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The New Zealand Social Credit Party (sometimes called "Socred") is a political party which served as the country's third party from the 1950s through into the 1980s. The party held a number of seats in the
New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...
, although never more than two at a time. It renamed itself the New Zealand Democratic Party from 1985 to 2018, and was for a time part of the Alliance from 1991 to 2002. It returned to the Social Credit name in 2018. The party is based on the ideas of social credit, an economic theory established by Major
C. H. Douglas Major Clifford Hugh "C. H." Douglas, MIMechE, MIEE (20 January 1879 – 29 September 1952), was a British engineer and pioneer of the social credit economic reform movement. Education and engineering career C.H. Douglas was born in either Edge ...
. Social Credit movements also existed in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
(''see:'' Douglas Credit Party &
Australian League of Rights The Australian League of Rights is a far-right and antisemitic political organisation in Australia. It was founded in Adelaide, South Australia, by Eric Butler in 1946, and organised nationally in 1960. It inspired groups like the Canadian Leag ...
), Canada (''see:'' Social Credit Party of Canada), and the United Kingdom (''see:'' UK Social Credit Party) although the relationship between those movements and the New Zealand movement was not always amicable.


History


The Social Credit Association

The Social Credit Political League was formed in 1953 out of the membership of the Social Credit Association, an educational organisation. The association focused much of its efforts on the Country Party and
New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...
, where it attempted to influence economic policy. The Social Credit Movement decided to set up a "separate political organisation" the
Real Democracy Movement The Real Democracy Movement of New Zealand was a short-lived political movement in New Zealand founded in 1942. The Social Credit Movement decided to set up a "separate political organisation" the “Real Democracy Movement” at their annual confe ...
in 1942. RDM got about 4,400 votes in the .
Roly Marks Rowland Oswald Colin Marks (4 February 1893 – 12 November 1977) was born in Auckland, New Zealand and was a pioneer of the social credit movement in New Zealand. He served in World War I as a sergeant and later second lieutenant in the New ...
had stood as a monetary reform candidate on behalf of the Real Democracy Movement in the Wanganui electorate in 1943, and was later made a life member of the League. Maurice Hayes stood for the electorate on behalf of the ''Social Credit Association'' in the , receiving 374 votes and coming third. Social Credit claimed that the
first Labour government The first MacDonald ministry of the United Kingdom lasted from January to November 1924. The Labour Party, under Ramsay MacDonald, had failed to win the general election of December 1923, with 191 seats, although the combined Opposition tall ...
, which was elected at the 1935 election, pulled New Zealand out of the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
by adopting certain Social Credit policies. Several followers of Social Credit policies eventually left the Labour Party, where their proposals (for example, those of
John A. Lee John Alfred Alexander Lee (31 October 1891 – 13 June 1982) was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialism in New Zealand, socialists in New Zealand's political history. Lee was elected as a me ...
for housing) were strongly opposed by the "orthodox" Minister of Finance, Walter Nash and other prominent Labour Party members. In 1940 Lee, who had by then been expelled from the Labour Party, and Bill Barnard formed the Democratic Labour Party. The new party got 4.3% of the vote in the 1943 general election, with both Lee and Barnard losing their seats.


Foundation

The Social Credit Party was established as the Social Credit Political League. It was founded on 10 January 1953, and grew out of the earlier Social Credit Association. The party's first leader was
Wilfrid Owen Wilfrid Barry Owen (15 June 1898 – 9 August 1984) was a New Zealand politician and the first leader (1953–1958) of New Zealand's Social Credit Party. Biography Early life He was born in Wellington, and educated at Christchurch Boys' High ...
, a businessman. Much of the early activity in the party involved formulating policy and promoting Social Credit theories to the public.


Early history (1953–1972)

Social Credit gained support quickly, and in the 1954 elections, the party won 11.13% of the vote. The party failed to win seats in parliament under the
first past the post electoral system In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
. The party's quick rise did, however, prompt discussion of the party's policies. National saw Social Credit as a threat in the 1957 election and established a caucus committee to challenge their theories. Gustafson comments that the successes in some seats (Hobson, Rangitikei, East Coast Bays and Pakuranga) came from a "peculiar and infrequent combination of factors", with votes in those seats coming from "a handful of committed monetary reformers plus alienated National voters and the tactical voting of Labour supporters in a seat where Labour could not win". In 1960
P. H. Matthews Pressly Hemingway Matthews (21 February 190325 September 1967) was a New Zealand politician and the second leader (1960–1962) of New Zealand's Social Credit Party. Biography He became leader in 1960 for the 1960 general election but the cam ...
replaced Owen as leader. It was not until the 1966 election, however, that the party won its first representation in parliament. Vernon Cracknell, an accountant, won the Hobson electorate in Northland, a region that had been a stronghold of the Country Party. Cracknell narrowly defeated the National Party's
Logan Sloane Logan Francis Sloane (8 August 1918 – 8 January 1980) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Sloane was born in Omana, near Dargaville in 1918. He was the son of J. H. Sloane. He received his education at Dargavi ...
, the incumbent, after having placed second in the previous two elections. Cracknell did not prove to be a good performer in parliament itself, however, and did not succeed in advancing the Social Credit manifesto. Partly due to this, and partly due to an exceptionally poor campaign, Cracknell was not re-elected in the 1969 election, returning Sloane to parliament and depriving Social Credit of its only seat. The following year, a leadership contest between Cracknell and another prominent Social Credit member, John O'Brien, ended in disaster, with brawling between supporters of each candidate. The damage done to the party's image was considerable. O'Brien was eventually victorious, but his blunt and confrontational style caused him to lose his position after only a short time in office. He split from Social Credit to found his own
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
.


