Member of Parliament
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1966–1969 | 35th | Hobson | Social Credit | |
In the 1966 elections, Cracknell was finally successful, winning the seat with 48% of the vote. The incumbent MP, Logan Sloane of the National Party, won 45% of the vote. Cracknell's victory was unusual – no candidate not aligned with either Labour or National had been elected to Parliament since 1943.
However, Cracknell found himself unsuited to Parliamentary debate, and did not make any substantial impact. Cracknell was not particularly skilled at dealing with the media, and so received little attention. In the 1969 elections, Cracknell's campaign was almost universally regarded as poor, with his television appearance being described as uninteresting, overly academic, and rambling. Logan Sloane regained the seat by a substantial margin.
Read more about this topic: Vernon Cracknell
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