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December 13, 2022
Core Labour vote holding despite by-election loss
Adam Gifford
Posted On December 13, 2022
Download AudioMāori Party president John Tamihere says the Hamilton West by-election was better for the Government than it seemed at first glance.
The seat abandoned by former Labour MP Gaurav Sharma was won by National’s Tama Potaka with 6629 votes, a margin of 2285 votes over Labour’s Georgie Dansey.
Mr Tamihere says the 30 percent turnout was unexpectedly low, but he thought the winning margin would be greater.
“I thought it was going to be a bloodbath, politically speaking, in regard to a punish for the Labour Party. Losing it by a third of the vote rather than getting trounced by half the vote says something is happening out there, that there is a core vote holding up,” he says.
Mr Tamihere says commentators calling Hamilton West a bellwether seat that follows electoral trends are wrong, as it’s been a safe National seat for several elections – with the exception of 2020.
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