Popularity zenith (1972–1985)

O'Brien's replacement was Bruce Beetham, who would become the most well known Social Credit leader. Beetham took over in time for the 1972 election. Despite a relatively strong showing, Social Credit failed to win any seats, a fact that some blamed on the rise of the new
Values Party The Values Party was a New Zealand political party. It is considered the world's first national-level environmentalist party, pre-dating the use of "Green" as a political label. It was established in May 1972 at Victoria University of Wellingto ...
. While the Values Party did not win any seats, many supporters of Social Credit believed that it drew voters away from the older party. In the 1978 by-election in Rangitikei, caused by the death of National Party MP
Roy Jack Sir Roy Emile Jack (12 January 1914 – 24 December 1977) was a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand National Party, National Party. He was a Cabinet of New Zealand, cabinet minister and Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives ...
, Beetham managed to defeat National's replacement candidate and win the seat. Beetham was more successful in parliament than Cracknell had been, and gained Social Credit considerable attention. He also put forward a New Zealand Credit and Currency Bill, intended to implement many Social Credit policies. The Bill was criticised by some of the more extreme Social Credit supporters, who claimed that it was too weak, but was nevertheless strongly promoted in parliament by Beetham. The Bill quickly failed, although this was not particularly unexpected – it had been put forward primarily for the purpose of drawing attention, not because Beetham believed it would succeed. Beetham retained his seat in the 1978 general election. He was later joined by
Gary Knapp Gary Thomas Knapp (born 1947) is a former New Zealand politician of the Social Credit Party (New Zealand), Social Credit Party. Political career He became Member of Parliament for in 1980 when he defeated National candidate Don Brash in ...
, who defeated free-market National Party candidate Don Brash in the 1980 by-election in East Coast Bays (caused by the resignation of the sitting National MP). Knapp, like Beetham, was highly active in parliament. Led by Beetham and Knapp, Social Credit became a popular alternative to the two major parties. Political scientists debate how much of this was due to Social Credit policies and how much was merely a "protest vote" against the established parties, but one poll recorded Social Credit with as much as 30% of the vote. By the 1981 election, the party's support had subsided somewhat, and Social Credit gained 20.55% of the vote. As expected, the electoral system did not translate this into seats in parliament, but Social Credit did retain the two seats it already held. A year later, it officially dropped "Political League" from its official name, becoming merely the Social Credit Party. During that parliamentary term, Social Credit's support was damaged by a deal between Beetham and National Party Prime Minister
Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...
. In exchange for Social Credit support for the
Clyde Dam The Clyde Dam, New Zealand's third-largest hydroelectric dam, is built on the Clutha River / Mata-Au near the town of Clyde. It is owned and operated by Contact Energy. History There was considerable controversy when the dam was planned because i ...
, a controversial construction project and part of '' Think Big'', Muldoon undertook to back certain Social Credit proposals. This did considerable harm to Social Credit's popularity, as Muldoon's government (and the project itself) were opposed by most Social Credit members. To make matters worse, Muldoon did not deliver on many of his pledges, depriving Social Credit of any significant victories with which to mitigate its earlier setback. In 1983, Beetham suffered a minor heart attack, causing him to lose some of his earlier energy. He also became, according to many Social Credit supporters, more demanding and intolerant. This reduced Social Credit's appeal to voters. In the 1984 election, Beetham lost his Rangitikei seat to a National Party challenger, Denis Marshall. Knapp retained his
East Coast Bays East Coast Bays is a string of small suburbs that form the northernmost part of the North Shore, part of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. The suburbs line the north-east coast of the city along the shore of the Haurak ...
seat, and another Social Credit candidate,
Neil Morrison Neil Joseph Morrison (11 January 1938 – 19 September 2007) was a New Zealand politician of the Social Credit Party. Political career He won the seat in the by 172 votes, from two-term MP Pat Hunt (his election night majority was 419) ...
, won Pakuranga. Despite still holding the same number of seats, Social Credit won 7.6% of the total vote in 1984, a substantial drop. Some commentators attributed this to the
New Zealand Party The New Zealand Party operated as a political party in New Zealand from 1983 to 1993. Established by millionaire property tycoon Bob Jones (businessman), Bob Jones, the party promoted economic liberalisation—it was the first political party to ...
, an economically right-wing liberal party that opposed Muldoon's government. The New Zealand Party may have taken some of the protest votes that Social Credit once received. It was from this election that the term "
Crimplene Crimplene is a texturised continuous fibre launched in 1959, produced by modifying Terylene. The patent was taken out by Mario Nava of Chesline and Crepes Ltd of Macclesfield, and sold to ICI Fibres. ICI licensed the product to various throwsters ...
Suit and Skoda Brigade" was coined for Social Credit (by defeated National Party Pakuranga MP
Pat Hunt Thomas de Vere Hunt (19 January 1931 – 24 July 2023), generally known as Pat Hunt, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Thomas de Vere Hunt was born in Auckland on 19 January 1931. He gained his education at Mount Al ...
).


