New Zealand Labour Party leadership election, 1989

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New Zealand Labour Party leadership election, 1989
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← 1988 8 August 1989 1990 →
  SirGeoffreyPalmer.jpg Mike Moore.jpg
Candidate Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore
Popular vote 41 13
Percentage 75.92% 24.08%
Leader before election

David Lange

 Leader after election

Geoffrey Palmer

The New Zealand Labour Party leadership election, 1989 was held to determine the leadership of the New Zealand Labour Party. The leadership was won by Christchurch Central MP Geoffrey Palmer, who had been Deputy Leader the party since 1983.

Background

Following months of infighting and division with in the Labour Party, leader David Lange decided to resign as leader upon the re-election of his former Minister of Finance, Roger Douglas, to cabinet which Lange interpreted as a sign of no-confidence in his leadership.[1]

Candidates

Geoffrey Palmer

Palmer stood for the leadership feeling a sense of duty to do so as Lange's deputy. His image with the populace was one of distance to the publicly resented Rogernomics policies and was instead associated with Labour's more popular policies such as environmentalism, electoral reform and the nuclear-free stance.[1] Many in the party, particularly the newer caucus members, hoped this would allow Labour's popularity to heal and rebrand the party along more positive lines.[2]

Mike Moore

Moore was one of the senior cabinet ministers in the government and was ranked third in Labour's caucus. He was a supporter of the Rogernomics reforms, albeit less radical. As a result he was seen as a more acceptable alternative leader to both Douglas and his supporters as well as critics of Douglas. In the lead up to the vote Moore claimed he could only hope to beat Palmer if he had a 'clear run' against him, leading Douglas to withdraw.[2]

Roger Douglas

Former Minister of Finance Roger Douglas (who had previously challenged Lange for the leadership in 1988) also considered contesting the position. He later withdrew in favour of Moore upon realizing that he could not beat Palmer and concentrated on a bid for the deputy leadership. He lost this position to left-wing Health Minister Helen Clark by only a narrow margin.[2]

Result

A caucus vote was held on 8 August 1989. The result of the ballot saw Geoffrey Palmer win the leadership over Mike Moore 41 votes to 13.[2] The result for the deputy leadership was far less decisive, with Helen Clark defeating Roger Douglas 29 votes to 25.[2]

Leadership ballot

Name Votes Percentage
Geoffrey Palmer 41 75.92%
Mike Moore 13 24.08%

Deputy-leadership ballot

Name Votes Percentage
Helen Clark 29 53.7%
Roger Douglas 25 46.3%

Aftermath

Palmer lead Labour for the next fourteen months, though struggled repair the party's damaged unity. After becoming clear that Labour could not win the next election, Palmer was replaced as leader by Moore only two months before the 1990 general election. Having Moore as leader was believed by many in the Labour caucus to give it better success at the polls. Palmer then decided not to stand for election in 1990 and retired to politics, returning to his academic career.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Franks & McAloon 2016, p. 223.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bassett 2008, p. 509.

References

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