The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 32nd term. It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party. The 1957 elections marked the beginning of the second Labour government, although this administration was to last only a single term.
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 during the Suez Crisis. A mere two months before the 1957 election, Holland was persuaded by his party to step down; Keith Holyoake, his deputy, became Prime Minister. The Labour Party was still led by Walter Nash, who had been Finance Minister in the first Labour government.
The 1957 election campaign was dominated largely by financial issues, particularly introduction of the PAYEtax system. 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 attacked this as an election bribe. Labour also campaigned to abolish compulsory military training. National made no great changes to its policy platform, and Holyoake largely retained the Cabinet he had inherited from his predecessor.
MPs retiring in 1957Edit
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 Franklin but was deselected as a candidate by the National Party.[1]
The electionEdit
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.[2] The unusual situation of an electorate vote being delayed due to the death of a candidate did not occur again until the 2023 election.[3]
Election resultsEdit
Party standingsEdit
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.
^Cheng, Derek (9 October 2023). "Election 2023: Act candidate Neil Christensen dies, by-election to be held for Port Waikato". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
^"Personal Items". The Press. Vol. XCVI, no. 28463. 18 December 1957. p. 14.
^"Mayoralty to Mr Manning". The Press. 19 May 1958.
^"Council Seats – Gain of Two by Citizens". The Press. 19 May 1958.
ReferencesEdit
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, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
October 15, 2023
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The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament s 32nd term It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party The 1957 elections marked the beginning of the second Labour government although this administration was to last only a single term 1957 New Zealand general election 1954 30 November 1957 1957 11 30 1960 elected members All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament 41 seats were needed for a majorityTurnout1 157 365 92 9 First party Second party Leader Walter Nash Keith HolyoakeParty Labour NationalLeader since 17 January 1951 13 August 1957Leader s seat Hutt PahiatuaLast election 35 seats 44 1 45 seats 44 3 Seats won 41 39Seat change 6 6Popular vote 559 096 511 699Percentage 48 3 44 2 Swing 4 2 0 1 Results of the election Prime Minister before electionKeith HolyoakeNational Subsequent Prime Minister Walter NashLabour Contents 1 Background 1 1 MPs retiring in 1957 2 The election 3 Election results 3 1 Party standings 3 2 Votes summary 4 Post election events 5 Notes 6 ReferencesBackground EditThe 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 during the Suez Crisis A mere two months before the 1957 election Holland was persuaded by his party to step down Keith Holyoake his deputy became Prime Minister The Labour Party was still led by Walter Nash who had been Finance Minister in the first Labour government The 1957 election campaign was dominated largely by financial issues particularly introduction of the PAYE tax system 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 attacked this as an election bribe Labour also campaigned to abolish compulsory military training National made no great changes to its policy platform and Holyoake largely retained the Cabinet he had inherited from his predecessor MPs retiring in 1957 Edit Six National MPs intended to retire at the end of the 31st Parliament No Labour MPs retired Party Name ElectorateNational Ernest Corbett EgmontGeorge Herron AwaruaSidney Holland FendaltonTom Macdonald WallaceEdgar Neale NelsonMatthew Oram ManawatuJack Massey also left parliament at the election He intended to stand again in Franklin but was deselected as a candidate by the National Party 1 The election EditThe 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 2 The unusual situation of an electorate vote being delayed due to the death of a candidate did not occur again until the 2023 election 3 Election results EditParty standings Edit 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 nbsp Election resultsParty Candidates Total votes Percentage Seats won changeLabour 80 559 096 48 31 41 6National 80 511 699 44 21 39 6Social Credit 80 83 498 7 21 0 0Communist 5 706 0 06 0 0Liberal Federation 2 282 0 02 0 0Independents 11 2 084 0 18 0 0Total 258 1 157 365 80Votes summary Edit Popular VoteLabour 48 31 National 44 21 Social Credit 7 21 Others 0 26 Parliament seatsLabour 51 25 National 48 75 nbsp Holyoake right congratulating Nash left on Labour s victory The table below shows the results of the 1957 general election Key Labour National Electorate results for the 1957 New Zealand general election 4 Electorate Incumbent Winner Majority Runner upGeneral electoratesAshburton Geoff Gerard 1 769 George GlasseyAuckland Central Bill Anderton 3 856 Aileen JoyceAvon John Mathison 6 100 William Ernest OldsAwarua George Herron Gordon Grieve 1 636 J P Wyatt 5 Bay of Plenty Percy Allen 910 Godfrey SantonBuller Jerry Skinner 2 677 Norman Leon BensemannChristchurch Central Robert Macfarlane 4 071 Colin McLachlanClutha James Roy 1 490 Joseph Fahey nb 1 Dunedin Central Phil Connolly 1 