Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96

This thesis analyzes the roles of factionalism and ideology as factors in the political defeat of the first female leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. Lynn Verge was elected leader of the party in April 1995 by a narrow margin of three votes and defeated b...

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Main Author: Scott, G. Douglas
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/
https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/1/Scott_DouglasG.pdf
https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/3/Scott_DouglasG.pdf
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spelling ftmemorialuniv:oai:research.library.mun.ca:1104 2023-10-01T03:57:36+02:00 Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96 Scott, G. Douglas 1999 application/pdf https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/ https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/1/Scott_DouglasG.pdf https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/3/Scott_DouglasG.pdf en eng Memorial University of Newfoundland https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/1/Scott_DouglasG.pdf https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/3/Scott_DouglasG.pdf Scott, G. Douglas <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Scott=3AG=2E_Douglas=3A=3A.html> (1999) Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland. thesis_license Thesis NonPeerReviewed 1999 ftmemorialuniv 2023-09-03T06:44:12Z This thesis analyzes the roles of factionalism and ideology as factors in the political defeat of the first female leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. Lynn Verge was elected leader of the party in April 1995 by a narrow margin of three votes and defeated by the electorate of the province on February 22,1996 before resigning as PC leader several days later. -- This thesis argues that Lynn Verge's electoral defeat was preceded by internal factional infighting which denied her the opportunity to develop effective leadership. Historical issues affecting the leadership of the PC Party are examined, including the effects of accommodation and coalition-building on party ideology through both good times and bad — when the PC Party formed government and when they were in opposition. It is argued that the factionalism which split the party was just one of four factors which led to the defeat of the PC Party in the 1996 provincial election. The three contributing and inter-related factors which exacerbated the factionalism included: the opposition status of the PC Party between 1989 and 1996; the introduction of the ideology of feminism to a party already split along right-left conservative views; and the incapacity of Lynn Verge as leader when authority and legitimacy of leadership were denied her by the PC caucus. -- The greatest influence on the PC Party in the period under study was the competing values of the two factions within caucus. These competing values became much more rigid when the influence of Lynn Verge's feminism caused those on the left of the conservative political spectrum to move slightly further to the left, and those on the right ofthe same spectrum to become resistant to attempts by Verge and her followers to change the party. -- The PC Party had been in opposition to the governing Liberals from 1989, and an entrenched opposition syndrome worked against the party's efforts to establish itself as a viable alternative to the Liberals. The thesis argues that ... Thesis Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland: Research Repository Newfoundland
institution Open Polar
collection Memorial University of Newfoundland: Research Repository
op_collection_id ftmemorialuniv
language English
description This thesis analyzes the roles of factionalism and ideology as factors in the political defeat of the first female leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. Lynn Verge was elected leader of the party in April 1995 by a narrow margin of three votes and defeated by the electorate of the province on February 22,1996 before resigning as PC leader several days later. -- This thesis argues that Lynn Verge's electoral defeat was preceded by internal factional infighting which denied her the opportunity to develop effective leadership. Historical issues affecting the leadership of the PC Party are examined, including the effects of accommodation and coalition-building on party ideology through both good times and bad — when the PC Party formed government and when they were in opposition. It is argued that the factionalism which split the party was just one of four factors which led to the defeat of the PC Party in the 1996 provincial election. The three contributing and inter-related factors which exacerbated the factionalism included: the opposition status of the PC Party between 1989 and 1996; the introduction of the ideology of feminism to a party already split along right-left conservative views; and the incapacity of Lynn Verge as leader when authority and legitimacy of leadership were denied her by the PC caucus. -- The greatest influence on the PC Party in the period under study was the competing values of the two factions within caucus. These competing values became much more rigid when the influence of Lynn Verge's feminism caused those on the left of the conservative political spectrum to move slightly further to the left, and those on the right ofthe same spectrum to become resistant to attempts by Verge and her followers to change the party. -- The PC Party had been in opposition to the governing Liberals from 1989, and an entrenched opposition syndrome worked against the party's efforts to establish itself as a viable alternative to the Liberals. The thesis argues that ...
format Thesis
author Scott, G. Douglas
spellingShingle Scott, G. Douglas
Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96
author_facet Scott, G. Douglas
author_sort Scott, G. Douglas
title Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96
title_short Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96
title_full Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96
title_fullStr Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96
title_full_unstemmed Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96
title_sort leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the progressive conservative party of newfoundland and labrador 1995-96
publisher Memorial University of Newfoundland
publishDate 1999
url https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/
https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/1/Scott_DouglasG.pdf
https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/3/Scott_DouglasG.pdf
geographic Newfoundland
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genre Newfoundland
genre_facet Newfoundland
op_relation https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/1/Scott_DouglasG.pdf
https://research.library.mun.ca/1104/3/Scott_DouglasG.pdf
Scott, G. Douglas <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Scott=3AG=2E_Douglas=3A=3A.html> (1999) Leadership and ideology in conflict : an analysis of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995-96. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
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