New Zealand general election, 1987

1987 general election

1984 ← members 15 August 1987 (1987-08-15) elected members → 1990 members

All 97 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 49 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party   Leader David Lange Jim Bolger Party Labour National Leader since 1983 1986 Leader's seat Mangere King Country Last election 56 seats, 43.0% 37 seats, 35.9% Seats before 55 38 Seats won 57 40 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 878,448 806,305 Percentage 48.0% 44.0% Swing 5.0% 8.1%

Prime Minister before election David Lange Labour Elected Prime Minister David Lange Labour

The 1987 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 43rd sitting of the New Zealand Parliament. The governing New Zealand Labour Party, led by Prime Minister David Lange, was re-elected for a second term, although the Opposition National Party made gains. The election also saw the elimination of the Democratic Party (formerly the Social Credit Party) from Parliament, leaving Labour and National as the only parties represented.

Background

Before the election, the Labour Party (in government) held 56 seats, giving it an absolute majority in Parliament. The National Party (in opposition) held 37 seats. The Democrats, a small party devoted to the principles of Social Credit, held two seats.

Of particular importance in the election were the economic reforms being undertaken by Roger Douglas, the Minister of Finance. These reforms, sometimes known as "Rogernomics", involved monetarist approaches to controlling inflation, the sale of state assets, and the removal of tariffs and subsidies. All these things were strongly opposed by many traditional Labour supporters, who saw them as a betrayal of the party's left-wing principles. Many commentators believed that public anger over Rogernomics could cost the government the election.

Another matter of importance, and perhaps one which enabled Labour to survive public dissatisfaction, was the nuclear issue. In the previous parliamentary term, New Zealand had adopted legislation which prevented nuclear weapons or nuclear-powered ships entering New Zealand, a move which provoked an angry reaction from New Zealand's allies in the ANZUS treaty. The National Party intended to revoke the ban, but the New Zealand public were supportive of it. Labour's support for the ban is often considered to be an important factor in the party's re-election.

The election

The election was held on 15 August. 2,114,656 people were registered to vote.^[1] Turnout was 89.1%, somewhat lower than the 1984 election.

Summary of results

The election saw the Labour Party win 57 seats, enough for it to retain its outright majority. Labour held one more seat than after the previous election. The National Party won 40 seats, an increase of three. It was possible for both parties to increase their number of seats partly due to the disappearance of the Democrats and partly due to the increase in the total number of seats.

Although Labour emerged from the election with a 17-seat lead over National, the difference between each party's vote count was considerably smaller. Labour's share of the vote was 48.0% (up from 43.0% in 1984), while National's was 44.0% (up from 35.5%). While Labour did retain its lead, the gap between Labour and National closed by a larger extent than the seat count would indicate.

The Democrats, despite winning 5.7% of the total vote, did not win any electorates, including the two that they had held before the election. The Democrats have not regained parliamentary representation under their own name since losing it in these elections, although they did manage to enter parliament as part of the larger Alliance.

The New Zealand Party, which had gained 12.2% of the vote in the previous election, performed poorly, gaining less than 0.1% support.

Electoral petition

The election night result for Wairarapa was for National by 65 votes. The final official count however gave the seat to the incumbent, Reg Boorman of the Labour Party, by a margin of seven votes, although a Judicial Recount reduced this to only one vote. But on 12 July 1988, following a petition to the Electoral Court, Wyatt Creech of the National Party was declared elected by a margin of 34 votes (9994 to 9960). The petition was supported initially by MPs Roger McClay and Winston Peters (who had been involved in challenges in Taupo and Hunua) but not by the party hierarchy, according to Creech’s account in a book by Ross Meurant).^[2]

Detailed results

Displayed on the table are:

• The number of candidates the party put forward.
• The total number of votes received by all the party's candidates.
• The percentage of the whole that these votes make up.
• The number of seats that the party won.

Party	Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won
Labour Party	97	878,448	48.0%	57
National Party	97	806,305	44.0%	40
Democratic Party	97	105,091	5.7%	–
Independents	5	11,873	0.6%	–
Others	128	30,060	1.7%	–
Total	424	1,831,777		97

There were 97 seats being contested, two more than were in the previous parliament. All seats were won by one of the two major parties.

The Labour Party, which was in government, won 57 seats, giving it a majority. Most of the seats won by Labour were in urban areas, following the party's typical pattern. Labour was particularly strong in the Wellington region, where it won all ten urban seats. It was also strong in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, the other three urban centres, as well as in smaller cities such as Hamilton, New Plymouth, Nelson, Napier, Hastings and Palmerston North. Labour also retained its traditional dominance in the Maori seats, winning all four by large margins.

