1957 New Zealand general election

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1957 New Zealand general election
Flag of New Zealand.svg
  1954 30 November 1957 (1957-11-30) 1960  

All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament
41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout1,157,365 (92.9%)
 First partySecond party
  Walter Nash (ca 1940s).jpg Keith Holyoake (crop).jpg
Leader Walter Nash Keith Holyoake
Party Labour National
Leader since 17 January 1951 13 August 1957
Leader's seat Hutt Pahiatua
Last election35 seats, 44.1%45 seats, 44.3%
Seats won4139
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 6Decrease2.svg 6
Popular vote559,096511,699
Percentage48.3%44.2%
SwingIncrease2.svg 4.2%Decrease2.svg 0.1%

1957 New Zealand general election - Results.svg
Results of the election.

Prime Minister before election

Keith Holyoake
National

Subsequent Prime Minister

Walter Nash
Labour

The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 32nd term. It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party. The 1957 elections marked the beginning of the second Labour government, although this administration was to last only a single term.

Contents

Background

The National Party had formed its first administration after the 1949 elections, and had been re-elected in the 1951 elections and the 1954 elections. As its third term in office continued, however, the Prime Minister, Sidney Holland, became increasingly ill. Holland's memory began to fail, and he is believed to have suffered a mild heart attack during the Suez Crisis. A mere two months before the 1957 election, Holland was persuaded by his party to step down; Keith Holyoake, his deputy, became Prime Minister. The Labour Party was still led by Walter Nash, who had been Finance Minister in the first Labour government.

The 1957 election campaign was dominated largely by financial issues, particularly introduction of the PAYE tax system. As a campaign promise, Labour announced that in the year that PAYE commenced, there would be a flat rebate of £100 on income tax — National attacked this as an election bribe. Labour also campaigned to abolish compulsory military training. National made no great changes to its policy platform, and Holyoake largely retained the Cabinet he had inherited from his predecessor.

MPs retiring in 1957

Six National MPs intended to retire at the end of the 31st Parliament. No Labour MPs retired.

PartyNameElectorate
National Ernest Corbett Egmont
George Herron Awarua
Sidney Holland Fendalton
Tom Macdonald Wallace
Edgar Neale Nelson
Matthew Oram Manawatu

Jack Massey also left parliament at the election. He intended to stand again in Franklin but was deselected as a candidate by the National Party. [1]

The election

The date for the main 1957 election was 30 November. 1,252,329 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 92.9%. This turnout, although only average for the time, was not to be equalled or exceeded until the 1984 election. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

The Labour candidate for Clutha, Bruce Waters, died the day before the general election, and the election there was postponed to 18 January 1958. [2] The unusual situation of an electorate vote being delayed due to the death of a candidate did not occur again until the 2023 election. [3]

Election results

Party standings

The 1957 election saw the governing National Party defeated by a narrow two-seat margin. It had previously held a ten-seat majority. National won a total of thirty-nine seats, while the Labour Party won forty-one. In the popular vote, National won 44% to Labour's 48%. The Social Credit Party won 7% of the vote, a drop from its previous result of 11%. It still won no seats.

1957 nz parliament.svg
Election results
PartyCandidatesTotal votesPercentageSeats wonchange
Labour 80559,09648.3141+6
National 80511,69944.2139−6
Social Credit 8083,4987.210±0
Communist 57060.060±0
Liberal Federation 22820.020±0
Independents 112,0840.180±0
Total2581,157,36580

Votes summary

Popular Vote
Labour
48.31%
National
44.21%
Social Credit
7.21%
Others
0.26%
Parliament seats
Labour
51.25%
National
48.75%
Holyoake (right) congratulating Nash (left) on Labour's victory. Nash & Holyoake 1957.jpg
Holyoake (right) congratulating Nash (left) on Labour's victory.

The table below shows the results of the 1957 general election:

Key

  Labour   National

Electorate results for the 1957 New Zealand general election. [4]
ElectorateIncumbentWinnerMajorityRunner up
General electorates
Ashburton Geoff Gerard 1,769George Glassey
Auckland Central Bill Anderton 3,856Aileen Joyce
Avon John Mathison 6,100William Ernest Olds
Awarua George Herron Gordon Grieve 1,636J P Wyatt [5]
Bay of Plenty Percy Allen 910Godfrey Santon
Buller Jerry Skinner 2,677Norman Leon Bensemann
Christchurch Central Robert Macfarlane 4,071 Colin McLachlan
Clutha James Roy 1,490Joseph Fahey [nb 1]
Dunedin Central Phil Connolly 1,778Marcus Anderson
Dunedin North Ethel McMillan 3,408George Terry
Eden Duncan Rae 498Ian Watkins [6]
Egmont Ernest Corbett William Sheat 2,697Clarence Robert Parker
Fendalton Sidney Holland Jack Watts 824Lawrence Godfrey Graham White [7]
Franklin Jack Massey Alfred E. Allen 4,241Christopher Mountford
Gisborne Reginald Keeling 1,182Arthur MacPherson
Grey Lynn Fred Hackett 5,785Bernard Griffiths
Hamilton Hilda Ross 1,110 Ben Waters
Hastings Ted Keating 1,070Arthur Heafy Sievewright
Hauraki Arthur Kinsella 1,161 Brevat William Dynes
Hawkes Bay Cyril Harker 2,858Leonard Thomas Fischer
Heretaunga Phil Holloway 5,117 Allan McCready
Hobson Sidney Smith 3,134 Colin Moyle
Hurunui William Gillespie 1,749Lyn Christie
Hutt Walter Nash 4,430 Lance Adams-Schneider
Invercargill Ralph Hanan 679 Thomas Francis Doyle
Island Bay Arnold Nordmeyer 4,209 Saul Goldsmith [8]
Karori Jack Marshall 3,061 Keith Spry
Lyttelton Harry Lake Norman Kirk 567Harry Lake
Manawatu Matthew Oram Blair Tennent 1,575Patrick Kelliher
Manukau Leon Götz 159Cyril Douglas Stamp
Marlborough Tom Shand 1,782Roy Evans
Marsden Don McKay 2,088Mervyn Allan Hosking
Miramar Bill Fox 2,077Clevedon Costello
Mornington Wally Hudson 2,817Walter MacDougall
Mt Albert Warren Freer 3,987Geoffrey Taylor
Napier Jim Edwards 2,413Raymond Vincent Foster
Nelson Edgar Neale Stan Whitehead 509Colin Wilson Martin
New Plymouth Ernest Aderman 657 Ron Barclay
North Shore Dean Eyre 462Peter Lawrence Smith
Onehunga Hugh Watt 5,686Donald Watson
Onslow Henry May 2,675Kevin O'Brien [9]
Otago Central Jack George 2,788J H Rapson
Otahuhu James Deas 3,442Clive Haszard
Otaki Jimmy Maher 1,122Cyril Shamy
Pahiatua Keith Holyoake 4,020William Erle Rose
Palmerston North Philip Skoglund 1,348 Bill Brown
Patea Roy Jack 902Benjamin R. Winchcombe
Petone Mick Moohan 4,159 Dan Riddiford
Piako New electorate Stan Goosman 3,812Alistair Walker
Ponsonby Ritchie Macdonald 6,592Gordon Frederick Smith
Raglan Hallyburton Johnstone Douglas Carter 161 Alan Baxter
Rangitikei Norman Shelton 2,983Stephen Malcolm Roberton
Remuera Ronald Algie 4,766Russell Gordon Penney
Riccarton Mick Connelly 2,867Deena V. Sergel [10]
Rodney Jack Scott 3,112George Webber
Roskill John Rae Arthur Faulkner 2,117 John Rae
Rotorua Ray Boord 2,009 Murray Linton
Selwyn John McAlpine 1,731Stanley Marshall Cook
St Albans Jack Watts Neville Pickering 501Eric Philip Wills [11]
St Kilda Jim Barnes Bill Fraser 791Jim Barnes
Stratford Thomas Murray 3,172J M Deegan
Sydenham Mabel Howard 6,450Oliver G. Moody
Tamaki Eric Halstead Bob Tizard 589 Eric Halstead
Tauranga George Walsh 3,342Oliver Liddell
Timaru Clyde Carr 2,954 Alfred Davey
Waikato Geoffrey Sim 2,013Arthur John Ingram
Waipa Stan Goosman Hallyburton Johnstone 1,813Albert Clifford Tucker
Wairarapa Bert Cooksley 1,058Bob Wilkie [12]
Waitakere Rex Mason 3,682Leonard Bradley
Waitaki New electorate Thomas Hayman 1,618A G Braddock
Waitemata Norman King 2,191 Robert Muldoon
Waitomo David Seath 2,474Vic Haines
Wallace Tom Macdonald Brian Talboys 4,319John Reid
Wanganui Joe Cotterill 1,419Alice Kathleen Maclean
Wellington Central Frank Kitts 1,685Max Wall
Westland Jim Kent 4,745 Fred Boustridge
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori Tiaki Omana 4,197Wiremu Hoete Maxwell
Northern Maori Tapihana Paikea 4,310Timothy James Davis
Southern Maori Eruera Tirikatene 4,383Thomas Stratton
Western Maori Iriaka Rātana 5,553 Pei Te Hurinui Jones

Table footnotes:

  1. The previous Labour candidate, Bruce Waters, died the day before the general election, so the election in Clutha was postponed to 18 January 1958 [2]

Post-election events

A number of local by-elections were required due to the resignations of incumbent local body politicians following the general election:

Notes

  1. Gustafson 1986, pp. 235.
  2. 1 2 Norton 1988, p. 209.
  3. Cheng, Derek (9 October 2023). "Election 2023: Act candidate Neil Christensen dies, by-election to be held for Port Waikato". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  4. Norton 1988, pp. ?.
  5. Norton 1988, p. 197.
  6. Norton 1988, p. 220.
  7. Norton 1988, p. 224.
  8. Gustafson 1986, pp. 364f.
  9. Gustafson 1986, p. 381.
  10. Gustafson 1986, p. 386.
  11. Gustafson 1986, p. 390.
  12. Espiner, Guyon (3 March 2012). "Profile: Labour deputy Grant Robertson". New Zealand Listener . Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  13. "Personal Items". The Press . Vol. XCVI, no. 28463. 18 December 1957. p. 14.
  14. "Mayoralty to Mr Manning". The Press . 19 May 1958.
  15. "Council Seats – Gain of Two by Citizens". The Press . 19 May 1958.

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