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.

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.

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.

Many believed that this time, Labour would manage to convert its support into seats, although that did prove not to be the case.

After the 1980 East Coast Bays by-election, Social Credit support rose as high as 30% in opinion polls, but then declined.

This meant that National kept its majority by only a single seat, which became highly problematic over the next parliamentary term.

The Social Credit Party managed to retain its two seats, East Coast Bays and Rangitikei.