History of the Conservative Party (UK) holding a leadership election to allow him to renew his mandate. In spite of his track record as Conservative party leader, which had included defeat at three out of four general elections, few both inside and out of the party expected him to be seriously challenged, let alone defeated. However, Margaret Thatcher stood against Heath and in a shock result outpolled him on the first ballot, leading him to withdraw from the contest. Thatcher then faced off four other candidates to become the first woman to lead a major British political party. Thatcher had much support from the monetarists, led
Conservative Party of Canada candidates in the 2004 Canadian federal election Kawarthas Tourism. He supported Sylvia Sutherland's 2003 campaign for re-election as mayor of Peterborough. Jackson planned to run for the Canadian Alliance nomination in the buildup to the 2004 election before that party merged with the Progressive Conservatives to create the Conservative Party. He supported the merger and eventually defeated two other candidates to win the Conservative nomination. He expressed some socially conservative views in this period, saying that he was anti-abortion and opposed same-sex marriage. He supported Stephen Harper in the 2004 Conservative leadership contest. He was fifty-six years old at the time of the 2004 election. He received