Bruce Beetham

Bruce Craig Beetham (16 February 1936 – 3 May 1997) was an academic and politician from New Zealand, whose career spanned the 1970s and early 1980s.

A lecturer at Hamilton's University of Waikato and at the Hamilton Teachers' Training College, he was elected leader of the Social Credit Political League (which he had joined in 1969) in 1972, at a time when the party was in disarray and many were questioning its chances of survival. A brilliant organiser and an electrifying speaker, Beetham succeeded in rebuilding the party, and by the late 1970s it was challenging the stranglehold on the two-party system of the long-dominant National and Labour parties.

Biography Early life and career Born in New Plymouth on 16 February 1936, he was the son of Stanley Develle Beetham (a carpenter) and his wife Frances Agnes Amy Watts. Beetham attended New Plymouth Boys' High School from 1951 to 1955. He then went on to the Auckland Secondary Teachers College where he eventually acquired a BA (honours) in History and later an MA. He worked as a secondary school teacher and worked in New Plymouth, Taupō and Piopio before lecturing at Hamilton Teachers' College. He did not stand after Lynley Simmons, who had been Social Credit's candidate for Timaru in 1981 and 1984, agreed to be the candidate. Out of parliament, his health improved but the party's popularity continued to decline. In 1985 Social Credit rebranded itself as the New Zealand Democratic Party, a move Beetham had little enthusiasm for. Internal dissent began to set in and Knapp tried to convince Beetham to stand aside as leader. Beetham refused to resign and Knapp resigned as deputy leader in protest. After failing to regain the seat he ruled out running there at the subsequent election or vying for the leadership again. He was critical of the party leadership and campaign stating, if run well, it should have retained and as well as pick up both Rangitikei and .

In 1988, in response to the abandonment of the party's old name and policy platforms, he formed and led Social Credit-NZ which less of a political party but more of a pressure group organisation dedicated to furthering Social Credit monetary aims and financial principles. He was chairman of the organisation until 1995.

Local politics Following the loss of his seat in Parliament, Beetham devoted his energies to local government. In 1986 he was elected as a member of the Marton Borough Council, and was also deputy mayor, until 1989. He represented Rangitikei on the Wanganui Hospital Board (later renamed Manawatu-Wanganui Area Health Board) from 1986 to 1991. He was also elected the representative for Rangitikei on the Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council in 1989 (where he chaired the council's Resources and Policy Committee) and remained a member until his death.

Political positions Beetham was known as a liberal on human rights, a conservative on moral and social issues, and a pragmatist on economic matters. His humanistic approach has been attributed to his childhood admiration of Labour Party Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage, while growing up in the Great Depression. He disliked confrontation, preferring to work for consensus in decision-making. Beetham was opposed to abortion, adhering to Social Credit's traditional conservatism on social issues. and in 1990 he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.