1979 Christchurch Central by-election

The Christchurch Central by-election of 1979 was a by-election during the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It was prompted by the death of Bruce Barclay, a Labour Party MP, and resulted in Geoffrey Palmer, also of the Labour Party, being elected to replace him for the seat of Christchurch Central.[1] Palmer would eventually go on to become Prime Minister.[2] The by-election was somewhat embarrassing for the National Party, whose candidate was pushed into third place by Social Credit's Terry Heffernan.

1979 Christchurch Central by-election

18 August 1979 (1979-08-18)
Turnout	9,578
Candidate Geoffrey Palmer Terry Heffernan David Duncan Party Labour Social Credit National Popular vote 6,149 1,759 1,634 Percentage 64.20% 18.37% 17.06
Member before election Bruce Barclay Labour Elected Member Geoffrey Palmer Labour

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1979 Christchurch Central by-election[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Geoffrey Palmer	6,149	64.20	+3.03
	Social Credit	Terry Heffernan	1,759	18.37	+9.02
	National	David Duncan	1,634	17.06	-8.55
	Tory	Suzanne Sadler	26	0.27
	Economic Euthenics	Tubby Hansen	10	0.10
Majority			4,390	45.83	+10.27
Turnout			9,578	36.00
Registered electors			26,605
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.58

Notes

1. Wilson 1985, p. 182.
2. "Geoffrey Palmer". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
3. Norton 1988, p. 206.

References

• Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)