NDP Leader Carole James faces internal party dissent over the expulsion of Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson.Deddeda Stemler For The Globe and Mail
Having won a strong show of support from her party's governing body to lead the B.C. New Democratic Party into the next election, opposition leader Carole James now must mend a sorely divided caucus.
Ms. James declared her party's infighting over on Saturday, after winning 86 per cent support on a leadership vote at a closed-door meeting with the NDP's provincial council.
But a dozen members of her caucus appear to be offside, refusing to don the bright yellow scarves that were handed out to Ms. James' supporters at the meeting. Most of those 12 either avoided reporters or refused to say if they support her as party leader.
Ms. James, who has spent the last six weeks dealing with internal strife, told reporters on Saturday she has the support of a majority of her 34-member caucus and there is no more room for dissent.
"After this kind of vote, I can tell you there was a message sent to everyone - including every member of caucus - 'Get on with the work we have to do'. And I expect members to do that," she said.
"If anything occurs otherwise we'll have that conversation."
While Premier Gordon Campbell has announced plans to step down, with a successor to be selected on Feb. 26, Ms. James managed to stamp out a resolution that called for an NDP leadership contest.
Her loyalists insisted the ugly rift that was tearing the NDP apart is over.
"I fully expect all of my colleagues... regardless of their view on this issue, are going to come together and do what the membership told them we should be doing," said Shane Simpson, the MLA for Vancouver-Hastings. "I believe this issue is resolved now."
John Horgan (Juan de Fuca) echoed the sentiment. "The 'D' in NDP is for democrat. We had a democratic vote, it was overwhelming."
But "Carole's team" - as the party website identifies the caucus - is still deeply divided.
Lana Popham (Saanich South) said she remains troubled by the lack of unity, citing Ms. James' decision to silence Bob Simpson, which led to the resignation of two senior caucus executives.
"These are three reasonable people and not to be able to work that out, for me, is a problem," she told reporters after the vote. "We're still in the middle of it .. . I think we have a lot of work to do."
Michael Sather (Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows) suggested there is still room for dissent in the party.
"We haven't been told to leave. Clearly there is a divide in caucus," he said in an interview. "I don't think I'll comment any further. . . Except to say that I was surprised the leader didn't answer questions."
The weekend meeting of the provincial council is mostly behind closed doors but media were invited to attend Ms. James' speech before the vote. She warned that continued infighting over her leadership would hand the B.C. Liberals yet another term.
"We have to prove to British Columbians that New Democrats can govern," she said.
"And I have to say, in the last few weeks, we've not done a very good job of that. At a time when we should be united, we're fighting amongst ourselves."
The vote conducted after her speech offered little surprise, since Ms. James supporters at the packed meeting were conspicuous with their yellow scarves.
A scarf-less Nicholas Simons (Powell River-Sunshine Coast) refused to say if he supports Ms. James. "I don't want to be talking about that issue right now. A healthy discussion is taking place in there." And Harry Lali (Fraser-Nicola) likewise ducked questions. "You can interpret it any way you want but I have no comment."
Ms. James took over as party leader seven years ago, after the B.C. NDP had been almost eliminated in the 2001 provincial election.
Although she has rebuilt the party with her moderate, centrist platform, she has faced internal grumbling since last year's election, when the party was again shut out by voters.
That internal dissent erupted into the open six weeks ago when Ms. James fired MLA Bob Simpson from caucus for questioning her leadership.
Until Friday, Ms. James played down the rebellion, but that ended when Katrine Conroy, flanked by three other MLAs, called a news conference to announce she is quitting as the party whip, saying she could no longer maintain unity in caucus.