John Wright | |
---|---|
8th Leader of the Democratic Party | |
In office 22 April 1991 –25 November 2001 | |
Preceded by | Gary Knapp |
Succeeded by | Grant Gillon |
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Alliance list | |
In office 12 October 1996 –27 July 2002 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1945 Ashburton,New Zealand |
Political party | Social Credit (1977–1985) Democrats (1985–2002) |
Other political affiliations | Progressive |
John Wright (born 1945) is a former New Zealand politician. [1] He was a member of parliament from 1996 to 2002,representing the Alliance. Before entering Parliament he owned the Port-a-Loo company.
Wright was born in Ashburton in 1945. He grew up on a farm in Ashburton before becoming a panel beater and mechanic by trade. He later formed his own recycling and promotions business. [2] He was then a sales and marketing manager for a plastics manufacturer. [3]
He was a founding member and president of the Waimakariri Ratepayers and Residents Association. He was also a committee member of the North Christchurch Jaycees and Richmond Primary School Parent–teacher association. [2]
Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 –1999 | 45th | List | 4 | Alliance | |
1999 –2002 | 46th | List | 4 | Alliance |
Wright joined the Social Credit Party in 1977 and was a vice-president of the party from 1979 until 1986. He was part of the conference in 1985 that turned Social Credit into the Democratic Party. He was the Democratic candidate for Rangiora in the 1990 election. In 1991,he became leader of the Democrats. [3]
When the Democrats joined with three other parties to found the Alliance,Wright was active in building up the new organisation. He stood unsuccessfully for the Alliance in the Rangiora seat in the 1993 election,and then in the 1994 Selwyn by-election. In the 1996 election,the first conducted under the MMP system,Wright was elected to Parliament as a list MP,having been ranked in fourth place on the Alliance list. [4] [5] By this time,he was leader of the Democrats. He returned to Parliament in the 1999 election,and when the Alliance formed a coalition government with the larger Labour Party,Wright was appointed to a Parliamentary Undersecretary's role in the Economic Development,Revenue,Regional Development and Racing portfolios. He became the first (and only) Social Creditor to be part of the Executive. [6]
In 2002,the Alliance began to collapse,with a rift opening between Parliamentary leader Jim Anderton and the organizational wing,led by Matt McCarten. When Anderton left the Alliance to establish a new party,the Progressive Coalition,the Democrats (including Wright) followed him. In the 2002 election,Wright was ranked in fourth place on the Progressive list,behind Anderton,Matt Robson,and new Democratic Party leader Grant Gillon. but as the party only won enough votes for two seats,Wright did not remain in Parliament.
Later,when the Democrats opted to split from the Progressives,Wright opposed the decision. He eventually opted to leave the Democrats in order to remain with the Progressives,and was joined by Gillon. He remained a member of the Progressives until the movement's dissolution in January 2012. After he failed to retain his seat at the 2002 and 2005 elections,Wright was forced to take on a job at a panel beater's shop until he was appointed a Member of the Transit board in 2005. During this time Wright had commented to Tracy Watkins,a Fairfax Media Reporter that although he had a cabinet full of $1000 suits the only clothes he actually needed were a $12 pair of Warehouse overalls. [7] [8] As of 2015,Wright no longer sits on the merged NZ Transport Agency Board and his current activities are unknown.
The Alliance was a left-wing political party in New Zealand. It was formed at the end of 1991 by the linking of four smaller parties. The Alliance positioned itself as a democratic socialist alternative to the centre-left New Zealand Labour Party. It was influential throughout the 1990s, but suffered a major setback after its founder and leader, Jim Anderton, left the party in 2002, taking with him several of its members of parliament (MPs). After the remaining MPs lost their seats in the 2002 general election, some commentators predicted the demise of the party.
James Patrick Anderton was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of left-wing parties after leaving the Labour Party in 1989.
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party. The 2020 election would see it suffer a greater defeat in terms of net loss of seats.
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance. This marked an end to nine years of the Fourth National Government, and the beginning of the Fifth Labour Government which would govern for nine years in turn, until its loss to the National Party in the 2008 general election. It was the first New Zealand election where both major parties had female leaders.
Jim Anderton's Progressive Party was a New Zealand political party generally somewhat to the left of its ally, the Labour Party.
The New Zealand Social Credit Party was a political party that was New Zealand's third party from the 1950s to the 1980s. It was elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, holding one seat at times between 1966 and 1981, and two seats from 1981 to 1987. It was named the New Zealand Democratic Party from 1985 to 2018, and was part of the Alliance party from 1991 to 2002. It returned to the Social Credit name in 2018. The party deregistered itself in early 2023.
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse than previous elections. Under the new MMP system, 65 members were elected in single-member districts by first-past-the-post voting, while a further 55 "top-up" members were allocated from closed lists to achieve a proportional distribution based on each party's share of the nationwide party vote.
Stephnie de Ruyter is a former leader of the New Zealand Democratic Party, a small centre-left New Zealand political party based upon Social Credit economics. The Democrats, who, in June 2018, returned to campaigning under the name Social Credit are currently outside Parliament.
Laila Jane Harré is a New Zealand politician and trade unionist. She was the first leader of the Internet Party, and stood for Parliament in the 2014 general election through the Helensville electorate. From 1996 to 2002, she was a member of parliament for the Alliance party, briefly leading that party after the group experienced a schism in 2002.
The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. Voters elected 99 members to the House of Representatives, up from 97 members at the 1990 election. The election was the last general election to use the first-past-the-post electoral system, with all members elected from single-member electorates. This was the last time prior to the 2020 election where a party won an absolute majority of seats.
The 2005 New Zealand general election on Saturday 17 September 2005 determined the membership of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives: 69 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 52 from party lists.
The New Zealand Liberal Party founded in 1991 was a splinter group of the National Party.
Matthew Peter Robson is a New Zealand politician. He was deputy leader of the Progressive Party, and served in the Parliament from 1996 to 2005, first as a member of the Alliance, then as a Progressive.
Grant Gillon is a former New Zealand politician. He was a member of parliament between 1996 and 2002, representing the Alliance Party, has held a number of seats in local government. He previously served on the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board representing Shore Action.
Richard James Gerard is a former New Zealand politician. He was a National Party Member of Parliament from 1984 to 1997.
Waimakariri is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, formed for the 1996 election and returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The MP for Waimakariri is Matt Doocey of the National Party. He has held this position since the 2014 election and takes over from Kate Wilkinson, who defeated Clayton Cosgrove (Labour) in the 2011 election.
Wigram is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Wigram is Megan Woods of the Labour Party. She took over this position from Jim Anderton, who had held this position from 1996 until 2011.
Although the Democratic Alliance of South Africa in its present form is fairly new, its roots can be traced far back in South African political history, through a complex sequence of splits and mergers.
The Timaru by-election of 1985 was a by-election for the electorate of Timaru during the term of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It was triggered by the death of Sir Basil Arthur on 1 May 1985. Sir Basil was Speaker of the House, and had inherited the rank of baronet from his father in 1949.
A by-election was held in the New Zealand electorate of Christchurch East on 30 November 2013. The seat was vacated following the resignation of Lianne Dalziel of the Labour Party from parliament, who contested and won the Christchurch mayoralty in October 2013.