The Socialist Unity Party was one of the better-known

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

parties in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. It had a certain amount of influence in the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

movement, but never won seats in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. The Socialist Unity Party was founded in 1966 as a splinter group of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

. The Communist Party had been bitterly divided by the

Sino-Soviet Split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...

, a dispute between the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

under

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

under

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

. The party eventually decided to take China's side. Shortly afterwards, a number of the more prominent supporters of the Soviet position, such as

Ken Douglas Kenneth George Douglas (15 November 1935 – 14 September 2022) was a New Zealand trade union leader. Early life Douglas was born in Wellington in 1935. His parents were Marjorie "Maj" Alice ( Farrow) and John Atholwood "Atty" Douglas. He w ...

, George Jackson and

Bill Andersen Gordon Harold "Bill" Andersen (21 January 1924 – 19 January 2005) was a New Zealand communist, social activist and trade union leader. Biography Andersen was born in Auckland on 21 January 1924, the youngest child of Hans (Skip) Andersen and ...

, established the Socialist Unity Party. The Socialist Unity Party retained ideological and political links to the Soviet Union for most of its existence. The Socialist Unity Party's association with the Soviet government drew considerable criticism from mainstream politicians. In 1980, the Soviet

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

to New Zealand, Vsevolod Sofinsky, was expelled after allegedly giving $10,000 to a member of the Socialist Unity Party. In 1987, another Soviet diplomat, Sergei Budnik, was ordered to leave the country by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...

for his alleged involvement with the party. At the same time, the Socialist Unity Party was strongly condemned by other communist groups, which accused it of not following "true" communism and of collaborating with capitalists. The Socialist Unity Party's most well known leader,

, was also criticised by hardliners for the comparatively moderate position he took within the trade union movement. The Socialist Unity Party, unlike some of the more radical groups, participated in

New Zealand elections New Zealand is a representative democracy in which members of the unicameral New Zealand Parliament gain their seats through elections. General elections are usually held every three years; they may be held at an earlier date (a " snap" electi ...

, and was not wholly antagonistic to mainstream parties — it was prepared, for example, to occasionally support the Labour Party as "the lesser of two evils". The party put forward candidates in four elections; generally in safe Labour seats in the four main centres; except for and in the and in the . However

stood against

Rob Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in t ...

in four times. The Socialist Unity Party has now dissolved, although the

Socialist Party of Aotearoa The Socialist Party of Aotearoa was a minor political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1990Andersen, G. H. (1990). ''The 1990 general elections and beyond.'' Auckland: Socialist Party of Aotearoa. through a split in the Socialist Unity P ...

(now also defunct), which split from the Socialist Unity Party in 1990, continued for a number of years afterwards into the early 2010s.

Electoral results (1972–1981)

References

{{Authority control 1966 establishments in New Zealand Communist parties in New Zealand Defunct communist parties Defunct political parties in New Zealand Political parties established in 1966 Political parties with year of disestablishment missing

Electoral results (1972–1981)

Further reading

References