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
2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election the National Citizens Coalition (1998-2002) Caucus Endorsements 37, CEO of Magna International (2001-) Caucus Endorsements Points needed to win: 15,401 Each of 308 ridings had 100 points which were distributed by proportional representation according to votes cast by party members in the riding. 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election The 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election took place on March 20, 2004, in Toronto, Ontario, and resulted in the election of Stephen Harper as the first leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada. The Conservative Party was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the