Social Credit's popularity. In line with his party's policies, Beetham attempted to organise a barter trade deal with Fiji. Prime Minister Robert Muldoon vetoed the deal. A number of factors resulted in a sharp drop in support for the Social Credit Party in the general election of 1984. One of these factors was Beetham's ill health. A major heart attack in 1983 curtailed his activities for much of that year and early 1984, and his disappearance from the public view made it possible for a new political party, the New Zealand Party (founded by millionaire businessman Bob Jones) to fill the vacuum. This party succeeded in attracting much of the protest vote that Social Credit had previously enjoyed. Another major factor was Beetham's earlier support for the construction of the Clyde Dam, which was strongly opposed by Social Credit's rank and file with many supporters accusing him of betrayal. Beetham lost his Rangitikei seat in 1984, mainly because of electoral boundary changes; suspicions have lingered since that the redistribution may have been politically motivated (Gerrymandering). The redrawing of electoral boundaries that year saw his home town of Marton excluded from the Rangitikei electorate. After losing his seat in Parliament, Beetham considered resigning as Social Credit leader but was persuaded to stay on after being offered a full-time salary to do so. His health improved but the party's popularity continued to decline. In 1985 Social Credit rebranded itself as the New Zealand Democratic Party, a move Beetham had little enthusiasm for. Internal dissent began to set in and Knapp tried to convince Beetham to stand aside as leader. Beetham refused to resign and Knapp resigned as deputy leader in protest. Political twilight In 1986, Beetham lost the leadership of the party to Neil Morrison who had been elected an MP in 1984. The new leader, on the night he was elected, implied in a TV interview that the Social Credit national dividend policy was out of date and would be dropped.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 Mr Beetham said he was considering resigning because the new leadership was rejecting basic Social Credit philosophy. This promoted Morrison to publicly retract his comments, and affirm that of course the national dividend would be retained as an important part of Social Credit policy. In 1988, in response to