Progressive Conservative delegates at London convention vote overwhelmingly to defeat leadership review motion

Let the real games begin.

That was the message from Tory delegates in Southwestern Ontario who were glad to see their party stamp out a a small rebellion based in London against Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak.

"It's not conducive to party unity. Tim is the person who can take us forward," said Brian Wright, a delegate from Chatham-Kent-Essex who has been attending party functions since the days of former prime minister John Diefenbaker, who left office in 1963.

"I think (the rebels) were quite isolated," said Bill Fehr, who in 2007 came up short in a race to become MPP of Elgin-Middlesex-London.

Both delegates have had their share of disappointment: Fehr thinks his candidacy was crushed under the the proposal of then Conservative-leader John Tory to fund religious schools while Wright believes his party was in the driver's seat when it veered off course in the 2011 election that left the Liberals with a minority government.

But it's traditional for party leaders to get two kicks at the can and there's good reason for that, Wright said.

"We don't want every setback to mean a new leader," he said Saturday afternoon after the convention voted overwhelmingly to defeat a motion that would have allowed the party to effectively review the leadership issue every year.

That motion had come about largely from 10 London delegates.

Such an effort won't come again any time soon from the delegates of a single riding -- convention delegates amended their rules so that motions won't be allowed without the support of delegates in at least five ridings.

That new limit make sense, Fehr said.

"It was an awkward thing they did," he said of the London motion. "We don't want to close the door (on dissent) but at least it makes (motions) more representative."

Both Southwestern Ontario delegates hopes the policy convention -- and the quashing of the London motion -- prove to be a turning point.

"I''m hoping we are going to come out with one voice in support of Tim Hudak," Fehr said.

That support should be in place through the next election -- but after that, all bets are off.

"If (Hudak) loses this time, that will be another story," Wright said.

The region centred by London has become the bedrock to Tory ambitions to regain control of the province, with Conservatives holding seven of 10 seats.

jonathan.sher@sunmedia.ca

THREE DAYS IN LONDON

What: PC Party of Ontario policy convention

When: Sept. 20 -22

Where: London Convention Centre

Attendance: Up to 900 delegates

Co-hosts: MPPs Jeff Yurek of Elgin-Middlesex-London and Lisa Thompson of Huron-Bruce

Cost: $329 per delegate/ alternate

Purpose: Further develop policies for next election

?

Sunday, September 22, 2013

0% 0 votes	Yes
0% 0 votes	No

Source: http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2013/09/21/progressive-conservative-delegates-at-london-convention-vote-overwhelmingly-to-defeat-leadership-review-motion

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