New Zealand general election, 1957

New Zealand general election, 1957

1954 ← November 30, 1957 (1957-11-30) → 1960

All 80 seats in the Parliament of New Zealand 41 seats were needed for a majority Turnout 1,157,365 (92.9%)   First party Second party   Leader Walter Nash Keith Holyoake Party Labour National Leader since 1951 1957 Leader's seat Hutt Pahiatua Last election 35 seats, 44.1% 45 seats, 44.3% Seats won 41 39 Seat change 6 6 Popular vote 559,096 511,699 Percentage 48.3% 44.2% Swing 4.2% 0.1%

Prime Minister before election Keith Holyoake National Elected Prime Minister Walter Nash Labour

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.

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 during the Suez Crisis. In early 1957, Holland was persuaded by his party to step down, and 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.

The election

The date for the main 1957 elections 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 elections. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

Results

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.

	Party	Leader	Votes	Percentage	Seats won	change
	Labour	Walter Nash	559,096	48.3%	41	+6
	National	Keith Holyoake	511,699	44.2%	39	-6
	Social Credit	Wilfrid Owen	83,498	7.2%	0
	Communist		706	0.1%	0
	Others (including independents)		2,366	0.2	0	0
	Labour win		1,157,365	100%	80