The National Party, also following its traditional patters, was strongest in rural areas, winning the vast majority of seats in these regions. The party's primary wins in urban areas were in Auckland, with the party taking six seats. The party also won a number of seats in smaller cities, such as Rotorua, Tauranga, Invercargill and Whangarei. The party performed poorly in the Maori electorates, coming third in all four.

While no minor parties managed to win an electorate, several did manage to gain second place, outperforming one of the major parties but being defeated by the other. The Democrats (formerly Social Credit) was the strongest of the minor parties, coming second in five electorates. Two electorates, East Coast Bays and Pakuranga, were held by the Democrats prior to the election, but were narrowly lost to National candidates. In the other electorates (Coromandel, Rangitikei and Wanganui) the Democrats were the challengers. In the four Maori electorates, the Mana Motuhake party gained second place. Its best result, 31.6%, was obtained in Northern Maori. The New Zealand Party also performed strongly in some electorates, although not as strongly as in the previous election.

Independent candidates did not perform well in the 1987 election, with none of them winning a seat or even placing second.

MPs Elected in 1987			Papatoetoe: Ross Robertson	Titirangi: Ralph Maxwell
Albany: Don McKinnon	Gisborne: Allan Wallbank	Maramarua: Bill Birch	Pencarrow: Sonja Davies	Tongariro: Noel Scott
Ashburton: Jenny Shipley	Glenfield: Judy Keall	Marlborough: Doug Kidd	Porirua: Graham Kelly	Waikaremoana: Roger McClay
Auckland Central: Richard Prebble	Hamilton East: Bill Dillon	Matamata: John Luxton	Raglan: Simon Upton	Waikato: Rob Storey
Avon: Larry Sutherland	Hamilton West: Trevor Mallard	Miramar: Peter Neilson	Rangiora: Jim Gerard	Waipa: Katherine O'Regan
Awarua: Jeff Grant	Hastings: David Butcher	Mount Albert: Helen Clark	Rangitikei: Dennis Marshall	Wairarapa: Wyatt Creech
Bay of Islands: John Carter	Hawkes Bay: Bill Sutton	Napier: Geoff Braybrooke	Remuera: Doug Graham	Waitaki: Jim Sutton
Birkenhead: Jenny Kirk	Heretaunga: Bill Jeffries	Nelson: Philip Woollaston	Roskill: Phil Goff	Waitotara: Venn Young
Christchurch Central: Geoffrey Palmer	Hobson: Ross Meurant	New Lynn: Jonathan Hunt	Rotorua: Paul East	Wallace: Derek Angus
Christchurch North: Mike Moore	Horowhenua: Annette King	New Plymouth: Harry Duynhoven	St Albans: David Caygill	Wanganui: Russell Marshall
Clevedon: Warren Kyd	Invercargill: Rob Munro	North Shore: George Gair	St Kilda: Michael Cullen	Wellington Central: Fran Wilde
Clutha: Robin Gray	Island Bay: Elizabeth Tennet	Ohariu: Peter Dunne	Selwyn: Ruth Richardson	West Auckland: Jack Elder
Coromandel: Graeme Lee	Kaimai: Robert Anderson	Onehunga: Fred Gerbic	Sydenham: Jim Anderton	West Coast: Thomas Burke
Dunedin North: Stan Rodger	Kaipara: Lockwood Smith	Otago: Warren Cooper	Tamaki: Robert Muldoon	Western Hutt: John Terris
Dunedin West: Clive Matthewson	Kapiti: Margaret Shields	Otara: Colin Moyle	Taranaki: Roger Maxwell	Whangarei: John Banks
East Cape: Anne Fraser	King Country: Jim Bolger	Pahiatua: John Falloon	Tarawera: Ian McLean	Yaldhurst: Margaret Austin
East Coast Bays: Murray McCully	Lyttelton: Peter Simpson	Pakuranga: Maurice Williamson	Tasman: Ken Shirley	Eastern Maori: Peter Tapsell
Eastern Hutt: Trevor Young	Manawatu: David Robinson	Palmerston North: Trevor De Cleene	Tauranga: Winston Peters	Northern Maori: Bruce Gregory
Eden: Richard Northey	Mangere: David Lange	Panmure: Bob Tizard	Te Atatu: Michael Bassett	Southern Maori: Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan
Fendalton: Philip Burdon	Manurewa: Roger Douglas	Papakura: Merv Wellington	Timaru: Maurice McTigue	Western Maori: Koro Wetere

References

1. ^ "General elections 1853–2005 – dates & turnout". Chief Electoral Office. http://www.elections.org.nz/record/resultsdata/elections-dates-turnout.html. Retrieved 19 July 2009. 
2. ^ Meurant, Ross The Beat to the Beehive (1989, Harlen Books, Auckland) ISBN 0-908-757-05-O pp. 181–198