The 1954 general election was held on Saturday, 13 November.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 50 represented North Island electorates, 26 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates; this was a gain of one electorate for the North Island from the South Island since the 1951 election.[2] 1,209,670 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 91.4%.[1]
Sessions
The 31st Parliament sat for three sessions, and was prorogued on 25 October 1957.[3]
Session
Opened
Adjourned
first
22 March 1955
28 October 1955
second
4 April 1956
26 October 1956
third
11 June 1957
25 October 1957
Ministries
The National Party under Sidney Holland had been in power since the 1949 election, and Holland remained in charge until 1957, when he stepped down due to ill health in September 1957 some two months prior to the 1957 election. Holland was succeeded by Keith Holyoake, but the Labour Party narrowly defeated National at the 1957 election, and the government changed in mid-December of that year.[4]
Overview of seats
The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1954 election and at dissolution:
↑John Stewart was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
↑Tom McGuigan was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
↑National deselected the sitting MP (Alfred Murdoch) (q.v.) in favour of William Vallance; then Vallance had tax problems and was replaced by Don McKay. When Vallance ran as an independent candidate, the vote-splitting almost cost National the seat.[8]
↑David Campbell Kidd, the National Party MP for Waimate, died less than two months before the election, leaving his seat vacant.[9]
By-elections during 31st Parliament
There were a number of changes during the term of the 31st Parliament.
Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years: A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN0-474-00177-6.
Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN0-475-11200-8.
Wilson, Jim (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4thed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC154283103.
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