 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 18,611 (63.64%) | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
The East Coast Bays by-election of 1980 was a by-election during the 39th New Zealand Parliament in the East Coast Bays electorate. It resulted in an upset for the National Party, as their candidate and future leader Don Brash was unexpectedly beaten by Gary Knapp of the Social Credit Party.
The Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, appointed Frank Gill, National Party MP for East Coast Bays since the 1972 election, to take up a position as New Zealand's ambassador to the United States. Muldoon did so against the express wish of Brian Talboys, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs. [1]
The Labour Party selected Wyn Hoadley over three others to stand in the election. Hoadley, a barrister and adult education lecturer at University of Auckland, was Labour's candidate for North Shore in 1975. [2]
As a safe seat there was much interest from the National Party membership. 12 candidates came forward for the National nomination. They included: [3] [4]
Secretary of the Auckland National Party John Tremewan said the 12 candidates would be narrowed to 5. [4] Prior to the selection meeting three candidates were identified as the most likely to win; Brash, Rayner and Wood. [5] Based on her performance as National's candidate three months earlier at the Onehunga by-election party president George Chapman stated Wood "should be in Parliament and as soon as possible" by being a candidate in a safe seat. As there was already speculation at the time about Gill's retirement, media commented that Chapman was hinting as East Coast Bays. [6] Brash, Miller, Rayner, Walls and Wood were the shortlisted candidates. [7] This was later further shortened to four after Walls was hospitalised and was too ill to travel to Auckland for the selection meeting. [8]
Brash won selection on the first ballot. It was not only a surprise for him to win, especially on the first ballot, but also to media as he had only joined the National Party six months earlier and was publicly critical of Muldoon's last budget. [9] [10]
The Social Credit Party selected Gary Knapp as its candidate. Knapp had contested the seat in 1978 where he had boosted Social Credit's vote from 5% to 20%, one of the party's best results at the election. [11]
The National Alternative group, who ran a candidate against Gill and several other National MPs in 1978, did not contest the election. Jim Bridges, a spokesman for the group, stated the group's opposition was to Gill and not the National Party as a whole. [3]
Shortly before the election, Muldoon raised the tolls on the Auckland Harbour Bridge from 20 cents to 25 cents, which was a very unpopular move. [12] The Labour Party had ongoing problems with their billboards being vandalised. [13] Muldoon was also embroiled in a public spat with various journalists, most notably cartoonist Tom Scott. But most damaging was Muldoon's lack of enthusiasm for National's candidate for the by-election, Don Brash; Muldoon had favoured the party's vice-president Sue Wood. [14] Tactical voting by Labour supporters was partly responsible for the upset. Many also believed that Muldoon, who had no time for his economist candidate, put up the tolls on the harbour bridge just before the contest with the intention of derailing Brash's campaign. Chief aming Muldoon's gripes with Brash was that he had recently hosted the New Zealand visit of arch-monetarist Milton Friedman whose economic ideas were contrary to Muldoon's policies. [15] [16]
Voting resulted in the election of Knapp, the candidate of the Social Credit Party. [17] That was unexpected, as minor parties rarely won seats in Parliament at the time, but such voting was more likely in a by-election. Muldoon blamed Brash and the party organisation for the defeat but was strongly rebuked by the party for the stance. [14] The loss of the by-election provided the catalyst for growing opposition within the National Party to Muldoon's leadership. [18]
The following table gives the election results:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Credit | Gary Knapp | 8,061 | 43.31 | +23.33 | |
| National | Don Brash | 7,110 | 38.20 | ||
| Labour | Wyn Hoadley | 3,296 | 17.71 | ||
| Values | Janet Moore | 144 | 0.77 | ||
| Majority | 951 | 5.11 | |||
| Turnout | 18,611 | 63.64 | -12.95 | ||
| Registered electors | 29,243 | ||||
| Social Credit gain from National | Swing | ||||
Knapp held the electorate until the 1987 general election, when he was defeated by National's Murray McCully.
Sir Robert David Muldoon was a New Zealand conservative politician who served as the 31st prime minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Departing significantly from National Party convention, Muldoon was a right-wing populist with a distinctive public persona described as reactionary, aggressive, and abrasive.
The New Zealand National Party, shortened to National or the Nats, is a centre-right New Zealand political party. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside its traditional rival, the Labour Party.
