New Zealand Country Party | |
---|---|
Leader | Harold Rushworth |
Founded | 1922 |
Dissolved | 1938 |
Split from | Reform Party |
Succeeded by | Social Credit Party [1] |
Ideology | Agrarianism Social Credit |
Political position | Centre |
Colours | Green |
The Country Party of New Zealand was a political party which appealed to rural voters. It was represented in Parliament from 1928 to 1938. Its policies were a mixture of rural advocacy and social credit theory.
The Country Party had its origins in the Auckland Farmers' Union, a branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union which covered the old Auckland Province. Members of the branch increasingly came to believe that the Reform Party, which traditionally enjoyed much support in rural areas, was now putting the interests of farmers behind those of businesses in the city. The Auckland branch was also strongly influenced by the social credit theory of monetary reform, promoted by C. H. Douglas. Many farmers believed that the country's financial system did not treat them fairly and that they were being exploited by big-city bankers and moneylenders. [2]
The Auckland branch grew increasingly frustrated with the Farmers' Union leadership, which did not support having an independent rural party. Eventually, members of the Auckland branch established the Country Party without the Union's backing. In 1928, the branch broke away from the Union altogether and gave its full backing to the Country Party. [2]
In the 1925 elections, the Country Party fielded five candidates but won only 0.3% of the vote. In the 1928 elections it won the Bay of Islands seat. In Parliament, the Country Party tended to align itself with the growing Labour Party, primarily because both parties were distrustful of the financial and banking industries. [2]
In the 1931 elections, the Country Party increased its share of the vote to 2.3%. In the 1935 elections, the party's share of the vote dropped slightly, but it won two seats. Arthur Sexton was elected in the Franklin electorate. [2]
In the 1938 elections, the Country Party lost both its seats, as Labour decided to contest them. Rushworth had retired, partly because of Labour's intervention, and Sexton was defeated by the National Party. The party won only 0.23% of the vote and disappeared soon afterwards. Most rural voters who had supported it turned to the National Party, which incorporated the Reform Party. Later, however, the Social Credit Party would gain a certain amount of success in rural areas using much the same formula, and some see the Country Party as a forerunner to the more long-lived Social Credit. [3]
The Country Party was revived for the 1969 election by Clifford Stanley Emeny of New Plymouth (1920–2000), a World War II air force veteran. The party put forward candidates in 15 seats, and they attracted 6,715 votes. Emeny stood in Stratford where he got 1130 votes, the largest vote for the party; and in Egmont, New Plymouth, Tauranga and Waimarino. The other seats contested were Ashburton, Hamilton West, Otago, Pahiatua, Raglan, Rangitikei, Rodney, Waikato, Waitomo and Wallace.
The Country Party had changed its name to the Liberal Reform Party in 1970. In the 1972 election, Emeny stood as a Liberal Reform candidate. [4]
Election | Candidates | # of seats won | Total votes | % of popular vote |
---|---|---|---|---|
1925 | 5 | 0 / 80 | 2,398 | 0.35% |
1928 | 5 | 1 / 80 | 11,990 | 1.59% |
1931 | 6 | 1 / 80 | 16,710 | 2.34% |
1935 | 5 | 2 / 80 | 9,468 | 1.67% |
1938 | 5 | 0 / 80 | 2,199 | 0.23% |
1969 | 15 | 0 / 84 | 6,715 | 0.08% |
Electorate | Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|---|
Bay of Islands | Hugh Sweeny | 1,424 | 19.0% |
Raglan | Robert Duxfield | 222 | 3.1% |
Rotorua | Frank Colbeck | 204 | 2.8% |
Thames | Alexander Ross | 409 | 5.4% |
Waikato | F. C. S. Lawson | 139 | 2.0% |
Electorate | Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|---|
Bay of Islands | Harold Rushworth | 3,820 | 47.8% |
Franklin | Harry Mellsop | 3,821 | 49.2% |
Rotorua | S. H. Judd | 624 | 7.5% |
Tauranga | Frank Colbeck | 1,758 | 23.0% |
Waikato | P. Keegan | 1,897 | 24.4% |
Electorate | Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|---|
Bay of Islands | Harold Rushworth | 4,970 | 56.9% |
Franklin | Harry Mellsop | 2,511 | 32.4% |
Kaipara | Albert Robinson | 2,924 | 36.9% |
Rotorua | D. R. F. Campbell | 1,411 | 15.0% |
Tauranga | Frank Colbeck | 1,803 | 24.2% |
Waikato | Solomon Ziman | 3.091 | 43.2% |
Electorate | Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|---|
Bay of Islands | Harold Rushworth | 6,004 | 59.4% |
Franklin | Arthur Sexton | 4,803 | 51.4% |
Tauranga | Alexander Ross | 2,243 | 21.8% |
Waikato | Solomon Ziman | 1,221 | 12.6% |
Waitomo | J. H. Penniket | 2,431 | 23.7% |
Electorate | Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|---|
Eden | Albert Robinson | 155 | 1.0% |
Franklin | Arthur Sexton | 1,564 | 14.8% |
Kaipara | James Scott-Davidson | 257 | 2.7% |
Raglan | Albert James Gallichan | 115 | 1.2% |
Tauranga | H. C. Barker | 78 | 0.7% |
By-election | Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|---|
Raglan, 1927 | Cornelius Augustus Magner | 532 | 8.8% |
Bay of Islands, 1929 | Harold Rushworth | 4,385 | 52.9% |
Hauraki, 1931 | Alexander Ross | 513 | 6.3% |
William Ferguson Massey was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zealand's second organised political party, from 1909 until his death.
