Election 2014: Labour clings on to Chch seats

Labour has clung on to its three Christchurch seats, but is puzzled and dismayed at National's clean sweep of party votes in the earthquake-battered city.

Although Port Hills Labour MP Ruth Dyson remains in Parliament after 21 years, with an election-night majority of 1865, her side gained just 24 per cent of the electorate's party vote against National's 47.5 per cent.

But one of Labour's few bright spots anywhere in New Zealand was a doubling of first-term MP Megan Woods' majority to 3088 votes in Wigram, held strongly before 2011 by Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton.

Clayton Cosgrove failed to regain the Waimakariri seat he lost in 2011 but will scrape back into Parliament on Labour's list, despite not advertising the party with any prominence in his electioneering material.

National has retained its four electorates in the city, raising previously slender majorities in Christchurch Central and Waimakariri to comfortable election-night leads of 2169 and 2011 votes respectively.

Its biggest loss was a 2483-vote election-night reduction in Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee's majority in the more affluent and largely undamaged electorate of Ilam.

But that has still left him with a lead of 10,829 votes, and he takes National's performance across Christchurch as a show of confidence in the Government's commitment to the city's rebuild.

"I think the last thing people want when they are dealing with the rebuilding of a particular suburb is change that might lead to a slowing of that progress," he told the Herald yesterday.

"There is still, particularly in the Port Hills area, a huge amount of work to do and we have got that under plan and really want to commit to completing it.

"The Government has been completely unstinting in providing resource to Christchurch and the Prime Minister has taken a very strong interest in Christchurch's progress as well."

Watch: Election 2014: Christchurch reaction

Ms Dyson does not share that outlook, referring to widespread discontent at slow responses from the Earthquake Commission and insurance companies, and a lack of community facilities.

"Everyone knows it's a big job, so I really hope the incoming Government makes it a better priority than they have in the last three years.

Labour had refrained from making political capital from the earthquakes, trying hard to work constructively with the Government "but Gerry Brownlee has just consistently rejected that."

She had yet to analyse why Christchurch residents voted so strongly for National, but was yesterday morning celebrating her re-election at a fair at Redcliff School, relocated to temporary quarters after the February 2011 earthquake left its home site at risk of rocks falling on it.

"It doesn't need repairing, it needs making safe, a really simple straightforward job that could have been done two and a half years ago.

A spokeswoman for Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said the former Labour MP had stated before the election she would not comment on it, given her priority of working with which government was in power on the city's rebuild.

But former mayor Garry Moore, a life member of Labour, said Christchurch results had "completely surprised" him, given the level of discontent with insurance companies, particularly the EQC.

"I think in a time of instability -- and it's incredibly unstable -- here, you look for your comfort blanket, and that was John Key," he said.

"But I wouldn't assume they [National] have a blank cheque and total endorsement around Christchurch -- things are going to get really tough down here."