Democrats (1985–1991)

At the party's 1985 conference, the Social Credit name was dropped, and group became the New Zealand Democratic Party (Beetham had earlier argued for a simpler name in 1982). At the 1987 election, the party held two seats in parliament (one was East Coast Bays, held by
Garry Knapp Gary Thomas Knapp (born 1947) is a former New Zealand politician of the Social Credit Party (New Zealand), Social Credit Party. Political career He became Member of Parliament for in 1980 when he defeated National candidate Don Brash in ...
; and the other was Pakuranga, held by
Neil Morrison Neil Joseph Morrison (11 January 1938 – 19 September 2007) was a New Zealand politician of the Social Credit Party. Political career He won the seat in the by 172 votes, from two-term MP Pat Hunt (his election night majority was 419) ...
). The Democratic Party lost both those seats, removing them from parliament. In 1988, Knapp and a group of other Democrats were involved in a protest at parliament to highlight the
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
government's abandonment on its election promise to hold a referendum on the first-past-the-post electoral system. The Social Credit name did not vanish immediately, however. In 1986, the year after the party was renamed, Bruce Beetham was removed from the leadership of the Democrats and replaced by Neil Morrison. The Democrats saw their vote slump in 1987 and both its MPs were defeated. By 1990 the party's vote collapsed altogether by which time they had been eclipsed by other third party choices such as the
Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...
and NewLabour. It is believed that changing the name of the party was a historic mistake and a major cause in the subsequent decline of support. Beetham was extremely bitter about the Democrats' change of direction, and led a short-lived splinter group called
Social Credit-NZ The Social Credit-NZ party was a political party in New Zealand which split from the New Zealand Democratic Party in 1988. History In 1986 the Social Credit Party changed its name to the Democratic Party. Many activists in the party were unea ...
, using the Social Credit label. It failed to win any seats in 1990 and quickly vanished.


Alliance years (1991–2002)

The Democrats, finding themselves increasingly pressured by the growth of NewLabour (founded by rebel Labour Party MP Jim Anderton) and the
Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...
, decided to increase cooperation with compatible parties. This resulted in the Democrats joining NewLabour, the Greens and
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
-based party
Mana Motuhake Mana Māori Motuhake was a Māori people, Māori political party in New Zealand from 1980 to 2005. The name is difficult to translate accurately, but essentially refers to Māori self-rule and self-determination — , in this context, can ...
in forming the Alliance, a broad left-wing coalition group. In the 1996 election, which was conducted under the new
mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...
electoral system, the Alliance won thirteen seats. Among the MPs elected were John Wright and
Grant Gillon Grant Gillon is a former New Zealand politician. He was a member of parliament between 1996 and 2002, representing the Alliance Party, has held a number of seats in local government. He previously served on the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board ...
, both members of the Democratic Party. However, there was considerable dissatisfaction in the Democratic Party over the Alliance's course. Many Democrats believed that their views were not being incorporated into Alliance party policy, particularly as regards the core economic doctrine of social credit. The Alliance tended towards orthodox taxation based left-wing economics and was not prepared to implement the Democratic Party's somewhat unusual economic theories. By the 1999 election, the Democrats were one of two remaining component parties in the Alliance as the Greens had left the grouping and the Liberals and NewLabour components dissolved, their members becoming members of the Alliance as a whole rather than of any specific constituent party.


