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All 80 seats in the House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 1,096,877 (91.4%)  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority. It also saw the debut of the new Social Credit Party, which won more than eleven percent of the vote but failed to win a seat.
The National Party had formed its first administration after the 1949 elections. It had then been re-elected by a large margin amid the industrial disputes of the 1951 election. The Prime Minister, Sidney Holland, was popular in many sectors of society for his strong line against striking dockworkers and coalminers, while Labour's leader, Walter Nash, had been criticised for his failure to take a firm stand on the issue. Labour was troubled by internal disputes, with Nash subjected to an unsuccessful leadership challenge only a few months before the election. [1] For the election, the National government adopted a "steady as she goes" approach, saying that the country was in good hands and did not need any major policy realignments.
Nash tried to make the election about the issue of cost-of-living with most of Labour's campaign promises being financial policies. He frequently highlighted the fact that in 1949 National had promised to "make the pound go further" but five years on what cost £1 (20 shillings) now cost 28 shillings. Labour's campaign promises included raising the child allowance to 15 shillings a week, housing loans with only 3% interest and the introduction of a PAYE income taxation system. [2] After a slow start to his campaign, things improved for Nash towards the end of his campaign. This was evidenced by his audiences becoming more enthusiastic such as one meeting held at the Auckland Town Hall where a crowd of 10,000 impatiently telling the first speaker, trade union president Fintan Patrick Walsh, to sit down and a chant of "we want Walter" breaking out. [3]
The Social Credit campaign meetings aroused far more public interest than those of the main parties. A common public perception was Labour and National were increasingly close to each other on policies compared to the substantial policy differences in the 1930s. In an attempt to counter the public enthusiasm to Social Credit, Labour promised mid-campaign to make the state the sole authority for the issue of credit and currency. [2]
The date for the main 1954 elections was 13 November. 1,209,670 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 91.4%. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.
The following new (or reconstituted) electorates were introduced in 1954: Heretaunga, Manukau, Rotorua, Stratford, Waipa and Waitemata. [4] Two candidates, both called John Stewart, came second; in Auckland Central for National and in Eden for Labour. [5]
Ten MPs retired at the election, see cartoon. [6]
Paddy Kearins also left parliament at the election. His electorate of Waimarino was abolished and he failed to gain selection to stand for Labour in the replacement electorate of Rotorua. [7] Two Labour MPs had announced their intention to retire at the 1954 election (Harry Combs MP for Onslow and Arthur Osborne MP for Onehunga) but died before the end of the parliament. [8] [9]
The 1954 election saw the governing National Party re-elected with a ten-seat margin, a drop from the twenty-seat margin it previously held. National won forty-five seats to the Labour Party's thirty-five. The popular vote was much closer, however, with the two parties separated by only 0.2% (1,602 votes). On preliminary results Labour was leading in 37 seats and was actually ahead of National in the popular vote by 0.33%. [10] No seats were won by minor party candidates or by independents, but the new Social Credit Party managed to win 11.2% of the vote, and it can be argued that Social Credit saved the National Government by providing an alternative to Labour and so minimising the two-party swing. [11] Nash argued that Social Credit's impact on the election was being a spoiler, claiming Labour was denied victory because of this. [12]
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| Election results | ||||||
| Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | change | |
| National | 79 | 485,630 | 44.3 | 45 | −5 | |
| Labour | 80 | 484,028 | 44.1 | 35 | +5 | |
| Social Credit | 79 | 122,573 | 11.2 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist | 8 | 1,134 | 0.1 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Independents | 9 | 3,474 | 0.3 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Total | 255 | 1,096,877 | 80 | |||
The table below shows the results of the 1954 general election:
Key
National Labour Independent Social Credit
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The 1969 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of Parliament's 36th term. It saw the Second National Government headed by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake of the National Party win a fourth consecutive term. This is the most recent election where an incumbent government won a fourth term in office.
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The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.
The 1963 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of New Zealand Parliament's 34th term. The results were almost identical to those of the previous election, and the governing National Party remained in office.
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Rotorua is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was first established in 1919, and has existed continuously since 1954. The current MP for Rotorua is Todd McClay of the National Party, who won the electorate in the 2008 general election from incumbent Labour MP Steve Chadwick.
Barry Selwyn Gustafson is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as professor of political studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Director of the New Zealand Asia Institute from 2004 to 2006. He has contested various general elections, first for the Labour Party and later for the National Party, coming second each time.
The 31st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1954 general election on 13 November of that year.
The 33rd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1960 general election on 26 November of that year.
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The Hutt by-election of 1968 was a by-election for the electorate of Hutt on 3 August 1968 during the 35th New Zealand Parliament.
The Fendalton by-election of 1967 was a by-election for the electorate of Fendalton on 15 April 1967 during the 35th New Zealand Parliament.
The Bay of Plenty by-election 1957 was a by-election held in the Bay of Plenty electorate in the Bay of Plenty during the term of the 31st New Zealand Parliament on 6 April 1957.
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