778 Marcus AndersonDunedin North Ethel McMillan 3 408 George TerryEden Duncan Rae 498 Ian Watkins 6 Egmont Ernest Corbett William Sheat 2 697 Clarence Robert ParkerFendalton Sidney Holland Jack Watts 824 Lawrence Godfrey Graham White 7 Franklin Jack Massey Alfred E Allen 4 241 Christopher MountfordGisborne Reginald Keeling 1 182 Arthur MacPhersonGrey Lynn Fred Hackett 5 785 Bernard GriffithsHamilton Hilda Ross 1 110 Ben WatersHastings Ted Keating 1 070 Arthur Heafy SievewrightHauraki Arthur Kinsella 1 161 Brevat William DynesHawkes Bay Cyril Harker 2 858 Leonard Thomas FischerHeretaunga Phil Holloway 5 117 Allan McCreadyHobson Sidney Smith 3 134 Colin MoyleHurunui William Gillespie 1 749 Lyn ChristieHutt Walter Nash 4 430 Lance Adams SchneiderInvercargill Ralph Hanan 679 Thomas Francis DoyleIsland Bay Arnold Nordmeyer 4 209 Saul Goldsmith 8 Karori Jack Marshall 3 061 Keith SpryLyttelton Harry Lake Norman Kirk 567 Harry LakeManawatu Matthew Oram Blair Tennent 1 575 Patrick KelliherManukau Leon Gotz 159 Cyril Douglas StampMarlborough Tom Shand 1 782 Roy EvansMarsden Don McKay 2 088 Mervyn Allan HoskingMiramar Bill Fox 2 077 Clevedon CostelloMornington Wally Hudson 2 817 Walter MacDougallMt Albert Warren Freer 3 987 Geoffrey TaylorNapier Jim Edwards 2 413 Raymond Vincent FosterNelson Edgar Neale Stan Whitehead 509 Colin Wilson MartinNew Plymouth Ernest Aderman 657 Ron BarclayNorth Shore Dean Eyre 462 Peter Lawrence SmithOnehunga Hugh Watt 5 686 Donald WatsonOnslow Henry May 2 675 Kevin O Brien 9 Otago Central John George 2 788 J H RapsonOtahuhu James Deas 3 442 Clive HaszardOtaki Jimmy Maher 1 122 Cyril ShamyPahiatua Keith Holyoake 4 020 William Erle RosePalmerston North Philip Skoglund 1 348 Bill BrownPatea Roy Jack 902 Benjamin R WinchcombePetone Mick Moohan 4 159 Dan RiddifordPiako New electorate Stan Goosman 3 812 Alistair WalkerPonsonby Ritchie Macdonald 6 592 Gordon Frederick SmithRaglan Hallyburton Johnstone Douglas Carter 161 Alan BaxterRangitikei Norman Shelton 2 983 Stephen Malcolm RobertonRemuera Ronald Algie 4 766 Russell Gordon PenneyRiccarton Mick Connelly 2 867 Deena V Sergel 10 Rodney Jack Scott 3 112 George WebberRoskill John Rae Arthur Faulkner 2 117 John RaeRotorua Ray Boord 2 009 Murray LintonSelwyn John McAlpine 1 731 Stanley Marshall CookSt Albans Jack Watts Neville Pickering 501 Eric Philip Wills 11 St Kilda Jim Barnes Bill Fraser 791 Jim BarnesStratford Thomas Murray 3 172 J M DeeganSydenham Mabel Howard 6 450 Oliver G MoodyTamaki Eric Halstead Bob Tizard 589 Eric HalsteadTauranga George Walsh 3 342 Oliver LiddellTimaru Clyde Carr 2 954 Alfred DaveyWaikato Geoffrey Sim 2 013 Arthur John IngramWaipa Stan Goosman Hallyburton Johnstone 1 813 Albert Clifford TuckerWairarapa Bert Cooksley 1 058 Bob Wilkie 12 Waitakere Rex Mason 3 682 Leonard BradleyWaitaki New electorate Thomas Hayman 1 618 A G BraddockWaitemata Norman King 2 191 Robert MuldoonWaitomo David Seath 2 474 Vic HainesWallace Tom Macdonald Brian Talboys 4 319 John ReidWanganui Joe Cotterill 1 419 Alice Kathleen MacleanWellington Central Frank Kitts 1 685 Max WallWestland Jim Kent 4 745 Fred BoustridgeMaori electoratesEastern Maori Tiaki Omana 4 197 Wiremu Hoete MaxwellNorthern Maori Tapihana Paikea 4 310 Timothy James DavisSouthern Maori Eruera Tirikatene 4 383 Thomas StrattonWestern Maori Iriaka Ratana 5 553 Pei Te Hurinui JonesTable footnotes The previous Labour candidate Bruce Waters died the day before the general election so the election in Clutha was postponed to 18 January 1958 2 Post election events EditA number of local by elections were required due to the resignations of incumbent local body politicians following the general election Hugh Watt resigned his seat on the Auckland Harbour Board on 17 December 1957 after his appointment to cabinet 13 There were two by elections for the Christchurch City Council Councillors Mabel Howard and John Mathison also resigned their seats following their election as cabinet ministers at the formation of the Second Labour government causing a by election to replace them on the council Likewise Robert Macfarlane resigned as Mayor of Christchurch upon his selection as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Macfarlane was succeeded as mayor by councillor George Manning 14 McFarlane was elected for one of the vacant seats on the council with the other seats being won by Bill Glue Bill MacGibbon and Peter Skellerup 15 Notes Edit Gustafson 1986 pp 235 a b Norton 1988 p 209 Cheng Derek 9 October 2023 Election 2023 Act candidate Neil Christensen dies by election to be held for Port Waikato The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 9 October 2023 Norton 1988 pp Norton 1988 p 197 Norton 1988 p 220 Norton 1988 p 224 Gustafson 1986 pp 364f Gustafson 1986 p 381 Gustafson 1986 p 386 Gustafson 1986 p 390 Espiner Guyon 3 March 2012 Profile Labour deputy Grant Robertson New Zealand Listener Retrieved 26 September 2014 Personal Items The Press Vol XCVI no 28463 18 December 1957 p 14 Mayoralty to Mr Manning The Press 19 May 1958 Council Seats Gain of Two by Citizens The Press 19 May 1958 References EditGustafson Barry 1986 The First 50 Years A History of the New Zealand National Party Auckland Reed Methuen ISBN 0 474 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 ISBN 0 475 11200 8 Wilson James Oakley 1985 First published in 1913 New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840 1984 4th ed Wellington V R Ward Govt Printer OCLC 154283103 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1957 New Zealand general election amp oldid 1179301119, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
