Member of Parliament
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party |
| 1990–1991 | 43rd | Roskill | National | |
| 1991–1992 | 43rd | Roskill | Independent | |
| 1992–1993 | Changed allegiance to: | Liberal | ||
| 1993 | Changed allegiance to: | NZ First | ||
| 1999–1999 | 45th | List | 10 | NZ First |
He was elected to Parliament for the seat of Roskill in the 1990 elections as part of the New Zealand National Party, a previously safe-seat of the previously ruling Labour Party, largely on a platform of opposition to the of the "Rogernomics" economic reforms that had occurred during the 1980s in New Zealand. He openly identified with the pro-interventionist 'Muldoonist' faction of the National Party, once saying "I joined the National Party because of Sir Robert Muldoon". His campaign slogan was "Let's rescue Roskill".
Myles, however, quickly fell out with the leadership of the National Party (that had simultaneously become the Government) due to the party's own swing toward privatisation and the slashing of the Government's expenditure on social policy enthusiastically implemented by Finance Minister Ruth Richardson (see Ruthanasia). His disgust with the continuation of these reforms by Prime Minister Jim Bolger led to his identification with the rebels within the National Party, like Michael Laws and Winston Peters, who together had major confrontations with the dominant neo-liberals within the party's relatively gargantuan Caucus.
Read more about this topic: Gilbert Myles
Famous quotes containing the words member of, member and/or parliament:
“I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil,—to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than as a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.”
—Henry David David (1817–1862)
“Neighboring farmers and visitors at White Sulphur drove out occasionally to watch ‘those funny Scotchmen’ with amused superiority; when one member imported clubs from Scotland, they were held for three weeks by customs officials who could not believe that any game could be played with ‘such elongated blackjacks or implements of murder.’”
—For the State of West Virginia, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“He felt that it would be dull times in Dublin, when they should have no usurping government to abuse, no Saxon Parliament to upbraid, no English laws to ridicule, and no Established Church to curse.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)