A lot of the recent drama on the right in BC came from a crazy right populist splinter party, @One_BCHQ. Made up of self styled “real conservatives” with the usual assortment of weird obsessions & conspiracy theories: vaccines, ostrich farms, chem trails, xenophobia, MAGA North, all communicated with the volume nob stuck on 10. Basically the BC counterpart of hard core Alberta separatist activists, or Bernier’s @peoplespca. Tonight they’re at 1.4% of the vote, after two years of being a hugely divisive distraction on the right of BC politics. Yet another reminder to Conservative parties: ignore the crazy fringe of the hard populist right. Don’t let the tail wag the dog. Let them stay in their little fringe parties. Being a principled conservative party does not mean pandering to incoherent, perennially angry populism. Instead, propose bold, thoughtful policy reforms rooted in conservative principles that appeal to the broad mainstream. Just like the @Conservative_BC did in this winning campaign.