in New Zealand, but after more than a year, the party was still barely registering. It was decided in October 1995 to rebrand the party as the New Zealand Conservative Party. The group retained its socially conservative policies but also attempted to win support from the rural sector. This new campaign was based on the claim that National, once strongly associated with the agricultural sector, had abandoned farmers for "big business" and the cities. This new attempt to build a voter base did not meet with any noticeable success. As the election loomed, internal disputes in Right of Centre occurred. In February 1996, Meurant rejected pressure from the executive of the party to abandon right-wing economic policies in favour of the more traditional and socialist provincial New Zealand policies. Meurant refused, claiming he alone had garnered substantial monetary donations from wealthy individuals, and on the promise of right wing economic policy forming the basis of the new party. When the executive of the Party overruled Meurant and refused to return political donations garnered by Meurant on the promise of right wing economic policies, Meurant left the party and became an independent, following the path of most former independent MPs: to political oblivion. During the election campaign, despite having an incumbent MP in Rogers, the party was left out of the television debates and as a result got little daily newspaper coverage which contributed to their poor polling result. After the general election of 1996, the party had an even lower profile before the remnants of the party amalgamated with the United Party in April 1998. See also References Conservative Party Conservative parties in New Zealand Political parties with year of establishment missing Political parties with year of disestablishment missing