municipal projects with interest-free "rates vouchers", but the council, dominated by his opponents, passed a 20 percent rates increase instead. His frustrations caused by political gridlock, as well as the difficulty of simultaneously leading a national political party while serving as a Mayor (a post generally expected to be apolitical in New Zealand), were factors in his decision not to seek a second term as Mayor in 1977. Ross Jansen succeeded him. Member of Parliament On 18 February 1978, Beetham won election to Parliament in a by-election for the Rangitikei electorate, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of its long-time member, the Parliamentary Speaker, Sir Roy Jack. He retained the seat in the general election later that year, and the Social Credit Political League polled 16 percent of the vote nationwide, its best result to date. His marriage to Raewyn had ended in 1978, with her remaining in Hamilton with the children. They divorced in 1980. Later that same year, Beetham married Beverley May Clark (née Morrison), who had two sons from her previous marriage, and came from a Social Credit family. Soon after the Beetham's moved to the outskirts of Marton. Beverley was an interior decorator by profession, who helped sharpen Beetham's style and dress sense. In the 1981 election, the party polled just over 20 percent – the best showing for a third party since the 1920s, but fell short of its goal of holding the balance of power; its support was too evenly spread to translate into more than a couple of seats under the First-past-the-post electoral system in use at that time. The party, and Beetham himself, strongly promoted a form of proportional representation, but this was not adopted till many years later. However this saw the addition of Gary Knapp as a second Social Credit MP, meaning the party could make more of an impact inside Parliament itself. In May 1982 National Party Prime Minister Robert Muldoon announced plans to build the controversial Clyde Dam (part of Think Big), but faced backbench dissidents voting against it. Initially opposed to the dam, Beetham and Knapp visited the dam site in Otago and reconsidered their stance. Social Credit agreed to vote for the necessary legislation in return for policy concessions from National. However, Muldoon did not deliver on most of his pledges which made Beetham and Knapp look naïve. The affair caused considerable damage to