1954 New Zealand general election

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 5 5 Popular vote 485,630 484,028 Percentage 44.3% 44.1% Swing 9.7% 1.7%
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. Two candidates, both called J. W. Stewart, came second; in Auckland Central for National and in Eden for Labour.

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

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
Eden		Wilfred Fortune		Duncan Rae	8		J. W. Stewart
Egmont		Ernest Corbett			2,977		R. Evans
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
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)		Alfred Davey	1,438		Neville Pickering
Waipa	(new electorate)			William Goosman	4,435		H F Gallagher
Wairarapa		Bertie Cooksley			1,691		Bob Wilkie
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
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

Table footnotes