The 2008 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election was held on 11 November 2008 to choose the twelfth

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

of the New Zealand Labour Party.

Phil Goff Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 N ...

, who had served continuously as an MP since the , unanimously won the election with no other MPs putting themselves forward.

Annette King Dame Annette Faye King (née Robinson, born 13 September 1947) is a former New Zealand politician. She served as Deputy Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2011, and from 2014 until 1 March 20 ...

became the Deputy Leader. She was first elected to

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in the , three years after Goff.

Background

Following the Labour government's defeat in the 2008 general election, Prime Minister

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

resigned after 15 years as party leader, including three terms as prime minister, prompting the leadership election.

Candidates

There was only one candidate, Phil Goff.

Phil Goff

Phil Goff had been an MP since 1981 except for three years after losing his seat in 1990. He had served in Clark's government concurrently as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and later as

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

. He had previously served in various capacities in

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...

's cabinet in the 1980s. Goff and Clark did not always see eye to eye and in 1996 he attempted an abortive coup to oust Clark.

Outcome and aftermath

Goff had been widely tipped as Clark's successor and faced no other candidates and was acclaimed with unanimous support on 11 November 2008.

was elected as deputy leader, and

Darren Hughes Darren Colyn Hughes (born 3 April 1978) is a New Zealand former Member of Parliament between 2002 and 2011, first elected at the age of 24. He represented the Labour Party and was a Minister outside Cabinet in the Fifth Labour Government of Ne ...

and Steve Chadwick were elected as the senior and junior whips, respectively. Both Goff and King were also perceived by many as merely caretaker leaders until newer, younger figures could emerge. After initially performing well in the opinion polls, Goff's Labour Party dropped in support in contrast to the popular National government led by

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...

, hitting a 10 year low of 27% support in July 2011 after controversy over Labour's proposal for a

capital gains tax A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property. Not all countries impose a c ...

hurt the party's support. While party support recovered somewhat, Goff still led Labour to defeat in the 26 November 2011 general election with a loss of 8 seats and 6.5% of the popular vote compared to 2008. On 29 November, Goff and King tendered their resignations to a meeting of caucus, effective 13 December 2011.Election results
, Radio New Zealand, 27 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.

Notes

References

* {{New Zealand Labour Party Labour Party leadership election, 2008

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

November 2008 events in New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party leadership election