1980 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election

New Zealand party leadership election

1980 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election

* * *

| <- 1974 | 12 December 1980 | 1983 ->

|
|

|  |  |

|
|

Candidate  | Bill Rowling | David Lange
Popular vote  | 19 | 18
Percentage  | 51.40% | 49.60%

* * *

| Leader before election

Bill Rowling

| Leader after election

Bill Rowling

|

The 1980 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election was held on 12 December 1980 to determine the leadership of the New Zealand Labour Party. The leadership was retained by former Prime Minister Bill Rowling, who had led the party for the last six years.

## Background[edit]

Rowling was already seriously considering resigning from politics altogether. After the 1978 election, it was clear that his days as leader were numbered and a leadership challenge was imminent. Earlier in 1980 Rowling sacked Roger Douglas from his shadow cabinet as consumer affairs and transport spokesperson for releasing an unauthorised alternative budget, fuelling prospects of a leadership challenge from Douglas' friend David Lange.[1] Many were also weary of the fact that Labour was still polling well below National and just barely ahead of the Social Credit Party, who reached their popularity zenith during the East Coast Bays by-election.[2]

## Candidates[edit]

Poor polling results helped instigate a challenge to Rowling.

### Bill Rowling[edit]

Bill Rowling had been leader for six years including as Prime Minister in 1974–75 despite Labour defeats in the 1975 and 1978 elections. However, he was able to claim a moral victory in the latter where Labour polled more votes overall than National, although they won fewer seats. His contemporaries argued that Labour’s losses reflected badly on Rowling himself, despite making a substantial effort in rebuilding the party's membership during its time in opposition. Also, the fact that Rowling lacked the backing of the trade unions was crippling in Labour's circles and hampered his leverage in party structure.[1]

### David Lange[edit]

After entering parliament in a by-election that received much media attention and helped propel him to the deputy leadership of the Labour Party in 1979, Lange became Labour's rising star. Lange was Shadow Minister for Social Welfare from 1978 to 1979 and since 1979 had been Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Attorney-General, Shadow Minister of Justice and Shadow Minister of Pacific Island Affairs.[3][4] Lange had always been a critic of Rowling and came "to resent the bloody-mindedness with which he clung to the leadership."[5]

## Result[edit]

A caucus vote was held on 12 December 1980 where half the attendees supported a leadership change, and the other half opposed. After a silent pause, Rowling added that he too opposed, bringing the total votes for himself to 19 and enabling him to cling on to the party's leadership by a single vote.[6][7]

### Leadership ballot[edit]

Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|

| Bill Rowling | 19 | 51.40
| David Lange | 18  | 48.60
Majority | 1  | 2.70
Turnout | 37  | —

## How each MP voted[edit]

A list of each MP's vote.[8]

MP | Leader Vote

|

Basil Arthur | Rowling
Ron Bailey | Lange
Michael Bassett | Lange
Mary Batchelor | Lange
Kerry Burke | Rowling
David Butcher | Rowling
David Caygill | Rowling
Gordon Christie | Rowling
Fraser Colman | Rowling
Mick Connelly | Lange
Mel Courtney | Lange
Roger Douglas | Lange
Arthur Faulkner | Lange
Warren Freer | Rowling
Fred Gerbic | Rowling
Bruce Gregory | Lange
Ann Hercus | Rowling
Jonathan Hunt | Rowling
Eddie Isbey | Lange
John Kirk | Lange
David Lange | Lange
Brian MacDonell | Lange
Russell Marshall | Rowling
Ralph Maxwell | Lange
Mike Moore | Lange
Geoffrey Palmer | Rowling
Richard Prebble | Lange
Paraone Reweti | Rowling
Jack Ridley | Lange
Stan Rodger | Rowling
Bill Rowling | Rowling
John Terris | Rowling
Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | Rowling
Bob Tizard | Rowling
Gerard Wall | Lange
Koro Wētere  | Rowling
Trevor Young | Lange

Three MPs were not present. Both Frank O'Flynn and Joe Walding were overseas and Bill Fraser was absent due to illness. Given the closeness of the result, their presence could have changed the result. Walding was a Rowling supporter whilst O'Flynn was likely to back Lange. Fraser was also thought to have favoured a leadership change.[9]

## Aftermath[edit]

Rowling remained leader until 1983. He was visibly wounded by the challenge and called Lange's supporters 'nakedly ambitious rats', which he refused to retract.[6] Later, Lange and a group of his core supporters (Roger Douglas, Michael Bassett, Richard Prebble and Mike Moore) became known as the "Fish and Chip Brigade" due to a picture published at the time with the group (minus Prebble) eating Fish and chips in Douglas' office after the vote.[10] The brigade blamed the loss on one 'turncoat' who switched allegiance at the last moment, later revealed to have been Koro Wētere.[7]

Lange noted the lack of any ideological motives about the election to be odd, stating "It was a mixture of loyalty, distrust, calculation, idealism and opportunism which decided the vote".[2] Following the coup attempt Lange resigned as deputy leader in January 1981 to offer himself for re-election as a vote of confidence.[11] At Labour's first caucus meeting of the year he was re-elected as deputy leader.[12]

