1993 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election

The 1993 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election was held to determine the leadership of the New Zealand Labour Party. The leadership was won by Mount Albert MP Helen Clark, who had been Deputy Leader of the party since 1989.

1993 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election
1 December 1993
 
Candidate Helen Clark Mike Moore
Popular vote 26 19
Percentage 57.77% 42.23%
Leader before election

Mike Moore

 Leader after election

Helen Clark

Background

After their heavy defeat in 1990, enough right-wingers (supporters of Rogernomics) held their seats for Mike Moore to remain as leader. Despite a major swing back towards Labour at the November 1993 election, the party did not regain office.[1] Despite the closeness of the margin it was Moore's second consecutive loss as leader, leading many to question his position.

Candidates

Helen Clark

Clark had been Deputy Leader since 1989, first under Geoffrey Palmer, then under Moore. Since 1990 she had been Shadow Minister of Health and Labour.[2] Clark had gained unrivalled influence over the wider Labour Party, but not the parliamentary caucus. In the run up to 1993, Clark and her allies (including former presidents Margaret Wilson and Ruth Dyson) who sat on the candidate selection panel had strategically installed likeminded candidates in nearly all winnable seats. Clark urged them to campaign alongside Moore but be primed to vote against him in the event of any post-election face-off.[3] Clark was particularly critical of Moore for delivering blurred messages during the 1993 campaign and accused him of failing to re-brand Labour as a centre-left party which had jettisoned Rogernomics.[4]

Mike Moore

Moore had served as Labour's leader since 1990. In 1993, by vigorously campaigning Moore managed to lead Labour to within two seats of snatching an unlikely victory over National only one term after their rout in 1990. However, Moore was disliked in large sections of the party, particularly among women.[3] He was, unlike Clark, also closely linked with Labour's Rogernomics policies of the 1980s which helped fuel the growth of the Alliance party made up largely of Labour dissidents who were largely credited with splitting the vote enough to lose Labour the cliffhanger 1993 election.[5] New party president Maryan Street asked Moore to step down voluntarily, but he refused forcing an open challenge.[4]

Result

A caucus vote was held on 1 December 1993 where a leadership ballot was moved by David Lange and (to the surprise of most) seconded by Moore. It was passed unanimously and chief whip Jonathan Hunt called for all those seeking the leadership to stand. Moore stood up, followed by Clark who won by seven votes.[4] Now leaving the Deputy-leadership open, David Caygill stood and was elected 23 to 21 over Michael Cullen.[6]

Leadership ballot
Candidate Votes %
Helen Clark 26 57.77
Mike Moore 19 42.23
Majority 7 15.55
Turnout 45 N/A

Deputy-leadership ballot
Candidate Votes %
David Caygill 23 52.27
Michael Cullen 21 47.72
Majority 2 4.54
Turnout 44 N/A

How each MP voted

A list of each MP's vote.[7]

MPLeader Vote
Margaret AustinMoore
Rick BarkerClark
John BlincoeClark
Geoff BraybrookeMoore
Mark BurtonClark
Chris CarterClark
David CaygillClark
Helen ClarkClark
Michael CullenMoore
Lianne DalzielClark
Peter DunneMoore
Harry DuynhovenMoore
Ruth DysonClark
Jack Elder Moore
Taito Phillip FieldClark
Martin GallagherClark
Phil GoffMoore
George HawkinsMoore
Pete HodgsonClark
Jonathan HuntClark
Judy KeallMoore
Graham KellyClark
Annette KingMoore
David LangeClark
Janet MackeyClark
Steve MahareyClark
Trevor MallardClark
Clive MatthewsonMoore
Mike MooreMoore
Richard NortheyClark
Damien O'ConnorMoore
Mark PeckClark
Jill PettisClark
Ross RobertsonMoore
Suzanne SinclairClark
Larry SutherlandClark
Jim SuttonMoore
Paul SwainClark
Peter TapsellMoore
Elizabeth TennetMoore
Whetu Tirikatene-SullivanMoore
Judith TizardClark
Koro Wētere Moore
Jill WhiteClark
Dianne YatesClark

Aftermath
See also: Shadow Cabinet of Helen Clark

Clark would lead Labour until she resigned in 2008. She went on to lose the next election in 1996, but would then win three consecutively (a record for a Labour leader) in 1999, 2002 and 2005. Moore did not take the loss gracefully and was a constant agitator in Labour's ranks until his retirement in 1999.[8] During that time he was Labour's spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Trade.

A noted critic of Clark's ousting of Moore as Labour leader was former Labour Prime Minister Norman Kirk's widow Ruth, who famously rang a Christchurch talkback radio show in 1993 to voice her fury at the episode.[9] Damien O'Connor (a new MP in 1993) said in 2018 that his decision to support Moore over Clark would set his career back a decade.[10]

Notes
    1. "A Hung Parliament Seems Likely For New Zealand". Orlando Sentinel. 8 November 1993. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
    2. "All Labour's 29 MPs get areas of responsibility". Otago Daily Times. 28 November 1990. p. 4.
    3. Quin, Phil (2 April 2011). "Phil Quin: The anatomy of a failed Labour coup". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
    4. Franks & McAloon 2016, p. 229.
    5. Lange 2005, p. 281-2.
    6. Franks & McAloon 2016, p. 230.
    7. "How they voted in caucus". The New Zealand Herald. 3 December 1993. p. 3.
    8. Edwards 2001, p. 229.
    9. Ward, Kathleen (29 December 2000). "Kiwis who left their mark on the nation". The New Zealand Herald. Auckland. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
    10. "Helen Clark coup set my career back". Stuff (Fairfax). 9 June 2018.

    References
    • Edwards, Brian (2001). Helen: Portrait of A Prime Minister. Auckland: Exisle Publishing. ISBN 0-908988-20-6.
    • Franks, Peter; McAloon, Jim (2016). Labour: The New Zealand Labour Party 1916-2016. Wellington: Victoria University Press. ISBN 978-1-77656-074-5.
    • Lange, David (2005). My Life. Viking. ISBN 0-670-04556-X.
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