New Zealand general election, 1954

New Zealand general election, 1954
New Zealand
13 November 1954 (1954-11-13)
All 80 seats in the House of Representatives
41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout 1,096,877 (91.4%)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Sidney Holland Walter Nash
Party National Labour
Leader since 1940 1951
Leader's seat Fendalton Hutt
Last election 50 seats, 54.0% 30 seats, 45.8%
Seats won 45 35
Seat change Decrease 5 Increase 5
Popular vote 485,630 484,028
Percentage 44.3% 44.1%
Swing Decrease 9.7% Decrease1.7%
Prime Minister before election

Sidney Holland
National

 Elected Prime Minister

Sidney Holland
National

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 performed well but won no seats.

Background

The National Party had formed its first administration after the 1949 elections. It had then been re-elected by a large margin amid the industrial disputes of the 1951 election. The Prime Minister, Sidney Holland, was popular in many sectors of society for his strong line against striking dockworkers and coalminers, while Labour's leader, Walter Nash, had been criticised for his failure to take a firm stand on the issue. Labour was troubled by internal disputes, with Nash subjected to an unsuccessful leadership challenge only a few months before the election. For the election, the National government adopted a "steady as she goes" approach, saying that the country was in good hands and did not need any major policy realignments.

The election

The date for the main 1954 elections was 13 November. 1,209,670 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 91.4%. 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 1954: Heretaunga, Manukau, Rotorua, Stratford, Waipa and Waitemata.[1] Two candidates, both called J. W. Stewart, came second; in Auckland Central for National and in Eden for Labour.[2]

Results

The 1954 election saw the governing National Party re-elected with a ten-seat margin, a drop from the twenty-seat margin it previously held. National won forty-five seats to the Labour Party's thirty-five. The popular vote was much closer, however, with the two parties separated by only 0.2%. No seats were won by minor party candidates or by independents, but the new Social Credit Party managed to win 11.2% of the vote.

Election results
Party Candidates Total votes Percentage Seats won change
National 79 485,630 44.3 45 -5
Labour 80 484,028 44.1 35 +5
Social Credit 79 122,573 11.2 0 ±0
Communist 8 1,134 0.10 0 ±0
Independents 9 3,474 0.40 0 ±0
Total 255 1,096,877 80

Votes summary

Popular vote
National
  
 44.30%
Labour
  
 44.10%
Social Credit
  
 11.20%
Others
  
 0.50%
Parliament seats
National
  
 56.25%
Labour
  
 43.75%

The table below shows the results of the 1954 general election:

Key

  National     Labour     Independent     Social Credit  

Electorate results for the New Zealand general election, 1954[3]
Electorate Incumbent Winner Majority Runner up
General electorates
Ashburton Richard Gerard 2,292 G. Glassey
Auckland Central Bill Anderton 4,093 J W Stewart
Avon John Mathison 4,955 A N Stone
Awarua George Herron 3,172 J P Wyatt
Bay of Plenty Bill Sullivan 3,062 T G Stanton
Buller Clarence Skinner 3,348 D M Carson
Central Otago William Bodkin John George 2,074 P J Scott
Christchurch Central Robert Macfarlane 3,395 O G Moody
Clutha James Roy 1,490 T A Rodgers
Dunedin Central Philip Connolly 330 M W D Anderson
Dunedin North Ethel McMillan 2,791 Mrs H. Black[4]
Eden Wilfred Fortune Duncan Rae 8 J. W. Stewart[5]
Egmont Ernest Corbett 2,977 R. Evans[6]
Fendalton Sidney Holland 3,004 R H McDonald
Franklin Jack Massey 4,587 R Peacock
Gisborne Harry Dudfield Reginald Keeling 521 H Dudfield
Grey Lynn Fred Hackett 4,807 T McGowan
Hamilton Hilda Ross 1,430 E A Waters
Hastings Sydney Jones Edwin Keating 252 Sydney Jones
Hauraki Andrew Sutherland Arthur Kinsella 2,659 B. W. Dynes
Hawkes Bay Cyril Harker 3,109 A Stafford
Heretaunga (new electorate) Phil Holloway 5,058 Allan McCready
Hobson Sidney Smith 2,584 C. W. Elvidge
Hurunui William Gillespie 2,395 Norman Kirk
Hutt Walter Nash 3,681 C G Costello
Invercargill Ralph Hanan 943 W M C Denham
Island Bay Robert McKeen Arnold Nordmeyer 3,824 J M Whitta
Karori Charles Bowden Jack Marshall 1,811 J. A. Bateman[7]
Lyttelton Harry Lake 24 Tom McGuigan
Manawatu Matthew Oram 2,228 P Kelliher
Manukau (new electorate) Leon Götz 3,072 C D Stamp
Marlborough Tom Shand 1,635 G A Turner
Marsden Alfred Murdoch Donald McKay 872 M A Hosking
Miramar Bob Semple Bill Fox 1,527 R J McConnell
Mornington Walter Hudson 3,886 W P MacDougall
Mt Albert Warren Freer 3,226 Robert Muldoon
Napier Peter Tait James Edwards 720 Peter Tait
Nelson Edgar Neale 717 Stanley Whitehead
New Plymouth Ernest Aderman 1,178 C R Parkes
North Shore Dean Eyre 1,395 Arthur Faulkner
Oamaru Thomas Hayman 1,358 J H Rapson
Onehunga Hugh Watt 4,389 Alfred E. Allen
Onslow Henry May 519 Wilfred Fortune
Otahuhu Leon Götz James Deas 1,806 L G Bradley
Otaki James Maher 963 E. H. Langford
Pahiatua Keith Holyoake 3,519 R Bell
Palmerston North Blair Tennent Philip Skoglund 346 Blair Tennant
Patea William Sheat Roy Jack 662 Benjamin R. Winchcombe
Petone Michael Moohan 4,211 F W Soward
Ponsonby Ritchie Macdonald 3,948 H G Barry
Raglan Hallyburton Johnstone 857 J H Wilson
Rangitikei Edward Gordon Norman Shelton 2,679 S M Roberton
Remuera Ronald Algie 3,544 Bob Tizard
Riccarton Angus McLagan 4,343 B G Dingwall
Rodney Clifton Webb Jack Scott 3,270 A Hellyn
Roskill John Rae 1,652 Mrs E Morris
Rotorua (new electorate) Ray Boord 822 Percy Allen
St Albans Jack Watts 608 Mick Connelly
St Kilda Jim Barnes 114 Fred Jones
Selwyn John McAlpine 2,521 D Clinton
Stratford (new electorate) Thomas Murray 2,966 B E Richmond
Sydenham Mabel Howard 5,560 Mrs A Schumacher
Tamaki Eric Halstead 1,986 P T Curran
Tauranga George Walsh 3,448 O P Liddell
Timaru Clyde Carr 1,423 V W Wilson
Waikato Geoffrey Sim 4,698 A C Tucker
Waimate (vacant)[nb 1] Alfred Davey 1,438 Neville Pickering
Waipa (new electorate) William Goosman 4,435 H F Gallagher
Wairarapa Bertie Cooksley 1,691 Bob Wilkie[9]
Waitakere Rex Mason 3,424 J McAllister
Waitemata (new electorate) Norman King 387 H Morrison
Waitomo Walter Broadfoot David Seath 1,480 V C Haines
Wallace Tom Macdonald 4,466 J W Cleary
Wellington Central Charles Chapman Frank Kitts 627 Allan Highet
Westland James Kent 3,605 Mark Wallace
Whanganui Joseph Cotterill 305 J S Rumbold
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori Tiaki Omana 3,094 Claude Anaru[10]
Northern Maori Tapihana Paikea 4,435 H. T. Waetford
Southern Maori Eruera Tirikatene 2,864 Turi Carroll
Western Maori Iriaka Matiu Ratana 6,637 William Rakeipoho Bennett[11]
Table footnotes
  1. ↑ David Campbell Kidd, the National Party MP for Waimate, died less than two months before the election, leaving his seat vacant.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Norton 1988, pp. 7–9.
  2. ↑ Norton 1988, pp. 193, 220.
  3. ↑ Norton 1988, pp. ?.
  4. ↑ Norton 1988, p. 214.
  5. ↑ Norton 1988, p. 220.
  6. ↑ Norton 1988, p. 222.
  7. ↑ Norton 1988, p. 260.
  8. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 210.
  9. ↑ Espiner, Guyon (3 March 2012). "Profile: Labour deputy Grant Robertson". New Zealand Listener. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Gustafson 1986, p. 353.
  11. ↑ Gustafson 1986, p. 355.

References

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