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ a b Henderson, John. "Rowling, Wallace Edward". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
2. ^ a b Lange 2005, p. 133.
3. ^ "Rowling shuffles his pack". Auckland Star. 9 December 1978. p. 3.
4. ^ "The Team". The New Zealand Herald. 15 December 1979. p. 12.
5. ^ Gustafson, Barry. "Lange, David Russell". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
6. ^ a b Bassett 2008, p. 57.
7. ^ a b Grant 2022, p. 64.
8. ^ Henderson 1981, pp. 24–25.
9. ^ Henderson 1981, p. 25.
10. ^ "Photo of the Fish and Chip Brigade in 1980 in Douglas' office; Bassett, Douglas, Lange and Moore". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
11. ^ "Party Deputy Leader Will Quit To Test Support". The New Zealand Herald. 23 January 1981. p. 1.
12. ^ "Lange back with confidence". Auckland Star. 12 February 1981. p. 1.

## References[edit]

* Bassett, Michael (2008). Working with David: Inside the Lange Cabinet. Auckland: Hodder Moa. ISBN 978-1-86971-094-1.
* Grant, David (2022). Anderton: His Life and Times. Wellington: Te Herenga Waka University Press. ISBN 9781776920563.
* Henderson, John (1981). Rowling: The Man and the Myth. Auckland: Fraser Books. ISBN 0-908620-03-9.
* Lange, David (2005). My Life. Viking. ISBN 0-670-04556-X.

* v
* t
* e

New Zealand Labour Party

Leadership

| Leaders
Names in bold served
as prime minister|

* Alfred Hindmarsh (1916–18)
* Harry Holland (1919–33)
* Michael Joseph Savage (1933–40)
* Peter Fraser (1940–50)
* Walter Nash (1950–63)
* Arnold Nordmeyer (1963–65)
* Norman Kirk (1965–74)
* Bill Rowling (1974–83)
* David Lange (1983–89)
* Geoffrey Palmer (1989–90)
* Mike Moore (1990–93)
* Helen Clark (1993–2008)
* Phil Goff (2008–11)
* David Shearer (2011–13)
* David Cunliffe (2013–14)
* Andrew Little (2014–17)
* Jacinda Ardern (2017–23)
* Chris Hipkins (2023–present)

* * *

|

Deputy leaders|

* James McCombs (1919–23)
* Michael Joseph Savage (1923–33)
* Peter Fraser (1933–40)
* Walter Nash (1940–51)
* Jerry Skinner (1951–62)
* Fred Hackett (1962–63)
* Hugh Watt (1963–74)
* Bob Tizard (1974–79)
* David Lange (1979–83)
* Geoffrey Palmer (1983–89)
* Helen Clark (1989–93)
* David Caygill (1993–96)
* Michael Cullen (1996–2008)
* Annette King (2008–11)
* Grant Robertson (2011–13)
* David Parker (2013–14)
* Annette King (2014–17)
* Jacinda Ardern (2017)
* Kelvin Davis (2017–23)
* Carmel Sepuloni (2023–present)

* * *

Leadership elections|

* 1919
* 1920
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* 1922
* 1923
* 1933
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* 1983
* 1988
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Internal offices

| Party presidents|

* James McCombs (1916–17)
* Andrew Walker (1917–18)
* Tom Paul (1918–20)
* Peter Fraser (1920–21)
* Frederick Cooke (1921–22)
* Tom Brindle (1922–26)
* Bob Semple (1926–28)
* John Archer (1928–29)
* Jim Thorn (1929–31)
* Rex Mason (1931–32)
* Bill Jordan (1932–33)
* Frank Langstone (1933–34)
* Tim Armstrong (1934–35)
* Walter Nash (1935–36)
* Clyde Carr (1936–37)
* James Roberts (1937–50)
* Arnold Nordmeyer (1950–55)
* Mick Moohan (1955–60)
* Martyn Finlay (1960–64)
* Norman Kirk (1964–66)
* Norman Douglas (1966–70)
* Bill Rowling (1970–73)
* Charles Bennett (1973–76)
* Arthur Faulkner (1976–79)
* Jim Anderton (1979–84)
* Margaret Wilson (1984–87)
* Rex Jones (1987–88)
* Ruth Dyson (1988–93)
* Maryan Street (1993–95)
* Michael Hirschfeld (1995–99)
* Bob Harvey (1999–2000)
* Mike Williams (2000–09)
* Andrew Little (2009–11)
* Moira Coatsworth (2011–15)
* Nigel Haworth (2015–19)
* Claire Szabó (2019–22)
* Jill Day (2022–present)

