- Location
- Tamaki Makaurau
List of Prime Ministers of New Zealand
1928-1930: Sir Joseph Ward (United-Reform Coalition)
1928 def: Gordon Coates (Reform), Harry Holland (Labour), Harold Rushworth (Country Party)
1930-1935: George Forbes (United-Reform Coalition)
1931 def: Gordon Coates (Reform), Harry Holland (Labour), Harold Rushworth (Country Party), Eruera Tirikatene (Ratana)
1935-1940: Michael Joseph Savage (Labour)
1935 def: Harold Rushworth (Country), George Forbes (United), Gordon Coates (Reform), Eruera Tirikatene (Ratana), Albert Davy (Democrats)
1938 def: Charles Wilkinson (National), Frank Langstone (Country)
1940-1946: Peter Fraser (Labour)
1943 def: Keith Holyoake (National), Frank Langstone (Country)
1946-1949: Peter Fraser (Labour-Country Coalition)
1946 def: Keith Holyoake (National), Frank Langstone (Country)
1949-1952: Keith Holyoake (National)
1949 def: Peter Fraser (Labour), Frank Langstone (Country)
1952-1955: Sidney Holland (National)
1952 def: Walter Nash (Labour), Paddy Kearins (Country)
1955-1958: Walter Nash (Labour-Country Coalition)
1955 def: Sidney Holland (National), Paddy Kearins (Country)
Before the First World War, the Liberals had introduced a French-style two-round electoral system in the hope that it would help them electorally. In fact, it simply enabled the election of the Reform Party for the first time, and was abolished shortly afterwards. However, in advance of the 1931 election, the United and Reform parties were facing grave difficulties in selecting candidates who were approved of by both parties - they therefore put in place an Alternative Vote electoral system, similar to that used in Australia, and selected a candidate each who would then direct his preferences to the other Coalition partner.
As in the previous instance, the plan went wrong. Although Forbes and his coalition were re-elected by a handsome margin, the new system simply allowed the Country Party of well-spoken Croydonian Captain Harold Rushworth to take a few seats in the Auckland region, now that there was no risk of minor party vote-splitting. The Country Party had been set up by dissident members of the Auckland section of the Farmers' Union (the national conference of which had voted the proposal down) who believed in Empire Free Trade, the setting up of an agricultural bank to offer mortgages to Depression-afflicted farmers, and a cheeky bit of Social Credit. Even worse - they were prepared to work with Labour, representing the rural poor as Labour did the urban working class.
Despite the polite and non-combative leadership of Captain Rushworth, the party grew - a fourth seat was gained when Labour's Frank Langstone defected when his agricultural policy was rejected by the Party, and he was a more extroverted face for the party. In 1935, the Coalition's failings became electorally apparent, to the point that Rushworth briefly became leader of the opposition. Gordon Coates, the Reform leader, even lost his seat to a Country candidate, William Grounds. Alternative Vote had saved a couple of seats, but not enough - people were still failing to transfer according to the wishes of the parties. Thus it was that the following year, United and Reform combined with most of the right-wing Independents (and the Democrat MP Gordon Reed) to form the new National Party, choosing the hitherto Independent Charles Wilkinson as leader. Wilkinson then had to resign after joining the War Cabinet against the wishes of his party, though, and rising star Keith Holyoake (who had lost his seat in 1938 but won the Waipawa by-election shortly before the leadership contest) followed him, becoming Prime Minister in 1949.
This was not, however, before the Country Party had had their first taste of Government. Rushworth having retired in 1938, Langstone took the mantle of Leader. Langstone began standing candidates outside the region covered by the independent Auckland Farmers' Union, but achieved little success and lost seats in the north thanks to the waste of resources on seats where the farmers backed National without dissent. More broadly, farmers were becoming increasingly comfortable thanks to Labour policies and therefore weren't driven to vote with desparation. Even so, they still won three seats in 1946, when Peter Fraser came two seats short of a majority. Langstone became Minister of Agriculture and created his bank, which issued interest-free loans to farmers.
