Vernon Cracknell

New Zealand politician

Vernon Cracknell

3rd Leader of the Social Credit Party
In office
12 May 1963 – 24 May 1970
Deputy| John O'Brien
Preceded by| P.H. Matthews
Succeeded by| John O'Brien
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Hobson
In office
26 November 1966 – 29 November 1969
Preceded by| Logan Sloane
Succeeded by| Logan Sloane
Personal details
Born| (1912-05-30)30 May 1912
Auckland, New Zealand
Died| 4 June 1989(1989-06-04) (aged 77)
Kawakawa, New Zealand
Political party| Social Credit
Spouse| Shelagh Ralston Julius
Children| 4
Profession| Accountant

Vernon Francis Cracknell (30 May 1912 – 4 June 1989) was a New Zealand politician. He served as the Social Credit Party's third leader (1963–1970).

## Early life

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Cracknell was born in Auckland on 30 May 1912. He was educated at Auckland Grammar School and Kings College before qualifying as an accountant. In 1934 he left Auckland and moved to Northland and later married in 1949. He established his own accountancy firm in Kerikeri in 1951.[1]

Later, he became involved in politics through the Social Credit Party, a group dedicated to the social credit theory of monetary reform. He made his entry into politics in local government in 1950 when he was elected a member of the Bay of Islands Harbour Board and became the board's chairman in 1953.[1]

## Biography

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### Political career

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In the 1960 election, Cracknell contested the seat of Hobson in Northland. He placed second, pushing the Labour Party candidate into third place, and won more votes than any other Social Credit candidate.[2] The area had previously been receptive to social credit theory – the Social Credit Party had placed second in the 1954 election, and Harold Rushworth of the credit-influenced Country Party had held the Northland seat (then called Bay of Islands) for three terms, from 1928 to 1938.[3] At the party conference in May 1962 he was elected president of the party.[4] The party was without a permanent leader (which it often was outside of election years) and Cracknell became the main spokesperson for the party as its de facto leader. He was elected the official leader of the party at the 1963 party conference.[5] At the 1963 election he was ahead after the initial election night count by 12 votes.[6] However after special votes were included his small majority was surpassed by the incumbent MP, Logan Sloane of the National Party.

As leader, Cracknell attempted to turn Social Credit into a more professional political organisation. He instigated a more centralised administrative structure and in 1964 the positions of party leader and deputy leader were made permanent to make the party more stable.[7] Membership increased under his leadership reaching 7,000 members becoming the second biggest party in terms of membership (overtaking National and just slightly behind Labour). This was achieved by effective mid-parliamentary term publicity campaigns.[8]

### Member of Parliament

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New Zealand Parliament Years  | Term  | Electorate  | Party

|
|
|

1966-1969  | 35th | Hobson |  | Social Credit

In the 1966 election, Cracknell was finally successful, winning the seat with 48% of the vote. He narrowly defeated Sloane, who won 45% of the vote. Cracknell's victory was a surprise, as no candidate not aligned with either the Labour or National parties had been elected to Parliament since 1943.[9] However, Cracknell found himself unsuited to Parliamentary debate and did not make any substantial impact. He struggled to achieve an independent voice in Parliament, voting with Labour 22 times and with National 14 times in his first year.[10] Cracknell was not particularly skilled at dealing with the media and so received little attention, thus undoing Social Credit's foot in the door in terms of political ascendancy.[10] He was a good organiser and recognised for his honesty and respectability. National claimed that Cracknell could have become a cabinet minister if he had joined them rather than Social Credit.[11] Due to his isolation in parliament Cracknell could not rely on any other MPs to second any motion of his but did have to share an office and secretary with an MP from another party. His status as a party leader went unrecognised and was not allocated a front bench seat. He also had the indignity of having his maiden speech deferred.[12]

In the 1969 election, Cracknell's campaign was almost universally regarded as poor, with his television appearance being described as uninteresting, too academic and rambling. Many observers cited growing internal divisions within the Social Credit Party as a cause of this by diverting the party's efforts and attention away from campaigning and policy platforms.[10] The party dropped 5% in the polls and Cracknell likewise did worse in Hobson where Logan Sloane regained the seat by a substantial margin.[9]

### After Parliament

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In 1970, a bitter dispute at the party's annual conference saw Cracknell lose the Social Credit Party's leadership to his deputy, the more confrontational John O'Brien. The 1970 conference was described as "the most vivid example of political bloodletting in public" since John A. Lee had been expelled at the 1940 Labour party conference.[13] The culmination of which, a vote was held for the office of party president with a pro-Cracknell and Pro-O'Brien candidate. O'Brien's ally P.J. Dempsy defeated Cracknell man A.J. Gray 137 votes to 60.[14] Seeing this as a sign of things to come, Cracknell smilingly asked the minutes clerk to remove his name from the leadership ballot. He resigned the leadership without a delegate vote leaving O'Brien to gain the leadership, without winning it from him.[14]

Thereafter, Cracknell had little involvement in politics, and did not attempt to regain his seat again.[15] However after O'Brien left the party and was replaced by Bruce Beetham as leader, Cracknell rejoined the party in 1975 and was made 'president emeritus' of the party and gave a speech at that years party conference which helped to calm the party and consolidate the membership around Beetham's leadership. Beetham was elected as Social Credit's second MP three years later.[1]

