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All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament 41 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 1,196,631 (89.6%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 1960 election had been won by the National Party, beginning New Zealand's second period of National government. Keith Holyoake, who had briefly been prime minister at the end of the first period, returned to office. The elderly leader of the Labour Party, Walter Nash, had agreed to step down following his government's defeat, but disliked the prospect of being succeeded by his Minister of Finance, Arnold Nordmeyer. Nash instead backed first Jerry Skinner and then, after Skinner's death, Fred Hackett. In the end, however, Nordmeyer was victorious. [1] Nordmeyer, however, was unpopular with the general public, being remembered with hostility for the tax hikes in his so-called 'Black Budget'. Labour struggled to overcome this negative perception of its leader, and was only partially successful.
There had been an unusually large number of by-elections during the term of the 33rd Parliament. None of these had resulted in any upsets, and there was no major indications from the population wanting a change. National held two seats Hurunui and Waitaki, but by reduced margins. The party organisation was also acutely aware that National's win in 1960 was mostly due to public mood against Labour, rather than endorsement of National, and put work in to improving their campaigning. Benefits were seen sooner than expected picking up swings (but not winning) against Labour in two by-elections in the two Labour held seats of Buller and Northern Maori. [2]
Holyoake started his election campaign on 4 November, not even a month out from the election. [3] Whilst television had just been introduced in New Zealand, the election campaign was a dull affair and, from 23 November, the Assassination of John F. Kennedy was the dominant topic in the media. [3]
Five National MPs and two Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 33rd Parliament.
The date for the main 1963 elections was 30 November. 1,345,836 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 89.6%. This turnout was around average for the time. 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 1963: Manurewa, New Lynn, Pakuranga, Porirua, Rangiora, Taupo and Waimarino. [4]
The 1963 election saw the governing National Party retain office by a ten-seat margin. It had previously held office by a twelve-seat margin. National won a total of forty-five seats, while the Labour Party won thirty-five. In the popular vote, National won 47.1% to Labour's 43.7%. The Social Credit Party won 7.9% of the vote, but no seats, although their leader Vernon Cracknell came close to winning Hobson, but ultimately lost due to special votes. Four of their candidates also missed the nomination deadline. One political analyst, Professor Robert Chapman, called it "the no change election". [3] [5]
Puti Tipene Watene was elected for Eastern Maori; he was a Mormon and was the first non-Ratana to win a Maori seat since 1938.
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| Election results | ||||||
| Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | Change | |
| National | 80 | 563,875 | 47.1 | 45 | -1 | |
| Labour | 80 | 524,066 | 43.7 | 35 | +1 | |
| Social Credit | 76 | 95,176 | 7.9 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Liberal | 23 | 10,339 | 0.9 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist | 22 | 3,167 | 0.3 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Others | 9 | 1,422 | 0.1 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Total | 290 | 1,196,631 | 80 | |||
The table below shows the results of the 1963 general election:
Key
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 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 1943 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 27th term. With the onset of World War II, elections were initially postponed, but it was eventually decided to hold a general election in September 1943, around two years after it would normally have occurred. The election saw the governing Labour Party re-elected by a comfortable margin, although the party nevertheless lost considerable ground to the expanding National Party.
The 1946 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 28th term. It saw the governing Labour Party re-elected, but by a substantially narrower margin than in the three previous elections. The National Party continued its gradual rise.
The 1949 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 29th term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the opposition National Party. This marked the end of the 14-year First Labour government and the beginning of the First National government.
The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 30th term. The First National Government was re-elected, with the National Party increasing its parliamentary majority over the opposition Labour Party. This was the last time until the 2020 election that a party was elected to majority government of New Zealand by receiving a majority of the vote.
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 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 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.
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.
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 Northern Maori by-election of 1963 was a by-election for the electorate of Northern Maori on 16 March 1963 during the 33rd New Zealand Parliament. The by-election resulted from the death of the previous member Tapihana Paikea on 7 January 1963. It was held the same day as the Otahuhu by-election.
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