Beetham call for resignation

Press, 26 August 1986, Page 1

Beetham call for resignation

PA Wellington The ousted Democratic Party leader, Mr Bruce Beetham, yesterday called on his successor, Mr Neil Morrison, to resign to restore party unity. The new deputy, Mr Alasdair Thompson, should become leader, he said.

Mr Morrison immediately rejected the suggestion, saying it was insulting to the delegates who made their choice at the annual conference during the week-end. Mr Beetham made his resignation call in a television talkback programme. He hinted on Sunday that he might break away and form an alternative party after he said Mr Morrison had indicated

that traditional aspects of the party’s economic policy would be given less emphasis under his leadership. Mr Beetham, a former member of Parliament for Rangitikei, who led the party for 14 years, described Mr Morrison as a puppet leader and part of a tight-knit group that split and divided the party last year. He said yesterday that there was only one way party unity could be restored: “That is for Mr Morrison to resign in favour of his deputy, Mr Thompson.” Mr Thompson, who is also Mr Beetham’s brother-in-law, was now the only person in the party’s upper echelons who was capable of pulling the whole party to-

gether, Mr Beetham said. Mr Beetham said that it had always been possible that he would lose the leadership and he had been aware of a “highly orchestrated campaign” against him. The campaign built up over the last year and included the “quite sophisticated” organisation of delegations from electorates. He did not believe that necessarily reflected the real will of the members. He said that his former deputy and the retiring member of Parliament for East Coast Bays, Mr Garry Knapp, was “chief motivator, engineer, and intrigue organiser.” Mr Knapp has denied that he masterminded the leadership change. Mr Beetham will now

gauge support before making definitive plans. He pointed out that loss of the leadership also meant loss of a job as he was paid a full-time salary which he supplemented with six hours teaching a week.

He now had to look for alternative work and that might mean having to move from Rangitikei.

Mr Morrison believed there had been a misunderstanding over the direction he intended to take the party and he emphasised there would be no shifting from principles under his leadership.

The party’s principles were enshrined in its constitution — a move he had "wholeheartedly supported.”

Editorial, page 18