# 1954 New Zealand general election

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 won more than eleven percent of the vote but failed to win a seat.

## 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.
Nash tried to make the election about the issue of cost-of-living with most of Labour's campaign promises being financial policies. He frequently highlighted the fact that in 1949 National had promised to "make the pound go further" but five years on what cost £1 (20 shillings) now cost 28 shillings. Labour's campaign promises included raising the child allowance to 15 shillings a week, housing loans with only 3% interest and the introduction of a PAYE income taxation system. After a slow start to his campaign, things improved for Nash towards the end of his campaign. This was evidenced by his audiences becoming more enthusiastic such as one meeting held at the Auckland Town Hall where a crowd of 10,000 impatiently telling the first speaker, trade union president Fintan Patrick Walsh, to sit down and a chant of "we want Walter" breaking out.
The Social Credit campaign meetings aroused far more public interest than those of the main parties. A common public perception was Labour and National were increasingly close to each other on policies compared to the substantial policy differences in the 1930s. In an attempt to counter the public enthusiasm to Social Credit, Labour promised mid-campaign to make the state the sole authority for the issue of credit and currency.

## 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 John Stewart, came second; in Auckland Central for National and in Eden for Labour.

### MPs retiring in 1954

Ten MPs retired at the election, see cartoon.
| Party | Name | Electorate |
| Independent | William Sheat | Patea |
| National | William Bodkin | Central Otago |
| National | Wilfred Fortune | Eden |
| National | Andy Sutherland | Hauraki |
| National | Chales Bowden | Karori |
| National | Alfred Murdoch | Marsden |
| National | Edward Gordon | Rangitīkei |
| National | Clifton Webb | Rodney |
| National | Walter Broadfoot | Waitomo |
| Labour | Robert McKeen | Island Bay |
| Labour | Bob Semple | Miramar |
| Labour | Charles Chapman | Wellington Central |
Paddy Kearins also left parliament at the election. His electorate of Waimarino was abolished and he failed to gain selection to stand for Labour in the replacement electorate of Rotorua. Two Labour MPs had announced their intention to retire at the 1954 election (Harry Combs MP for Onslow and Arthur Osborne MP for Onehunga) but died before the end of the parliament.

## 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% (1,602 votes). On preliminary results Labour was leading in 37 seats and was actually ahead of National in the popular vote by 0.33%. 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, and it can be argued that Social Credit saved the National Government by providing an alternative to Labour and so minimising the two-party swing. Nash argued that Social Credit's impact on the election was being a spoiler, claiming Labour was denied victory because of this.
Election results :
| Party | 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 | 0.1 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Independents | 9 | 3,474 | 0.3 | 0 | ±0 |
| Total | Total | 255 | 1,096,877 | | 80 | |

