ˈæʃfiːld wʌz ɹᵻɡˈɑːɹdᵻd æz ɐ sˈeɪf lˈeɪbɚ sˈiːt, bˌʌt ˌɔn twˈɛnti ˈeɪt ˈeɪpɹəl, ɪn ɐn ɐmˈeɪzɪŋ ɹɪzˈʌlt, smˈɪθ ˌoʊvɚtˈɜːnd mˈɑːɹkwændz ɑːktˈoʊbɚ nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti fˈoːɹ mədʒˈɔːɹᵻɾi ʌv twˈɛnti tˈuː,nˈaɪnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪftiːn tə wˈɪn baɪ tˈuːhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti fˈoːɹ vˈoʊts ˌoʊvɚ lˈeɪbɚz mˈaɪkəl kˈaʊən.
Ashfield was regarded as a 'safe' Labour seat, but on 28 April, in an amazing result, Smith overturned Marquand's October 1974 majority of 22,915 to win by 264 votes over Labour's Michael Cowan.