1985 Timaru by-election

The Timaru by-election of 1985 was a by-election for the electorate of Timaru during the term of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It was triggered by the death of Sir Basil Arthur (who had held the seat since 1962) on 1 May 1985. Sir Basil was Speaker of the House, and had inherited the rank of baronet from his father in 1949.

1985 Timaru by-election

15 June 1985 (1985-06-15)
Turnout	22,027 (89.99%)
Candidate Maurice McTigue Jan Walker Bill Greenslade Party National Labour NZ Party Popular vote 9,371 7,879 2,998 Percentage 42.67 35.88 13.65
Member before election Basil Arthur Labour Elected Member Maurice McTigue National

The by-election was held on 15 June 1985 and was won by Maurice McTigue of the National Party with a majority of 1,492 votes.

Campaign

David Lange recalled a meeting during the by-election campaign when Labour general secretary Tony Timms manhandled a noisy heckler out of the building. He said that the Labour candidate Jan Walker was a good lawyer (and was later a Family Court judge), but that the Labour Party organisation (i.e. head office) insisted on the selection of a candidate who "did not live in Timaru and her opinions, and even her appearance, were at odds with the conservative character of the electorate"; although Jim Anderton predictably (and publicly) blamed the defeat on "the government’s abandonment of traditional Labour policy".[1]

New Zealand Party founder Bob Jones (who had already achieved his primary goal of ending the Muldoon government) was disappointed by his party's performance in the by-election came to the decision to put the party into recess.

The by-election was the last time the Social Credit Party name was used as the party renamed itself as the Democratic Party later in the year.[2]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1985 Timaru by-election[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	National	Maurice McTigue	9,371	42.67	+4.22
	Labour	Jan Walker	7,879	35.88
	NZ Party	Bill Greenslade	2,998	13.65
	Social Credit	Lynley Simmons	1,628	7.41	+2.10
	Values	J S B Luck	54	0.25
	Independent Labour	Alan Falloon	31	0.14
Majority			1,492	6.79
Informal votes			66	0.29
Turnout			22,027	89.99	-3.19
Registered electors			24,476
	National gain from Labour		Swing

References

1. David Lange (2005). My Life. Viking. ISBN 0-670-04556-X.
2. Calderwood, David (2010). Not a Fair Go: A History and Analysis of Social Credit's Struggle for Success in New Zealand's Electoral System (Thesis). University of Waikato. p. 123.
3. Norton 1988, p. 363.

• 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)