The Labour Party had won the 1957 election by a narrow margin, beginning New Zealand's second period of Labour government. However, the new administration soon lost its narrow lead in public opinion, with its financial policies being the principal cause of dissatisfaction. The so-called "Black Budget", introduced by finance minister Arnold Nordmeyer, increased taxes substantially, with particularly large increases for alcohol and tobacco taxes; Labour became widely seen as both miserly and puritanical. The government defended its tax increases as a necessary measure to avert a balance of payments crisis, but the opposition, led by Keith Holyoake, made substantial gains out of the issue throughout the parliamentary term.[1]
Both parties crafted narratives on the history of the balance of payments crisis in the lead up to the election. Holyoake tried to argue that overseas funds had not fallen as much as Nash said in 1957, and that Labour had produced a panic budget. Moreover, the over-importing was due to a fear of import controls if Labour should win. Nash continued to stress that National had produced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and that Labour had averted further disaster by its action. Coincidentally, at the beginning of the election another drop in overseas funds occurred, but neither party commented much about it.[2]
Labour's main policy platform was on industrialization particularly with new cotton mills in Nelson. Nash constantly repeated the theme people in New Zealand had 'never been so well off' and pamphlets stated 'everyone, everywhere, will again be better off', closely mirroring British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's winning slogan in 1959, 'You've never had it so good'.[3] National's campaign promised to lower taxes, reduce import controls and abolish compulsory unionism.[4]
A very thorough study of the election by three political scientists concluded that National's preparations for the election, organization, and publicity were much better than Labour's which was the main reason for the result with little substantial differences between the parties in policy.[5] National's party organisation recognised their win was mostly due to public mood against Labour and many traditional Labour voters not bothering to vote. As a result Labour's vote share had fallen more than National's had risen.[6]
MPs retiring in 1960Edit
Five National MPs and four Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 32nd Parliament.
The date for the main 1960 election was 26 November. 1,310,742 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 89.8%. This turnout was slightly lower than what had been recorded in the previous elections. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.
ResultsEdit
The 1960 election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin, having previously held a two-seat majority. National won a total of 46 seats to Labour's 34 seats, and formed the second National government.[7] In the popular vote, National won 47.59% to Labour's 43.42%.[8]
The Social Credit Party won 8.62% of the vote, but no seats.[9] Three of their candidates missed the nomination deadline, and the opening address of the party leader P. H. Matthews was not noteworthy.
Chapman, R M; Jackson, W K; Mitchell, A V (1962). New Zealand Politics in Action: the 1960 General Election. London: Oxford University Press.
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 ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
October 15, 2023
1960, zealand, general, election, nationwide, vote, determine, shape, zealand, parliament, 33rd, term, governing, labour, party, defeated, national, party, putting, short, second, labour, government, 1957, november, 1960, 1960, 1963, elected, members, seats, z. The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament s 33rd term It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party putting an end to the short second Labour government 1960 New Zealand general election 1957 26 November 1960 1960 11 26 1963 elected members All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament 41 seats were needed for a majorityTurnout1 170 503 89 8 First party Second party Leader Keith Holyoake Walter NashParty National LabourLeader since 13 August 1957 17 January 1951Leader s seat Pahiatua HuttLast election 39 seats 44 2 41 seats 48 3 Seats won 46 34Seat change 7 7Popular vote 557 046 508 179Percentage 47 6 43 4 Swing 3 4 4 9 Results of the election Prime Minister before electionWalter NashLabour Subsequent Prime Minister Keith HolyoakeNational Contents 1 Background 1 1 MPs retiring in 1960 2 The