Mangere by-election, 1977

Mangere by-election, 1977

26 March 1977 (1977-03-26)

Candidate David Lange Clem Simich Party Labour National Popular vote 9766 5107 Percentage 58.27 30.48

MP before election Colin Moyle Labour Elected MP David Lange Labour

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.

The by-election put Lange (who had stood unsuccessfully in 1975 for Hobson) into parliament, and the attention that he got helped propel him to the leadership of the parliamentary Labour Party in February 1983, and then a landslide victory over Muldoon in the 1984 general election.

Mangere by-election, 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Lange	9,766	58.27
	National	Clem Simich	5,107	30.48
	Social Credit	W. J. Owens	1,026	6.10
	Values	F. W. Grayson	789	4.71
	Worker's Labour	B. C. Moss	28	0.17
	Alpha	P. B. Magoffin	18	0.11
	Independent Labour (Tenant's Rights)	B. J. Shaw	17	0.10
	Socialist Action	Mrs B. M. Mulrennan	7	0.04
Majority			4,659	27.80
Turnout			16,758	64.31
Registered electors			26,058
	Labour hold		Swing