* * *

|

General secretaries|

* John Glover (1916–19)
* Michael Joseph Savage (1919–20)
* Moses Ayrton (1920–22)
* Walter Nash (1922–32)
* Jim Thorn (1932–36)
* David Wilson (1936–40)
* Mick Moohan (1940–48)
* Allan McDonald (1948–71)
* John Wybrow (1971–85)
* Tony Timms (1985–95)
* Rob Allen (1995–2000)
* Mike Smith (2001–08)
* Chris Flatt (2008–12)
* Tim Barnett (2012–16)
* Andrew Kirton (2016–18)
* Andre Anderson (2018–20)
* Rob Salmond (2020–present)

* * *

Senior Whips|

* Andrew Walker (1916–19)
* James McCombs (1919–22)
* Dan Sullivan (1922–35)
* Bill Jordan (1935–36)
* Robert McKeen (1937–39)
* James O'Brien (1939–42)
* Arthur Shapton Richards (1942–47)
* Robert Macfarlane (1947–51)
* Phil Connolly (1951–52)
* Joe Cotterill (1952–58)
* Henry May (1958–72)
* Ron Barclay (1972–76)
* Roger Drayton (1976–78)
* Russell Marshall (1978–80)
* Jonathan Hunt (1980–84)
* Michael Cullen (1984–87)
* Margaret Austin (1987–90)
* Trevor Mallard (1990)
* Jonathan Hunt (1990–96)
* Mark Burton (1996–99)
* Rick Barker (1999–2002)
* David Benson-Pope (2002–04)
* Jill Pettis (2004–05)
* Tim Barnett (2005–08)
* Darren Hughes (2008–11)
* Rick Barker (2011)
* Chris Hipkins (2011–13)
* Sue Moroney (2013–14)
* Chris Hipkins (2014–16)
* Kris Faafoi (2016–17)
* Ruth Dyson (2017–19)
* Michael Wood (2019–20)
* Kieran McAnulty (2020–22)
* Duncan Webb (2022–23)
* Tangi Utikere (2023–present)

Organisation

| Current members
of parliament
Names without
electorates are list MPs
(List of former MPs)|

* Leader: Chris Hipkins (Remutaka)
* Deputy Leader: Carmel Sepuloni (Kelston)

* Ginny Andersen
* Camilla Belich
* Glen Bennett
* Rachel Boyack (Nelson)
* Rachel Brooking (Dunedin)
* Reuben Davidson (Christchurch East)
* Barbara Edmonds (Mana)
* Shanan Halbert
* Peeni Henare
* Willie Jackson
* Ingrid Leary (Taieri)
* Jo Luxton
* Kieran McAnulty
* Tracey McLellan
* Damien O'Connor
* Greg O'Connor (Ōhāriu)
* David Parker
* Willow-Jean Prime
* Priyanca Radhakrishnan
* Adrian Rurawhe
* Deborah Russell
* Jenny Salesa (Panmure-Ōtāhuhu)
* Lemauga Lydia Sosene (Māngere)
* Cushla Tangaere-Manuel (Ikaroa-Rāwhiti)
* Jan Tinetti
* Phil Twyford (Te Atatū)
* Tangi Utikere (Palmerston North)
* Ayesha Verrall
* Duncan Webb (Christchurch Central)
* Helen White (Mount Albert)
* Arena Williams (Manurewa)
* Megan Woods (Wigram)

* * *

|

Related organisations|

* City Vision
* The People's Choice
* Princes Street Labour
* Rainbow Labour
* Rātana
* VicLabour
* Young Labour

History

| History and related topics|

* Liberal–Labour
* Labour Unity Conferences
* Lee affair
* Black Budget
* Mason Affair
* It's Time
* Citizens for Rowling
* Moyle Affair
* Fish and Chip Brigade
* Rogernomics
* Māori loan affair
* Backbone club
* Closing the Gaps
* Helengrad
* Corngate
* Foreshore and seabed controversy
* KiwiSaver

* * *

|

Labour governments|

* First (1935–49)
* Second (1957–60)
* Third (1972–75)
* Fourth (1984–90)
* Fifth (1999–2008)
* Sixth (2017–23)

* * *

Shadow cabinets|

* Kirk
* Rowling
* Lange
* Moore
* Clark
* Goff
* Shearer
* Cunliffe
* Little
* Ardern
* Hipkins

* * *

Predecessor parties|

* New Zealand Liberal Party
* New Zealand Socialist Party
* Independent Political Labour League
* New Zealand Labour Party (1910)
* United Labour Party
* Social Democratic Party

* v
* t
* e

David Lange

4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005
Prime Minister of New Zealand (1984–89) • Leader of the Labour Party (1983–89) • Member of Parliament for Mangere (1977–96)

Premiership|

* 1984–1989

General elections|

* 1984
* 1987

Electoral history|

* 1977 Mangere by-election
* 1980 leadership election
* 1983 leadership election
* 1988 leadership election

Related articles|

* Fish and Chip Brigade
* Shadow Cabinet
* 1984 constitutional crisis
* Rogernomics
* New Zealand nuclear-free zone
* Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
* Tomorrow's Schools
* Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* Lange v Atkinson

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