election 3 Results 3 1 Votes summary 3 2 Bibliography 4 Notes 5 ReferencesBackground EditThe Labour Party had won the 1957 election by a narrow margin beginning New Zealand s second period of Labour government However the new administration soon lost its narrow lead in public opinion with its financial policies being the principal cause of dissatisfaction The so called Black Budget introduced by finance minister Arnold Nordmeyer increased taxes substantially with particularly large increases for alcohol and tobacco taxes Labour became widely seen as both miserly and puritanical The government defended its tax increases as a necessary measure to avert a balance of payments crisis but the opposition led by Keith Holyoake made substantial gains out of the issue throughout the parliamentary term 1 Both parties crafted narratives on the history of the balance of payments crisis in the lead up to the election Holyoake tried to argue that overseas funds had not fallen as much as Nash said in 1957 and that Labour had produced a panic budget Moreover the over importing was due to a fear of import controls if Labour should win Nash continued to stress that National had produced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and that Labour had averted further disaster by its action Coincidentally at the beginning of the election another drop in overseas funds occurred but neither party commented much about it 2 Labour s main policy platform was on industrialization particularly with new cotton mills in Nelson Nash constantly repeated the theme people in New Zealand had never been so well off and pamphlets stated everyone everywhere will again be better off closely mirroring British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan s winning slogan in 1959 You ve never had it so good 3 National s campaign promised to lower taxes reduce import controls and abolish compulsory unionism 4 A very thorough study of the election by three political scientists concluded that National s preparations for the election organization and publicity were much better than Labour s which was the main reason for the result with little substantial differences between the parties in policy 5 National s party organisation recognised their win was mostly due to public mood against Labour and many traditional Labour voters not bothering to vote As a result Labour s vote share had fallen more than National s had risen 6 MPs retiring in 1960 Edit Five National MPs and four Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 32nd Parliament Party Name ElectorateNational James Roy CluthaDuncan Rae EdenJack Watts FendaltonSidney Walter Smith HobsonJimmy Maher OtakiLabour Bill Anderton Auckland CentralPhil Holloway HeretaungaJoe Cotterill WanganuiJim Kent WestlandThe election EditThe date for the main 1960 election was 26 November 1 310 742 people were registered to vote and turnout was 89 8 This turnout was slightly lower than what had been recorded in the previous elections The number of seats being contested was 80 a number which had been fixed since 1902 Results EditThe 1960 election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve seat margin having previously held a two seat majority National won a total of 46 seats to Labour s 34 seats and formed the second National government 7 In the popular vote National won 47 59 to Labour s 43 42 8 The Social Credit Party won 8 62 of the vote but no seats 9 Three of their candidates missed the nomination deadline and the opening address of the party leader P H Matthews was not noteworthy Three new National members of parliament were called the Young Turks Peter Gordon Duncan MacIntyre and Robert Muldoon 10 The other new National MPs were Esme Tombleson Bill Brown Harry Lapwood Logan Sloane Bert Walker and Dan Riddiford 11 Paddy Blanchfield Ron Bailey Norman Douglas and George Spooner entered parliament for Labour nbsp Election resultsParty Candidates Total votes Percentage Seats won ChangeNational 80 557 046 47 6 46 7Labour 80 508 179 43 4 34 7Social Credit 79 100 905 8 6 0Communist 18 2 423 0 21 0Others 7 1 950 0 2 0Total 269 1 170 503 80Votes summary Edit Popular VoteNational 47 60 Labour 43 40 Social Credit 8 60 Others 0 40 Parliament seatsNational 57 50 Labour 42 50 The table below shows the results of the 1960 general election Key National Labour Social Credit Electorate results for the 1960 New Zealand general election 12 Electorate Incumbent Winner Majority Runner upGeneral electoratesAshburton Geoff Gerard 2 558 George GlasseyAuckland Central Bill Anderton Norman Douglas 1 846 Ray PreslandAvon John Mathison 4 216 Lorrie PickeringAwarua Gordon Grieve 