Has Clark got the job?

The Herald reports that Helen Clark has got the job as head of the UN Development Programme. Good news if its true - Clark is a natural for that sort of work. But it will also mean a by-election in Mt Albert - our first since the Te Tai Hauauru by-election in 2004. By-elections used to be fairly common, with an average of almost one a year between 1945 and 1985. Now we get them once every five years. MMP plays a role here, reducing sharply the number of by-elections arising from resignation, but there's another reason too: MPs just aren't dying in office anymore...