### Votes summary

Popular vote
National
44.27%
Labour
44.13%
Social Credit
11.17%
Others
0.43% :
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 1954 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Ashburton | | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | 2,292 | George Glassey |
| Auckland Central | | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | Bill Anderton | 4,093 | John Weir Stewart |
| Avon | | John Mathison | John Mathison | John Mathison | 4,955 | Arthur Norman Stone |
| Awarua | | George Herron | George Herron | George Herron | 3,172 | J P Wyatt |
| Bay of Plenty | | Bill Sullivan | Bill Sullivan | Bill Sullivan | 3,062 | Godfrey Santon |
| Buller | | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | 3,348 | Derisly Manwell Carson |
| Central Otago | | William Bodkin | | Jack George | 2,074 | Peter John Scott |
| Christchurch Central | | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | 3,395 | Oliver G. Moody |
| Clutha | | James Roy | James Roy | James Roy | 1,490 | T A Rodgers |
| Dunedin Central | | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | 330 | Marcus Anderson |
| Dunedin North | | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | 2,791 | Helen Black |
| Eden | | Wilfred Fortune | | Duncan Rae | 8 | John Stewart |
| Egmont | | Ernest Corbett | Ernest Corbett | Ernest Corbett | 2,977 | Roy Evans |
| Fendalton | | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | Sidney Holland | 3,004 | Roy Henry McDonald |
| Franklin | | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | 4,587 | Percival Peacock |
| Gisborne | | Harry Dudfield | | Reginald Keeling | 521 | Harry Dudfield |
| Grey Lynn | | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | 4,807 | Tom McGowan |
| Hamilton | | Hilda Ross | Hilda Ross | Hilda Ross | 1,430 | Ben Waters |
| Hastings | | Sydney Jones | | Ted Keating | 252 | Sydney Jones |
| Hauraki | | Andy Sutherland | | Arthur Kinsella | 2,659 | Brevat William Dynes |
| Hawkes Bay | | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | 3,109 | A Stafford |
| Heretaunga | New electorate | New electorate | | Phil Holloway | 5,058 | Allan McCready |
| Hobson | | Sidney Smith | Sidney Smith | Sidney Smith | 2,584 | Cecil William Elvidge |
| Hurunui | | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | 2,395 | Norman Kirk |
| Hutt | | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | 3,681 | Clevedon Costello |
| Invercargill | | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | 943 | William Denham |
| Island Bay | | Robert McKeen | | Arnold Nordmeyer | 3,824 | John Maurice Whitta |
| Karori | | Charles Bowden | | Jack Marshall | 1,811 | Jim Bateman |
| Lyttelton | | Harry Lake | Harry Lake | Harry Lake | 24 | Tom McGuigan |
| Manawatu | | Matthew Oram | Matthew Oram | Matthew Oram | 2,228 | Patrick Kelliher |
| Manukau | New electorate | New electorate | | Leon Götz | 3,072 | Cyril Stamp |
| Marlborough | | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | 1,635 | George Allan Turner |
| Marsden | | Alfred Murdoch | | Don McKay | 872 | Mervyn Allan Hosking |
| Miramar | | Bob Semple | | Bill Fox | 1,527 | Robert John McConnell |
| Mornington | | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | 3,886 | Walter MacDougall |
| Mt Albert | | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | 3,226 | Robert Muldoon |
| Napier | | Peter Tait | | Jim Edwards | 720 | Peter Tait |
| Nelson | | Edgar Neale | Edgar Neale | Edgar Neale | 717 | Stan Whitehead |
| New Plymouth | | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | 1,178 | Clarence Robert Parker |
| North Shore | | Dean Eyre | Dean Eyre | Dean Eyre | 1,395 | Arthur Faulkner |
| Oamaru | | Thomas Hayman | Thomas Hayman | Thomas Hayman | 1,358 | J H Rapson |
| Onehunga | | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | 4,389 | Alfred E. Allen |
| Onslow | | Henry May | Henry May | Henry May | 519 | Wilfred Fortune |
| Otahuhu | | Leon Götz | | James Deas | 1,806 | Leonard Bradley |
| Otaki | | Jimmy Maher | Jimmy Maher | Jimmy Maher | 963 | Ernie Langford |
| Pahiatua | | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | 3,519 | Ronald Bell |
| Palmerston North | | Blair Tennent | | Philip Skoglund | 346 | Blair Tennant |
| Patea | | William Sheat | | Roy Jack | 662 | Benjamin Winchcombe |
| Petone | | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | 4,211 | Fanny Elizabeth Soward |
| Ponsonby | | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | 3,948 | Harold Barry |
| Raglan | | Hallyburton Johnstone | Hallyburton Johnstone | Hallyburton Johnstone | 857 | James Harrison Wilson |
| Rangitikei | | Edward Gordon | | Norman Shelton | 2,679 | Stephen Malcolm Roberton |
| Remuera | | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | 3,544 | Bob Tizard |
| Riccarton | | Angus McLagan | Angus McLagan | Angus McLagan | 4,343 | Balfour Grieve Dingwall |
| Rodney | | Clifton Webb | | Jack Scott | 3,270 | Arthur Hellyn |
| Roskill | | John Rae | John Rae | John Rae | 1,652 | Elizabeth Morris |
| Rotorua | New electorate | New electorate | | Ray Boord | 822 | Percy Allen |
| St Albans | | Jack Watts | Jack Watts | Jack Watts | 608 | Mick Connelly |
| St Kilda | | Jim Barnes | Jim Barnes | Jim Barnes | 114 | Fred Jones |
| Selwyn | | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | 2,521 | Daniel Clinton |
| Stratford | New electorate | New electorate | | Thomas Murray | 2,966 | Brian Edgar Richmond |
| Sydenham | | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | 5,560 | Alma Schumacher |
| Tamaki | | Eric Halstead | Eric Halstead | Eric Halstead | 1,986 | Pat Curran |
| Tauranga | | George Walsh | George Walsh | George Walsh | 3,448 | Oliver Liddell |
| Timaru | | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | 1,423 | Vic Wilson |
| Waikato | | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | 4,698 | Albert Clifford Tucker |
| Waimate | | (vacant) | | Alfred Davey | 1,438 | Neville Pickering |
| Waipa | New electorate | New electorate | | Stan Goosman | 4,435 | Harold Francis Gallagher |
| Wairarapa | | Bert Cooksley | Bert Cooksley | Bert Cooksley | 1,691 | Bob Wilkie |
| Waitakere | | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | 3,424 | Jim McAllister |
| Waitemata | New electorate | New electorate | | Norman King | 387 | Hubert Morrison |
| Waitomo | | Walter Broadfoot | | David Seath | 1,480 | Vic Haines |
| Wallace | | Tom Macdonald | Tom Macdonald | Tom Macdonald | 4,466 | J W Cleary |
| Wanganui | | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | Joe Cotterill | 305 | Jack Rumbold |
| Wellington Central | | Charles Chapman | | Frank Kitts | 627 | Allan Highet |
| Westland | | Jim Kent | Jim Kent | Jim Kent | 3,605 | Mark Wallace |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | 3,094 | Claude Anaru |
| Northern Maori | | Tapihana Paikea | Tapihana Paikea | Tapihana Paikea | 4,435 | Tono Waetford |
| Southern Maori | | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | 2,864 | Turi Carroll |
| Western Maori | | Iriaka Rātana | Iriaka Rātana | Iriaka Rātana | 6,637 | William Rakeipoho Bennett |

#### Table footnotes

* ↑ John Stewart was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
* ↑ Tom McGuigan was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
* ↑ National deselected the sitting MP (Alfred Murdoch) (q.v.) in favour of William Vallance; then Vallance had tax problems and was replaced by Don McKay. When Vallance ran as an independent candidate, the vote-splitting almost cost National the seat.
* ↑ David Campbell Kidd, the National Party MP for Waimate, died less than two months before the election, leaving his seat vacant.