The New Zealand Social Credit Party was a political party that was New Zealand's third party from the 1950s to the 1980s. It won representation in the New Zealand House of Representatives, holding one seat at times between 1966 and 1981, and two seats from 1981 to 1987. While Social Credit once had significant support, particularly as a protest vote, it was disadvantaged by first-past-the-post voting as it had no geographically concentrated vote. Its most identifiable leaders were Vernon Cracknell (1963-70), who served just one term in parliament, and the household name Bruce Beetham, who rebuilt the party into a significant political force. At its zenith under Beetham in 1981, Social Credit achieved an unprecedented 20.7% of the vote.
The 1987 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 42nd sitting of the New Zealand Parliament. The governing New Zealand Labour Party, led by Prime Minister David Lange, was re-elected for a second term, although the Opposition National Party made gains. The election also saw the elimination of the Democratic Party from Parliament, leaving Labour and National as the only parties represented.
The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the composition of the 41st New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating the long-serving Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, of the National Party. It was also the last election in which the Social Credit Party won seats as an independent entity. The election was also the only one in which the New Zealand Party, a protest party, played any substantial role.
The United Party was a political party in New Zealand. It was founded in 1927, partly out of the remnants of the Liberal Party, and formed the United Government between 1928 and 1931, and the United–Reform coalition Government between 1931 and 1935. In 1936, it merged with the Reform Party to form the National Party.
The New Zealand Liberal Party was the first organised political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. The Liberal strategy was to create a large class of small land-owning farmers who supported Liberal ideals, by buying large tracts of Māori land and selling it to small farmers on credit. The Liberal Government also established the basis of the later welfare state, with old age pensions, developed a system for settling industrial disputes, which was accepted by both employers and trade unions. In 1893 it extended voting rights to women, making New Zealand the first country in the world to enact universal adult suffrage. The Liberal Party became extremely successful, winning seven consecutive elections and the popular vote in each.
The Social Democratic Party of New Zealand was an early centre-left to left-wing political party. It existed only a short time before being amalgamated into the new Labour Party. During its period of existence, the party held two seats in Parliament.
The Reform Party, formally the New Zealand Political Reform League, was New Zealand's second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party. It was in government between 1912 and 1928, and later formed a coalition with the United Party, and then merged with United to form the modern National Party.
The 1938 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 26th term. It resulted in the governing Labour Party being re-elected in a landslide, winning nearly 56% of the vote despite not gaining any more seats. Having replaced the United-Reform coalition, the newly founded National Party also gained a certain amount of ground.
The Independent Political Labour League (IPLL) was a small New Zealand political party. It was the second organised political party to win a seat in the House of Representatives, and was a forerunner of the modern Labour Party.
Vernon Francis Cracknell was a New Zealand politician. He served as the Social Credit Party's third leader (1963–1970).
The Rangitikei by-election of 1978 was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Rangitikei, a predominantly rural district in the middle of New Zealand's North Island. The by-election occurred on 18 February 1978, and was precipitated by the death of sitting National Party member of parliament Sir Roy Jack in December 1977.
Henry Greathead Rex Mason was a New Zealand politician. He served as Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Education, and Minister of Native Affairs, and had a significant influence on the direction of the Labour Party. The longest-serving Member of Parliament in New Zealand history, Mason served in Parliament continuously from 1926 to 1966. He is also the only person to serve as an Member of the New Zealand Parliament for over 40 years.
The country quota was a part of the New Zealand electoral system from 1881 until 1945, when it was abolished by the First Labour Government. Its effect was to make urban electoral districts (electorates) more populous than those in rural areas, thus making rural votes worth more in general elections.
Pressly Hemingway Matthews was a New Zealand politician and the second leader (1960–1962) of New Zealand's Social Credit Party.
The Sydenham by-election 1974 was a by-election held in the Sydenham electorate during the term of the 37th New Zealand Parliament on 2 November 1974. Eight candidates stood in total.
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.
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.
The Raglan by-election of 1927 was a by-election held in the Raglan electorate during the 22nd New Zealand Parliament, on 29 September 1927. It was caused by the death of incumbent MP Richard Bollard of the Reform Party. Despite being a local contest it quickly became a national contest in miniature due to growing discontent with the Reform Government.