1957 New Zealand general election

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 while working in his office during the Suez Crisis. In mid-1957 a group of senior cabinet ministers led by Keith Holyoake, Jack Marshall, Jack Watts and party president, Sir Alex McKenzie, persuaded Holland to resign citing his health deterioration. Holland, albeit reluctantly, announced his retirement from the leadership at the National's annual party conference on 12 August 1957 held in Christchurch. Almost immediately after finishing his speech Holland collapsed backstage and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance. Although his retirement was announced in August, Holland's continued presence prevented his successor, the deputy prime minister Holyoake, from establishing himself as a leader until late October, when at last he formed his own ministry which was still largely the same as his predecessor's.

Leadership was to play a key issue in the election. After spending many years in Holland's shadow, Holyoake, a reserved man lacking Holland's rapport with crowds, was unable to achieve any clear popular image in his own right. Labour's Walter Nash, by contrast, was one of the best-known people in the country, having been a party leader for many years and having been Finance Minister in the first Labour government before that.

Labour opened its campaign on 5 November with Nash broadcasting a speech from the Auckland Town Hall (despites some reservations of it coinciding with Guy Fawkes Night). The speech, mainly regarding Labour's economic policies, was regarded by listeners as excellent with Nash in fine speaking form. Nash would give over twenty other speeches at public meetings throughout the country where he attracted large and receptive crowds. One daytime meeting late in the campaign, Nash arrived behind schedule, and a crowd of employees forfeited an hour's pay (having already taken their lunchbreak) so they could hear him speak. Holyoake, by contrast, attracted little interest in his meeting addresses (particularly in the South Island).

In terms of policy, the election campaign was dominated largely by financial issues, particularly regarding the introduction of the PAYE system of income tax. 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, seeing the popularity of the policy, was forced into offering a similar policy. The Labour Party's president, Mick Moohan, seeing this popularity came to the view that the election was akin to an auction. He published a newspaper advertisement which boldly asked: 'DO YOU WANT £100 OR NOT?'. Nash found the ad distasteful thinking it could be interpreted as a bribe. National attacked the ad as misleading by implying that everyone would receive a £100 rebate, whether or not they actually paid as much as £100 in tax.

Labour also campaigned to abolish compulsory military training, opposing nuclear tests, 3% housing loans, increased pension payments, free textbooks for school children and industrialisation. National made no great changes to its existing policy platform.

Electoral boundary changes

As part of the redistribution process following the 1954 election, the Boundaries Commission made several adjustments to electorate boundaries. Two electorates were entirely abolished (Oamaru and Waimate), with two new constituencies created in their place (Piako and Waitaki). These changes reflected demographic shifts and ensured more equitable representation across regions.

The total number of electorates remained unchanged at 80, comprising 76 general and 4 Māori electorates, a configuration unchanged since the Fifteenth Parliament in 1902.

MPs retiring in 1957

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

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

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. The unusual situation of an electorate vote being delayed due to the death of a candidate did not occur again until the 2023 election.

The election saw a record number of candidates: 259 individuals representing 13 distinct political parties or affiliations, the highest number since 1935. This marked a noticeable increase from the previous election, with four additional candidates and four more political groups contesting the vote.

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.

Votes summary

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

Key

References

References

1. {{DNZB. Gustafson. Barry. 5h30. Holland, Sidney George. 30 October 2012. Barry Gustafson
2. (29 November 1957). "Listening On Election Night".
3. (29 November 1957). "Listening On Election Night".
4. (9 October 2023). "Election 2023: Act candidate Neil Christensen dies, by-election to be held for Port Waikato". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
5. (29 November 1957). "Listening On Election Night".
6. Espiner, Guyon. (3 March 2012). "Profile: Labour deputy Grant Robertson". [[New Zealand Listener]].
7. (18 December 1957). "Personal Items". [[The Press]].
8. (19 May 1958). "Mayoralty to Mr Manning". [[The Press]].
9. (19 May 1958). "Council Seats – Gain of Two by Citizens". [[The Press]].