National warned against becoming country party

Press, 10 November 1986, Page 15

National warned against becoming country party

PA Hamilton The National Party should beware of becoming a country and provincial party, its president, Mr Neville Young, says. New Zealand was turning into two countries, urban and rural, he told a party meeting in Cambridge. National had started out as a broad spectrum town-and-country conservative coalition. “That’s the way it started and I think the way it should be,” Mr Young said. National could win the next election in the provincial and rural seats alone, while Labour could return with a “town government”. He asked if New

Zealanders could consistently plan their lives under those conditions. “A divided country is a disaster,” Mr Young said. He said one of his main aims in office was to rebuild the town-and-country coalition for the future of New Zealand. In spite of poll results that had shown National well behind Labour, the organisation was performing well, Mr Young said. Poor poll results tended to attack party morale. The party had the highest membership ever in a non-election year at this time. The party was also “miles in front” of any previous non-election year in terms of candidate selection, he said.