 He argued that the party should agree on its economic policy before it agreed on anything else, and allow economic reality to play a part in its decision-making.Unable to convince Rowling of the merit of his case, a disillusioned Douglas decided to stand down from parliament at the 1981 election.One of those who persuaded him to stay was Labour’s deputy leader David Lange, who offered to make Douglas minister of finance if Lange was prime minister after the 1984 election.