3 000 J P WyattBay of Plenty Percy Allen 2 411 Thomas Godfrey SantonBuller Jerry Skinner 1 546 Ernie KingChristchurch Central Robert Macfarlane 1 935 Tom FlintClutha James Roy Peter Gordon 3 863 Joseph FaheyDunedin Central Phil Connolly 842 Norman ScurrDunedin North Ethel McMillan 2 475 Brenda BellEden Duncan Rae John Rae 1 902 Russell Gordon PenneyEgmont William Sheat 3 933 J W WatsonFendalton Jack Watts Harry Lake 2 722 Bill RowlingFranklin Alfred E Allen 5 197 Howard PrestonGisborne Reginald Keeling Esme Tombleson 291 Reginald KeelingGrey Lynn Fred Hackett 4 596 Brian ZouchHamilton Lance Adams Schneider 2 583 Sir Basil ArthurHastings Ted Keating Duncan MacIntyre 300 Ted KeatingHauraki Arthur Kinsella 2 635 Albert Clifford TuckerHawkes Bay Cyril Harker 3 682 John WoolfHeretaunga Phil Holloway Ron Bailey 2 576 Vere Hampson TindaleHobson Sidney Walter Smith Logan Sloane 1 401 Vernon CracknellHurunui William Gillespie 2 731 Arthur AdcockHutt Walter Nash 2 349 George BarkerInvercargill Ralph Hanan 1 926 Oliver James HendersonIsland Bay Arnold Nordmeyer 1 791 Fairlie CurryKarori Jack Marshall 4 313 Olive Smuts KennedyLyttelton Norman Kirk 260 Jim HayManawatu Blair Tennent 3 120 Leonard Thomas FischerManukau Leon Gotz 245 Cyril StampMarlborough Tom Shand 1 747 Robert William HopeMarsden Don McKay 4 351 John Swanson ReidMiramar Bill Fox 467 Bernard LyonsMornington Wally Hudson 2 246 George Robert ThornMount Albert Warren Freer 1 676 Clarice AndersonNapier Jim Edwards 1 405 William John GunnNelson Stan Whitehead 1 767 Colin Wilson MartinNew Plymouth Ernest Aderman 1 693 Ron BarclayNorth Shore Dean Eyre 1 817 Peter Lawrence SmithOnehunga Hugh Watt 4 705 Paul Brian PhillipsOnslow Henry May 790 Maida ClarkOtago Central John George 4 344 Brian MacDonellOtahuhu James Deas 2 774 Thomas TuckerOtaki Jimmy Maher Allan McCready 2 044 Thomas William CameronPahiatua Keith Holyoake 4 934 Kingsley McKanePalmerston North Philip Skoglund Bill Brown 133 Philip Skoglund nb 1 Patea Roy Jack 2 304 David Costello ValleyPetone Mick Moohan 2 918 Dick MartinPiako Stan Goosman 5 376 Henry UttingerPonsonby Ritchie Macdonald 4 744 Neil McLaughlanRaglan Douglas Carter 1 371 Alan BaxterRangitikei Norman Shelton 3 889 Shaun Alex CameronRemuera Ronald Algie 6 109 Barry GustafsonRiccarton Mick Connelly 2 022 Deena V Sergel 13 Rodney Jack Scott 4 157 Phil AmosRoskill Arthur Faulkner 1 374 Geoffrey TaylorRotorua Ray Boord Harry Lapwood 358 Ray BoordSelwyn John McAlpine 2 839 John PalmerSt Albans Neville Pickering Bert Walker 298 Neville PickeringSt Kilda Bill Fraser 835 Jim BarnesStratford Thomas Murray 4 388 H M St GeorgeSydenham Mabel Howard 4 793 Derek QuigleyTamaki Bob Tizard Robert Muldoon 1 148 Bob TizardTauranga George Walsh 5 239 D C GoodfellowTimaru Clyde Carr 357 Ronald Erle WhiteWaikato Geoffrey Sim 3 041 Arthur John IngramWaipa Hallyburton Johnstone 3 241 Bob ReeseWairarapa Bert Cooksley 2 088 Allan GoldsmithWaitakere Rex Mason 3 709 John Herbert WilkinsonWaitaki Thomas Hayman 1 972 Les McKayWaitemata Norman King 1 249 Jolyon FirthWaitomo David Seath 3 951 Duncan Barclay McLarenWallace Brian Talboys 5 736 E HarrisWanganui Joe Cotterill George Spooner 160 E J CrottyWellington Central Frank Kitts Dan Riddiford 381 Frank KittsWestland Jim Kent Paddy Blanchfield 3 844 D A HoggMaori electoratesEastern Maori Tiaki Omana 3 025 Arnold Reedy 14 Northern Maori Tapihana Paikea 3 372 George Russell HarrisonSouthern Maori Eruera Tirikatene 3 947 Ngarangi Whakaupoko TutakiWestern Maori Iriaka Ratana 4 666 Pei Te Hurinui JonesTable footnotes Skoglund was first on election night but lost after special votes were counted Bibliography Edit The New Zealand Gazette Members of the House of Representatives Elected General Election 20 December 1960 issue 84 page 2002 Notes Edit Gustafson 1986 p 80 Sinclair 1976 p 350 Sinclair 1976 pp 349 50 Gustafson 1986 p 82 Sinclair 1976 p 349 Gustafson 1986 p 90 Wilson 1985 p 288 Wilson 1985 p 290 Wilson 1985 pp 288 290 Obituary Duncan MacIntyre The New Zealand Herald 16 June 2001 Retrieved 16 May 2010 Gustafson 1986 p 85 Norton 1988 Gustafson 1986 p 386 Gustafson 1986 p 383 References EditChapman R M Jackson W K Mitchell A V 1962 New Zealand Politics in Action the 1960 General Election London Oxford University Press Gustafson 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 Sinclair Keith 1976 Walter Nash Auckland Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 647949 5 Wilson James Oakley 1985 First ed published 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 1960 New Zealand general election amp oldid 1161709419, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