The New Zealand Social Credit Party was a political party that was New Zealand's third party from the 1950s to the 1980s. It was elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, holding one seat at times between 1966 and 1981, and two seats from 1981 to 1987. It was named the New Zealand Democratic Party from 1985 to 2018, and was part of the Alliance party from 1991 to 2002. It returned to the Social Credit name in 2018. The party deregistered itself in early 2023.
The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the composition of the 41st New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating the long-serving Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, of the National Party. It was also the last election in which the Social Credit Party won seats as an independent entity. The election was also the only one in which the New Zealand Party, a protest party, played any substantial role.
The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its two terms in office. The National Party, led by Jim Bolger, won a landslide victory and formed the new government.
The 1981 New Zealand general election, held on 28 November 1981, was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, win a third term in office, but the opposition Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, won the largest share of the votes cast. Social Credit also won over 20% of the vote – their best result ever – but received no new seats.
The 1975 New Zealand general election was held on 29 November to elect MPs to the 38th session of the New Zealand Parliament. It was the first general election in New Zealand where 18- to 20-year-olds and all permanent residents of New Zealand were eligible to vote, although only citizens were able to be elected.
The 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, retain office, but the opposition Labour Party won the largest share of the vote. Reorganisation of the enrolment system caused major problems with the electoral rolls, which left a legacy of unreliable information about voting levels in this election.
The 39th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand which began with the general election held on 25 November 1978, and finished with the general election held on 28 November 1981. The dates of the Muldoon Ministry were from 13 December 1978 to 11 December 1981.
The 1938 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 26th term. It resulted in the governing Labour Party being re-elected in a landslide, winning nearly 56% of the vote despite not gaining any more seats. Having replaced the United-Reform coalition, the newly founded National Party also gained a certain amount of ground.
The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority. It also saw the debut of the new Social Credit Party, which won more than eleven percent of the vote but failed to win a seat.
The Northern Maori by-election of 1980 was a by-election for the Northern Maori electorate during the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It was prompted on 29 April by the resignation of Matiu Rata, a former member of the Labour Party who was establishing a new group, Mana Motuhake. Rata believed that contesting a by-election would give him a mandate for his change of allegiance. In the end, however, his plan backfired when the seat was won by Bruce Gregory, his replacement as the Labour Party candidate.
The Onehunga by-election of 1980 was a by-election for the Onehunga electorate during the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It was prompted by the death of Frank Rogers, a Labour Party MP. It was held on 7 June 1980 and was won by Fred Gerbic, also of the Labour Party.
East Coast Bays is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first formed in 1972 and has existed apart from a break lasting two parliamentary terms. The electorate has been held by Erica Stanford of the National Party since the 2017 general election.
Gary Thomas Knapp is a former New Zealand politician of the Social Credit Party.
Air Commodore Thomas Francis Gill, was a New Zealand air force pilot and politician. He flew with the Royal Air Force throughout the Second World War and afterwards served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force until 1969. He entered Parliament as a National Party MP in 1969 and served as a cabinet minister from 1975 to 1980, when he resigned to become New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States.
Susanne Mary Wood served as the president of the New Zealand National Party from 1982 to 1986, the youngest person and the first woman to hold the post.
Barry Selwyn Gustafson is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as professor of political studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Director of the New Zealand Asia Institute from 2004 to 2006. He has contested various general elections, first for the Labour Party and later for the National Party, coming second each time.
The Tamaki by-election 1992 was a by-election held in the Tāmaki electorate during the 43rd New Zealand Parliament, on 15 February 1992. It was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Sir Robert Muldoon and was won by Clem Simich with a majority of 1,252. The by-election was also notable as the first contested by the recently formed Alliance Party, and for their success in coming second ahead of the Labour Party.
The Mangere by-election of 1977 was a by-election for the electorate of Mangere on 26 March 1977 during the 38th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election resulted from the resignation of the previous member Colin Moyle after accusations against him in parliament, and he was replaced by David Lange, also of the Labour Party. Apart from Lange, there were seven other candidates in the by-election.
| 26th Parliament | |
|---|---|
| 27th Parliament | |
| 28th Parliament | |
| 29th Parliament | |
| 30th Parliament | |
| 31st Parliament | |
| 32nd Parliament | |
| 33rd Parliament | |
| 34th Parliament |
|
| 35th Parliament | |
| 36th Parliament | |
| 37th Parliament | |
| 38th Parliament | |
| 39th Parliament | |
| 40th Parliament |
|
| 41st Parliament | |
| 42nd Parliament |
|
| 43rd Parliament | |
| 44th Parliament | |
