Election was split, says National

Press, 28 May 1979, Page 6

Election was split, says National

Two elections, for safe seats and for marginal seats, occurred in last year’s General Election, according to the president of the National Party (Mr G. A. Ghapman >.

Analysing the election at the annual conference of the Canterbury-Westland division of the party on Saturday, Mr Chapman said that the different voting patterns in safe and marginal seats had been caused by public opinion polls, giving National a big lead, and by predictions by virtually every commentator that National would win with a big major-i ity.

Voters in safe seats had felt that they could afford the luxury of voting for a third party and nad con-; sequently put Social Credit j first in Rangitikei and second in 10 other seats. The pattern had coincided with! many Labour voters switching to Social Credit. In marginal seats, the!

choice had been clearly between a National government or a Labour government.

“This is the only explanation of the fact that National held marginal seats such as Whangarei, Eden, Hamilton East and Hamilton West, Gisborne. New Plymouth, Horowhenua. Kapiti, Miramar, Marlborough, Rangiora, Awarua, and In- ! vercargill against a swing ; which in many electorates I was of 1972 proportions,” ■said Mr Chapman. I “It also explains the close result in seats such as i Taupo, Hastings, and Westiern Hutt, which, having re!gard to the size of the swing, Labour should have won with much higher majorities.”

Mr Chapman said that the importance of thF role of the party organisation had never been better emphasised than in 1978. He had no doubt that the best party organisation had won the election. National had to maintain this organisation at a peak to win the 1981 election. To do this, it had to maintain as much as possible its 1978 record membership of 200.000; its members had to continue to fund the party's work and its centre in Wellington; it had encouraged young persons to involve themselves; it had to encourage women to seek higher office in the party; and it had to encourage Maoris to remain involved.