Blair Lekstrom leaves the B.C. Liberal caucus and cabinet to save his political hide

Independent MLA Vicki Huntington and anti-HST campaigner Chris Delaney have both praised Blair Lekstrom's "integrity" for quitting the B.C. Liberal cabinet and caucus today (June 11).

Lekstrom claimed that he did this because his constituents aren't happy with the harmonized sales tax.

What a joke.

Lekstrom, the MLA for Peace River South, decided to jump the leaking B.C. Liberal ship only after the anti-HST initiative collected more names than the number of people who voted for him in the 2009 provincial election.

Lekstrom looked at the evidence and must have reached the inescapable conclusion that his political career was toast if he remained loyal to Premier Gordon Campbell.

So he quit, taking a $50,000 pay cut, rather than facing the prospect of being recalled and losing his entire $150,000 government salary.

Lekstrom can actually recover part of his income if he and Huntington persuade two B.C. Liberal MLAs to quit the caucus and join them in forming a third party in the legislature.

That's because any four members can band together and obtain official party status.

Huntington used to be employed in the federal Conservative cabinet office during the Mulroney years. She later worked for MP John Cummins, who has represented Reform, the Canadian Alliance, and the Conservatives during his 17-year career in Parliament.

In other words, Huntington is well-acquainted with party politics, notwithstanding her reputation as a lone gunslinger.

With two more Liberal MLAs on-side, she and Lekstrom could create a reasonably well-financed populist bloc in the legislature.

Under the rules, the new party would get a research budget. The leader (Huntington?) would receive a pay increase of 25 percent above the annual MLA pay of $100,000.

The house leader (Lekstrom?) would receive a 10-percent hike above his MLA income.

The two other MLAs would also receive 10-percent salary boosts if they were named as the new party's whip and caucus chair.

If they called themselves B.C. Conservatives, this would help Delaney achieve his dream of being elected to the B.C. legislature, because that's his current party of choice. And the Conservatives would get a great deal more media coverage leading up to the 2013 election, greatly furthering Delaney's prospects as a candidate.

So the next time you hear Huntington and Delaney praise Lekstrom's integrity, keep in mind that all three of them could be the beneficiaries of Lekstrom's opportunistic decision to say goodbye to Campbell.

Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.