Neil Morrison

Neil Morrison MP
2nd Leader of the Democratic Party
In office 1986–1988
Deputy	Garry Knapp
Preceded by	Bruce Beetham
Succeeded by	Garry Knapp
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Pakuranga
In office 1984 – 1987
Preceded by	Pat Hunt
Succeeded by	Maurice Williamson
Personal details
Born	1938 New Zealand
Died	19 September 2007 New Zealand
Political party	Social Credit
Spouse(s)	Gabrielle Morrison
Children	2
Occupation	Mechanic

Neil Joseph Morrison (1938 – 19 September 2007) was a New Zealand politician of the Social Credit Party.

Political career

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1984–1985	41st	Pakuranga		Social Credit
1985–1987	Changed allegiance to:			Democrats

He won the Pakuranga seat in the 1984 election by 419 votes, from two-term MP Pat Hunt. Garry Knapp retained East Coast Bays, but the party leader Bruce Beetham lost his Rangitikei seat.

In 1986 Beetham lost the leadership of the party to Morrison. On the night he was elected, the new leader implied in a TV interview that the Social Credit national dividend policy was out of date and would be dropped. This was in response to a question from the interviewer, which he might not have listened to carefully. The next day when Beetham said he was considering resigning because the new leadership was rejecting basic Social Credit philosophy, Morrison publicly retracted his comment and affirmed that the national dividend would remain an important part of Social Credit policy.

In the 1987 election Morrison was defeated by National candidate Maurice Williamson, and Knapp was defeated by another National candidate. See Social Credit Party (New Zealand).

He was a Manukau City Councillor, and about to run for re-election when he died in 2007.

References

• New Zealand Herald obituary

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Pat Hunt	Member of Parliament for Pakuranga 1984–1987	Succeeded by Maurice Williamson