1981 New Zealand general election

1981 New Zealand general election

← 1978 28 November 1981 (1981-11-28) 1984 →
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92 seats in the Parliament 47 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Robert Muldoon Bill Rowling Bruce Beetham Party National Labour Social Credit Leader since 9 July 1974 6 September 1974 14 May 1972 Leader's seat Tamaki Tasman Rangitīkei Last election 51 seats, 39.8% 40 seats, 40.4% 1 seat, 16.1% Seats before 50 40 2 Seats won 47 43 2 Seat change 3 3 Popular vote 698,508 702,630 372,056 Percentage 38.8% 39.0% 20.7% Swing 1.0% 1.4% 4.6%
Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin
Prime Minister before election Robert Muldoon National Subsequent Prime Minister Robert Muldoon National

The 1981 New Zealand general election, held on 28 November 1981, was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, win a third term in office, but the opposition Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, won the largest share of the votes cast. Social Credit also won over 20% of the vote – their best result ever – but received no new seats.

This was the second consecutive election in which National lost the popular vote to Labour. More electorates were rural and right-leaning than urban and progressive, and therefore National benefitted under the first-past-the-post electoral system. That the unpopular Muldoon was able to continue to govern was a major catalyst for the growing public desire to reform New Zealand's electoral system. This happened within fifteen years, when the 1996 election was the first to use mixed-member proportional representation.

Notable MPs first elected at this election include future Labour Party leader and mayor of Auckland Phil Goff, the first Māori Speaker of the House Peter Tapsell, future Finance Minister Michael Cullen, and future Prime Minister Helen Clark. Future Minister of Foreign Affairs and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters lost his seat of Hunua at this election to Colin Moyle of the Labour Party, whom Robert Muldoon had aggressively accused of being gay as part of a McCarthyist smear campaign in 1977.