The 1949 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

's 29th term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the opposition National Party. This marked the end of the First Labour government and the beginning of the

First National government The Anniversary of the First National Government ( es, Primer gobierno patrio) is a public holiday of Argentina, commemorating the May Revolution and the creation of the Primera Junta on May 25, 1810, which is considered the first patriotic govern ...

Background

The Labour Party had formed its first

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

after winning the 1935 election, and had remained in power (with gradually decreasing majorities) since then. The National Party, formed by a merger of the parties which Labour had originally ousted, gradually increased its power in Parliament; the ineffectual

Adam Hamilton Adam Hamilton (20 August 1880 – 29 April 1952) was a New Zealand politician. He was the first non-interim Leader of the National Party during its early years in Opposition. Early life Hamilton was born in Forest Hill, near Winton, South ...

was replaced by

Sidney Holland Sir Sidney George Holland (18 October 1893 – 5 August 1961) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 25th prime minister of New Zealand from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957. He was instrumental in the creation and consolidation o ...

, and internal disputes were gradually resolved. The

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 not ...

Peter Fraser Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand La ...

, was increasingly weary. Ongoing shortages after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

also eroded public support for the government. The National Party's decision not to repeal Labour's social welfare policies also increased its appeal.

MPs retiring in 1949

Two Labour MPs and one National MP intended to retire at the end of the Parliament.

The election

The date for the main elections was a Wednesday 30 November. Elections to the four

Māori electorates In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is ...

were held the day before—the 1949 elections were the last in which Māori voted on a different day. 1,113,852 people were registered to vote, although rolls for the Māori electorates were "woefully inadequate."

Voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...

for the elections is disputed, given the problems with the Māori roll—some sources place it at 93.5 percent, while others estimate 92.9 percent. Regardless, the turnout was relatively high for the time. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

Election results

Party standings

The 1949 election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin. It has previously held a four-seat majority. Labour won a total of 34 seats, as opposed to National's 46. The popular vote was considerably closer—Labour won 47.2 percent to National's 51.9 percent. No seats were won by minor party candidates or by independents.

John A. Lee John Alfred Alexander Lee (31 October 1891 – 13 June 1982) was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialism in New Zealand, socialists in New Zealand's political history. Lee was elected as a me ...

stood for as the sole Democratic Labour candidate and got 2,627 votes, coming third.

Votes summary

Initial MPs

The table below shows the results of the 1949 general election: Key , - , colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" , General electorates , - , - ,

Hauraki Hauraki is a suburb located on the southern North Shore of Auckland, the largest metropolitan city in New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. History The traditional name for the western coastline in Hauraki wa ...

, style="background-color:;" , , colspan=3 style="text-align:center;background-color:;" , Andy Sutherland , style="text-align:right;" , 3,944 , style="background-color:;" , , style="text-align:center;" , Percival Peacock , - , - , colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" ,

, - Table footnotes:

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1949 New Zealand general election November 1949 events in New Zealand