Revisiting some recent poll results by Ipsos Reid

Yesterday I brought up a topic of politics and policies being too much the same, and stated that;

“If car companies died because of … boredom, lack of uniqueness, no originality, poor quality … could the same be in line for politics.”

I concluded by saying;

“They (NDP and Liberals) have become so much the same that indeed, many in BC are now able to say there is a lack of uniqueness and originality.  And given the number of MLA’s who have been forced to toe party line, regardless of constituent or personally opinion, there is also an ever increasing thought we are also suffering from ‘poor quality’.”

“My hope is that they will take a stand against boredom … lack of uniqueness … no originality … and poor quality. If the BC Conservative Party continues to bring forward the best common sense of British Columbians, then the BC Liberals and the BC NDP will be relegated to the trash heap of history where old and out-dated ideas eventually end up.”

So that was yesterday in a nutshell.  Today I decided to revisit some recent poll results that were done by Ipsos Reid two months ago.   

A lot was made back then of the fact that the BC Conservative Party was making great strides with increased popularity.  I think however there are several things that are of far greater importance … and if what I wrote yesterday is of any value, a lot of information from that poll needs to remain foremost in the mind of John Cummins.

Here again, were some of the findings of that poll:

The top five things on the minds of voters were Health Care, the Economy, Taxes / HST, the Environment, and Education.  Those five were closely followed by the Deficit / Budget, Social Issues, Ethics / Accountability, and Crime / Justice.  Having reviewed and looked over the most recent draft of BC Conservative Policy I am not surprised to see members had a lot of input and ideas here as well.

When asked about the approval / disapproval rating of the government, the results were quite surprising given that Christy Clark had just recently been elected and should have been provided the Liberals with a bump to the positive side.  Instead however those who Disapproved Somewhat (21%) and those who Disapproved Strongly (36%) added up to a whopping 61% -- not a good sign!

When the question of the Issues was raised, only one thing, the Economy, was thought to be handled well by the BC Liberal government; but only by the slightest of margins (51%).  On other Issues the disapproval rating went from 53% for their handling of Crime and Justice – and their handling of the Environment --- to a dismal and very poor 70% disapproval of the governments Ethics and Accountability.

In between was a 59% disapproval rating for education … 64% disapproval for the handling of Taxes … a 65% disapproval rating for the handling of Health Care … and surprisingly for a so-called free-enterprise party, a similarly disappointing 65% disapproval of how the government was spending taxpayer money.

Another interesting fact from the poll was that a full 24% would actually consider changing their vote to support the BC Conservative Party.  Add that to the 10% support the BC Conservative had in this poll and you end up with 34% --- and a poll by Mustell at the same time had the party polling at 18%.

And the final thoughts from that recent poll by Ipsos Reid are, and I quote:

1. Their overall approval number is low and they get poor marks on most issues 
2. Their “Ethics and Accountability” rating shows they have not regained public trust 
3. Their low rating for “spending taxpayer money wisely” means they have lost the advantage on an issue they can usually use to differentiate themselves from the NDP

I believe the issue and results of that poll make the following all the clearer for John Cummins and the BC Conservative Party:

• People can and will be looking for a common sense alternative to the BC Liberal Party
• People do indeed want to have ethics and accountability from their elected officials
• Just saying you are the free-enterprise party, and that you will be responsible with taxpayer money, doesn’t cut it.  People do want to see actions to back that up

Right now there are hundreds and hundreds of people across the province who are working and building the foundation of a party that can and will be what they are looking for.

That will result in good policy ideas … it will result in a strong leadership / campaign team … it will result in people from all fields and walks of life wanting to be a part of, and contribute to, that change … and it will result in a strong team of BC Conservative candidates for the next provincial general election.

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops … and those are the thoughts of one conservative.