terms of ties to national parties, while the NDP is now more middle-class, white collar, and professional. They explore such questions as why individuals stay in a weak party like the B.C. Liberals, how the New Democrats interpret successive Social Credit victories, and to what extent B.C. activists are similar to those in other provinces or in national parties. They offer an analysis of the leadership selection process in each party and a detailed account of the convention that chose Bill Vander Zalm. By examining the attitudes and ideologies of party activists, they are able to pinpoint their locations on the left/right spectrum, identify internal divisions, and assess the problems and opportunities they pose for party leaders and election strategies. As the British Columbia case illustrates, party militants carry distinctive subcultures which have a significant impact on the ongoing dynamics and immediate outcomes in competitive party systems. The study also shows that the partisan involvement of activists in national political parties is one of the major forces that links the otherwise separate provincial and federal political worlds inhabited by British Columbians.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Tables and Figures

Preface

The Polarization of BC Politics

Party Activists in British Columbia

Continuity and Change: Party Activists, 1973-87

Social Credit: Pragmatic Coalition or Ideological Right?

The New Democrats What Kind of Left?

The Liberals: Centre or Fringe?

Leadership Selection in the BC Parties

The Social Credit Grassroots Recapture Their Party

Resisting Polarization: The Survival of the Liberals

Towards the Centre?: The Dynamics of Two-Party Competition

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [147]-150) and index.

ISBN:

1-283-22495-X

9786613224958

0-7748-5321-2

OCLC:

243567201