ABSTRACT
Holland had effectively rail-roaded the Joint Constitutional Reform Committee set up by the First Labour Government, thereby largely ignoring a valuable body of relevant information, and Ronald M. Algie completely avoided the likely consequences of abolition, such as the question of compensation for redundant Councillors or constitutional matters. The possibilities of greater National Party involvement in constitutional matters seemed likely to be enhanced when Marshall succeeded Holyoake as leader of the National Party in 1972. The abolition of the Legislative Council and its consequences thus serve to provide useful insights from a number of different aspects into the nature of the National Party as a conservative party. Sensing the change in public mood, and aware that the Labour Government might yet take up the bill itself, the National Party Opposition leader could well have seen political advantages in pre-empting the issue.
