1980 Labour Party (UK) leadership election 1980 Labour Party (UK) leadership election The 1980 Labour Party leadership election was held following the resignation of James Callaghan. Callaghan had been Prime Minister from 1976 to 1979 and had stayed on as leader of the Labour Party for eighteen months in order to oversee an orderly transition to his favoured successor, Denis Healey over his own deputy Michael Foot. However, during this period the party had become bogged down in internal arguments about its procedures and future direction. Initially, the candidates were thought likely to be Denis Healey, Peter Shore and John Silkin, but Michael Foot was persuaded
1980 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election 1980 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election On 12 December 1980, a New Zealand Labour Party leadership election was held to determine the leadership of the New Zealand Labour Party. The leadership was retained by former Prime Minister Bill Rowling, who had led the party for the last six years. Rowling was already seriously considering resigning from politics altogether. After the , it was clear that his days as leader were numbered and a leadership challenge was imminent. Earlier in 1980 Rowling sacked Roger Douglas from his shadow cabinet as finance spokesperson for releasing an unauthorised alternative budget, fuelling prospects