Can parties and politicians of the right – like the Act party – be socially liberal?
To get an idea of just how socially conservative and middle-of-the-road the Act Party is, a comparison with Bob Jones’ old New Zealand party is apt. This mid-1980s party showed that you can be radically economic rightwing as well as radically social liberal and still get 12% of the vote (even under FPP). At a time when both the National and Labour parties appeared to still be ideologically bland, the 1983 launch of the New Zealand Party was an exciting development for the New Zealand political system. The party was established and led by wealthy and high profile Wellington property investor Bob Jones who, along with thousands of other National Party members and voters, decided that Muldoon’s National Party could not be broken from its postwar consensus policies, and a more dynamic liberal party was required (Gustafson, 1986: pp.148-149). The new party was therefore made up of a generation of social and market liberals who wished to reinvigorate ‘the political right around the principle