### Later life and death

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He returned to his accountancy practice in Kerikeri before retiring in 1985. In his retirement he raised a herd of 18 Hereford steers.[1]

Cracknell died in Kawakawa in 1989 aged 77 years. His wife Shelagh Ralston Julius, who was a Squadron Leader in the WAAF during the second world war, died in 1993. They were survived by four children and six grandchildren.[1]

## Notes

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1. ^ a b c d e "Social Credit's first MP dies". The New Zealand Herald. 6 June 1989. p. 3.
2. ^ Zavos 1981, p. 82.
3. ^ Gustafson, Barry (22 June 2007). "Rushworth, Harold Montague 1880 - 1950". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
4. ^ "New Social Credit President". The New Zealand Herald. 14 May 1962. p. 3.
5. ^ "Warning on Credit - "Judicious Use"". The Press. Vol. CII, no. 30129\. 13 May 1963. p. 17.
6. ^ "Expects to Hold Seat". The New Zealand Herald. 12 December 1963. p. 1.
7. ^ Calderwood 2010, p. 34.
8. ^ Calderwood 2010, pp. 35, 47–8.
9. ^ a b Calderwood 2010, p. 37.
10. ^ a b c Zavos 1981, p. 84.
11. ^ Calderwood 2010, p. 61.
12. ^ Calderwood 2010, pp. 69–70.
13. ^ Zavos 1981, p. 85.
14. ^ a b Zavos 1981, p. 88.
15. ^ Zavos 1981, p. 86.

## References

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* Calderwood, David (2010). Not a Fair Go: A History and Analysis of Social Credit's Struggle for Success in New Zealand's Electoral System (PDF) (M.A. Political Science thesis). University of Waikato. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
* Zavos, Spiro (1981). Crusade: Social Credit's drive for power. Lower Hutt: INL Print. ISBN 0-86464-025-0.
* Who's Who in New Zealand (1971, 10th edition)

Party political offices

Preceded by

P. H. Matthews

|  Leader of the Social Credit Party
1963–1970  | Succeeded by

John O'Brien

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by

Logan Sloane

|  Member of Parliament for Hobson
1966-1969  | Succeeded by

Logan Sloane

* v
* t
* e

Social Credit Party

Party Leaders|

* Wilfrid Owen (1954–59)
* P. H. Matthews (1960–62)
* Vernon Cracknell (1962–70)
* John O'Brien (1970–72)
* Bruce Beetham (1972–86)
* Neil Morrison (1986–88)
* Gary Knapp (1988–91)
* John Wright (1991–2001)
* Grant Gillon (2001–02)
* Stephnie de Ruyter (2002–18)
* Chris Leitch (2018–23)

Party presidents|

* Septimus James Edgar Closey
* Maurice Hayes
* Mary King
* Frank Needham
* Percival John Dempsy
* Don Bethune
* George Bryant
* Stefan Lipa
* Chris Leitch
* Margaret Cook
* Peter Kane
* John Pemberton
* Neville Aitchison
* David Wilson
* John Pemberton
* Ewan Cornor
* Gloria Bruni

Former Parliamentarians|

* Vernon Cracknell
* Bruce Beetham
* Gary Knapp
* Neil Morrison
* Grant Gillon
* John Wright

Noted activists|

* Jeremy Dwyer
* Terry Heffernan
* Eva Hill
* Les Hunter
* Frank Langstone
* Roly Marks
* Tom Weal

Related articles|

* John A. Lee
* Democratic Labour Party
* Country Party
* New Democratic Party
* Social Credit-NZ
* Alliance
* Progressive Coalition

* v
* t
* e

Social credit

Movements|

| Canada|

* Abolitionist Party of Canada
* British Columbia Social Credit Party
* Canada Party
* Christian Credit Party
* Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform
* Les Démocrates
* Manitoba Social Credit Party
* New Democracy
* Pauper Party of Ontario
* Parti crédit social uni
* Pilgrims of Saint Michael
* Ralliement créditiste
* Ralliement créditiste du Québec
* Social Credit Board
* Alberta Social Credit Party
* Social Credit Party of Canada
* Social Credit Party of New Brunswick
* Social Credit Party of Ontario
* Social Credit Party of Saskatchewan

|

Oceania|

* Australian League of Rights
* Country Party (New Zealand)
* Democratic Labour Party (New Zealand)
* Douglas Credit Party
* Social Credit Party (New Zealand)
* Social Credit-NZ
* Solomon Islands Social Credit Party

Europe|

* British People's Party
* Irish Monetary Reform Association
* Social Credit Party of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
* Social Credit Party of Ireland

People|

* William Aberhart
* Lavern Ahlstrom
* Bruce Beetham
* W. A. C. Bennett
* John Horne Blackmore
* Eric Butler
* Réal Caouette
* Vernon Cracknell
* C. H. Douglas
* Louis Even
* A. N. Field
* Ron Gostick
* John Hargrave
* Robert A. Heinlein
* Norman Jaques
* Solon Earl Low
* Ernest Manning
* Roly Marks
* Neil Morrison
* Al Overfield
* Ezra Pound
* Manasseh Sogavare
* Ken Sweigard
* John Turmel

History|

* 1937 Social Credit backbenchers' revolt
* Prosperity certificate
* Social Credit Party of Canada split, 1963

* Category

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