November 15th 1980 BC Conservatives elected Brian Westwood as leader

Given the current BC Conservative leadership race, I thought this short article and a Marjorie Nichols column from the Vancouver Sun of November 17th 1980 were interesting reads.  

In the 1979 election the BC PCs went into the election holding one seat, leader Vic Stephens who had been elected in a by-election March 20th 1978 in Oak Bay.  Vic Stephens did not win in the May 1979 election in the new riding of Oak Bay Gordon Head.

The PCs/Conservatives in BC have tried several comebacks since the disaster in 1952.    In 1963 Davie Fulton was convince to take over the BC PCs.  He managed 11.27% of the vote even with only 44 candidates for 52 seats.  They did not win any.

In 1971 sitting Oak Bay Socred MLA George Scott Wallace crossed to the PCs and he was re-elected as a PC in 1972 and 1975.  In 1972 Hugh Curtis was elected in Saanich as a PC as well, but he crossed the floor to the Socreds in 1974.