Progressive Coalition and independent again (2002–present)

In 2002, when tensions between the "moderate left" and the "hard left" caused a split in the Alliance, the Democrats followed Jim Anderton's moderate faction and became a part of the Progressive Coalition. In the 2002 election, Grant Gillon and John Wright were placed third and fourth on the party's list. However, the Progressives won only enough votes for two seats, thus leaving the two Democrats outside parliament. Shortly after the election, the Democrats split from the Progressives, re-establishing themselves as an independent party. However, Gillon and Wright, both of whom opposed the split, chose not to follow the Democrats, instead remaining with the Progressives. The Progressive Coalition became the Progressive Party after the Democrats left. The Democrats chose
Stephnie de Ruyter Stephnie de Ruyter is a former leader of the New Zealand Democratic Party, a small centre-left New Zealand political party based upon Social Credit economics. The Democrats, who, in June 2018, returned to campaigning under the name Social Credit ...
, who had been fifth on the Progressive list, as their new leader. In 2005, the party re-added "for Social Credit" to its name to supplement its party name. The Democrats contested that year's
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
as an independent party and received 0.05% of the party vote. In the 2008 general election, the party again won 0.05% of the party vote. The party did not apply for broadcasting funding for the 2011 election. During the election, it won 1,432 votes and was the only party to not attract a party vote in an electorate (Mangere). The party fielded thirty electorate candidates and four list only candidates in the 2014 general election but continued to fail to gain any seats in the
51st New Zealand Parliament The 51st New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2014 general election. This Parliament consists of 121 members (120 seats plus one overhang seat) and was in place from September 2014 until August 2017, followed by the 2017 New Zealand genera ...
. During the
2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November  ...
, the Democrats for Social Credit ran 26 candidates, namely 13 electorate candidates and 13 list only candidates. The party gained 806 votes on the party vote (0.0%) and failed to win any seats in Parliament. In June 2018, the party voted to change its name back to Social Credit after
Chris Leitch Chris Leitch (born April 1, 1979 in Pickerington, Ohio) is a retired American soccer player who is currently the general manager and a former head coach for the San Jose Earthquakes. Career College Leitch played college soccer at the Univer ...
was elected leader. During the
2020 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...
, Social Credit won no seats, obtaining 1,520 votes (0.05%)- Official results. In 2021 the party opposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates.


Accusations of antisemitism (1934–1984)

During the 20th century, the Social Credit movement in New Zealand was accused of indulging in
antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
conspiracy theories. Major C. H. Douglas, the founder of the Social Credit movement, toured New Zealand in 1934 and expounded his view that Jews were involved in a global conspiracy to control finance. His ideas were discussed in the New Zealand Social Credit publication ''Plain Talk''. Social Credit, along with the Department of Internal Affairs, published ''From Europe to New Zealand: An Account of Our Continental European Settlers'' by
Eric Butler Eric Dudley Butler (7 May 1916 – 7 June 2006) was an Australian political activist and journalist, who in 1946 founded the far-right Australian League of Rights, which he led until 1992. He was known as a staunch anti-communist and virulent ...
and R.A Lochore, which repeated Jewish financial conspiracy claims. In the
1980 East Coast Bays by-election The East Coast Bays by-election of 1980 was a by-election during the 39th New Zealand Parliament in the East Coast Bays (New Zealand electorate), East Coast Bays electorate. It resulted in an upset for the New Zealand National Party, National Par ...
, the Labour Party attempted to discredit Social Credit with a pamphlet that set out Major Douglas’s antisemitic views. The encyclopedia
Te Ara ''Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand'' is an online encyclopedia established in 2001 by the New Zealand Government's Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The web-based content was developed in stages over the next several years; the first s ...
states that the antisemitism of Social Credit ended in the 1970s with the election of leader Bruce Beetham who was more liberal. Professor Paul Spooney stated that antisemitic sentiment was "largely irrelevant" by the 1970s, but remained present until 1984 when Beetham ejected party members who believed in an international financial Jewish conspiracy. Social Credit continues to receive accusation of conspiracy theory and anti-semitism in spite of Major C. H. Douglas making distinctions between the ethnic-individual "Jew", who he specifically remarked as not "on trial", and the actual behaviour of banking cartels he sought to oppose. In contrast to accusations of anti-semitism, Mr Douglas also praised the "success in many walks of life" of Jewish people. More-recent analysis of fascist movements during post-war New Zealand suggests that although such conceptions are notable within the Social Credit movement, anti-Semitism was not a predominant feature of monetary reform groups and was unlikely to provide the basis of a right-wing movement.https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/stout-centre/research-units/security-and-surveillance-project/publications/2015-2-Loveridge-Discerning-the-Fascist-Creed.pdf


Electoral results


Office holders


Presidents


Parliamentary party leader


Deputy party leader


Members of parliament


Sources

* * * *
The 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Social credit parties Political parties established in 1953 1953 establishments in New Zealand