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All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament 41 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 1,170,503 (89.8%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Labour Party had won the 1957 election by a narrow margin, beginning New Zealand's second period of Labour government. However, the new administration soon lost its narrow lead in public opinion, with its financial policies being the principal cause of dissatisfaction. The so-called "Black Budget", introduced by finance minister Arnold Nordmeyer, increased taxes substantially, with particularly large increases for alcohol and tobacco taxes; Labour became widely seen as both miserly and puritanical. The government defended its tax increases as a necessary measure to avert a balance of payments crisis, but the opposition, led by Keith Holyoake, made substantial gains out of the issue throughout the parliamentary term. [1]
Both parties crafted narratives on the history of the balance of payments crisis in the lead up to the election. Holyoake tried to argue that overseas funds had not fallen as much as Nash said in 1957, and that Labour had produced a panic budget. Moreover, the over-importing was due to a fear of import controls if Labour should win. Nash continued to stress that National had produced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and that Labour had averted further disaster by its action. Coincidentally, at the beginning of the election another drop in overseas funds occurred, but neither party commented much about it. [2]
Labour's main policy platform was on industrialization particularly with new cotton mills in Nelson. Nash constantly repeated the theme people in New Zealand had 'never been so well off' and pamphlets stated 'everyone, everywhere, will again be better off', closely mirroring British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's winning slogan in 1959, 'You've never had it so good'. [3] National's campaign promised to lower taxes, reduce import controls and abolish compulsory unionism. [4]
A very thorough study of the election by three political scientists concluded that National's preparations for the election, organization, and publicity were much better than Labour's which was the main reason for the result with little substantial differences between the parties in policy. [5] National's party organisation recognised their win was mostly due to public mood against Labour and many traditional Labour voters not bothering to vote. As a result Labour's vote share had fallen more than National's had risen. [6]
Five National MPs and four Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 32nd Parliament.
The date for the main 1960 election was 26 November. 1,310,742 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 89.8%. This turnout was slightly lower than what had been recorded in the previous elections. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.
Polling ahead of the 1960 New Zealand general election was limited, but three polls conducted by Gallup provided insight into voter preferences leading up to the election. These polls give a snapshot of party support in the months before the vote. The results are outlined in the table below:
| Poll | Date | National | Labour | Social Credit | Other | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 election result | 26 Nov 1960 | 47.2 | 43.4 | 8.6 | 0.4 | 3.8 |
| Gallup [7] | 22 Nov 1960 | 46 | 43 | 9 | 3 | |
| Gallup [8] | 18 Oct 1960 | 49 | 43 | 6 | 6 | |
| Gallup [9] | 13 Sep 1960 | 47 | 44 | 6 | 3 |
The 1960 election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin, having previously held a two-seat majority. National won a total of 46 seats to Labour's 34 seats, and formed the second National government. [10] In the popular vote, National won 47.59% to Labour's 43.42%. [11]
The Social Credit Party won 8.62% of the vote, but no seats. [12] Three of their candidates missed the nomination deadline, and the opening address of the party leader P. H. Matthews was not noteworthy.
Three new National members of parliament were called the Young Turks: Peter Gordon, Duncan MacIntyre and Robert Muldoon. [13] The other new National MPs were Esme Tombleson, Bill Brown, Harry Lapwood, Logan Sloane, Bert Walker, and Dan Riddiford. [14]
Paddy Blanchfield, Ron Bailey, Norman Douglas and George Spooner entered parliament for Labour.
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| Election results | ||||||
| Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | Change | |
| National | 80 | 557,046 | 47.6 | 46 | +7 | |
| Labour | 80 | 508,179 | 43.4 | 34 | −7 | |
| Social Credit | 79 | 100,905 | 8.6 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist | 18 | 2,423 | 0.21 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Others | 7 | 1,950 | 0.2 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Total | 269 | 1,170,503 | 80 | |||
The table below shows the results of the 1960 general election:
Key
Table footnotes:
Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, was a New Zealand politician who served as the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also as the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 to 1980. He is the only New Zealand politician to have held both positions.
The New Zealand National Party, shortened to National or the Nats, is a centre-right New Zealand political party that is the current senior ruling party. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside its traditional rival, the Labour Party.
Sir John Ross Marshall was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years as the deputy prime minister of New Zealand, he served as the 28th prime minister from February until December 1972.
The 1972 New Zealand general election was held on 25 November to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, defeated the governing National Party.
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.
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 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.
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.
The 1966 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 35th term. It saw the governing National Party win a third consecutive term in office. It was also the first time since the 1943 election that a minor party won a seat in Parliament.
The Second National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1960 to 1972. It was a conservative government which sought mainly to preserve the economic prosperity and general stability of the early 1960s. It was one of New Zealand's longest-serving governments.
The First National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1949 to 1957 formed by the National Party. It was a conservative government best remembered for its role in the 1951 waterfront dispute. It also began the repositioning of New Zealand in the Cold War environment. Although New Zealand continued to assist Britain in situations such as the Malayan Emergency, it now became connected to Australia and the United States through the ANZUS agreement.
Clarence Farrington Skinner, commonly known as Jerry or Gerry Skinner, was a Labour politician from New Zealand, the third deputy prime minister of New Zealand between 1957 and 1960, and a minister from 1943 to 1949 and 1957 to 1960 in the First and Second Labour governments.
David Wilson was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Through membership of the Legislative Council, he was a minister in the First Labour Government.
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 32nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1957 general election on 30 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.
The 34th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1963 general election on 30 November of that year.
The 35th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1966 general election on 26 November of that year.
The 36th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1969 general election on 29 November of that year.
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