1951 New Zealand general election

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1951 New Zealand general election
← 1949 1 September 1951 (1951-09-01) 1954 →
All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament
41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout1,069,791 (89.1%)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Sidney Holland Walter Nash
Party National Labour
Leader since 26 November 1940 17 January 1951
Leader's seat Fendalton Hutt
Last election 46 seats, 51.9% 34 seats, 47.2%
Seats won 50 30
Seat change Increase 4 Decrease 4
Popular vote 577,630 490,143
Percentage 54.0% 45.8%
Swing Increase 2.1% Decrease 4.1%
Prime Minister before election

Sidney Holland
National

Elected Prime Minister

Sidney Holland
National

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.

Background

The National Party had formed its first administration after the 1949 elections, in which it had ended four terms of government by the Labour Party.[1] The National government, with Sidney Holland as Prime Minister, had undertaken a number of economic and constitutional reforms, although it had not seriously modified the new social welfare system which Labour had introduced. Labour's leader, Peter Fraser, had died in December 1950 after a long period of poor health, and had been replaced in January 1951 by Walter Nash. Nash had been Minister of Finance for the duration of the first Labour government.[2]

The most significant issue in the 1951 elections was the growing industrial unrest of the time, particularly the ongoing dockworkers dispute. Holland condemned the strikers, calling the situation "industrial anarchy". The Labour Party, under Nash, attempted to take a moderate position in the dispute, but ended up displeasing both sides. Holland, seeking a mandate to respond strongly to the strike, called a snap election. Another issue was high inflation, which frustrated voters and without the distraction of the strike, might have threatened Holland's government at the scheduled election for 1952.[3]

The election

The date for the main 1951 elections was 1 September, and for the first time, elections to the four Maori seats were held on the same day.[4] The 1951 elections were also the first under the new regulations which required elections to be held on a Saturday. 1,205,762 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 89.1%.[5] The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.[6]

Results

Party standings

The 1951 election saw the governing National Party re-elected with a twenty-seat margin, a substantial improvement on the twelve-seat margin it previously held. National won fifty seats compared with the Labour Party's thirty.[6] The popular vote was closer, however, with National winning 54% to Labour's 46%.[7] No seats were won by minor party candidates or by independents.[8] This was the last New Zealand general election in which any party has ever captured a majority of the popular vote.[7]

Election results
Party Candidates Total votes Percentage Seats won change
Template:Meta color National 80 577,630 54.00 50 +4
Template:Meta color Labour 80 490,143 45.80 30 −4
Template:Meta color Communist 4 528 0.05 0 ±0
Template:Meta color Others 7 1,490 0.14 0 ±0
Total 171 1,069,791 80

Votes summary

Popular Vote
National
 
 54.00%
Labour
 
 45.80%
Others
 
 0.20%
Parliament seats
National
 
 62.50%
Labour
 
 37.50%

Template:1951 New Zealand general election

Notes

  1. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 58.
  2. ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 82–83.
  3. ^ Gustafson, Barry. "Holland, Sidney George". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  4. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 138.
  5. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 286.
  6. ^ a b Wilson 1985, pp. 287–288.
  7. ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 290.
  8. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 288.

References

  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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