Participating in Government lost Country two of their three seats, leaving Langstone a man alone - he was increasingly useless to Labour, as it became apparent that Country Party second preferences were flowing more and more to National. And he was also getting old. He handed over the reins to Paddy Kearins at the next general election (fought mainly on the issue of Sid Holland's coup of Holyoake due to the latter's perceived weak handling of the waterfront dispute of the previous year) and Kearins succeeded him as MP for Waimarino. Things improved at the next election, when the Country Party fought mainly on a social credit platform and regained Rushworth's old seat. This gain from National enabled another Labour-Country coalition to take power, but Nash only lasted for one term and Country failed to pass through any major policies. The later history of the Country Party is that of a series of funny-money Independents who eventually wound themselves up after losing their last seats in 1975, and split between Labour and Bruce Beetham's new Liberal Party.
Members of the Australian Country Party used to get very annoyed when compared with those of the NZ and Britain.
1928-1930: Sir Joseph Ward (United-Reform Coalition)
1928 def: Gordon Coates (Reform), Harry Holland (Labour), Harold Rushworth (Country Party)
1930-1935: George Forbes (United-Reform Coalition)
1931 def: Gordon Coates (Reform), Harry Holland (Labour), Harold Rushworth (Country Party), Eruera Tirikatene (Ratana)
1935-1940: Michael Joseph Savage (Labour)
1935 def: Harold Rushworth (Country), George Forbes (United), Gordon Coates (Reform), Eruera Tirikatene (Ratana), Albert Davy (Democrats)
1938 def: Charles Wilkinson (National), Frank Langstone (Country)
1940-1946: Peter Fraser (Labour)
1943 def: Keith Holyoake (National), Frank Langstone (Country)
1946-1949: Peter Fraser (Labour-Country Coalition)
1946 def: Keith Holyoake (National), Frank Langstone (Country)
1949-1952: Keith Holyoake (National)
1949 def: Peter Fraser (Labour), Frank Langstone (Country)
1952-1955: Sidney Holland (National)
1952 def: Walter Nash (Labour), Paddy Kearins (Country)
1955-1958: Walter Nash (Labour-Country Coalition)
1955 def: Sidney Holland (National), Paddy Kearins (Country)
Before the First World War, the Liberals had introduced a French-style two-round electoral system in the hope that it would help them electorally. In fact, it simply enabled the election of the Reform Party for the first time, and was abolished shortly afterwards. However, in advance of the 1931 election, the United and Reform parties were facing grave difficulties in selecting candidates who were approved of by both parties - they therefore put in place an Alternative Vote electoral system, similar to that used in Australia, and selected a candidate each who would then direct his preferences to the other Coalition partner.
As in the previous instance, the plan went wrong. Although Forbes and his coalition were re-elected by a handsome margin, the new system simply allowed the Country Party of well-spoken Croydonian Captain Harold Rushworth to take a few seats in the Auckland region, now that there was no risk of minor party vote-splitting. The Country Party had been set up by dissident members of the Auckland section of the Farmers' Union (the national conference of which had voted the proposal down) who believed in Empire Free Trade, the setting up of an agricultural bank to offer mortgages to Depression-afflicted farmers, and a cheeky bit of Social Credit. Even worse - they were prepared to work with Labour, representing the rural poor as Labour did the urban working class.
Despite the polite and non-combative leadership of Captain Rushworth, the party grew - a fourth seat was gained when Labour's Frank Langstone defected when his agricultural policy was rejected by the Party, and he was a more extroverted face for the party. In 1935, the Coalition's failings became electorally apparent, to the point that Rushworth briefly became leader of the opposition. Gordon Coates, the Reform leader, even lost his seat to a Country candidate, William Grounds. Alternative Vote had saved a couple of seats, but not enough - people were still failing to transfer according to the wishes of the parties. Thus it was that the following year, United and Reform combined with most of the right-wing Independents (and the Democrat MP Gordon Reed) to form the new National Party, choosing the hitherto Independent Charles Wilkinson as leader. Wilkinson then had to resign after joining the War Cabinet against the wishes of his party, though, and rising star Keith Holyoake (who had lost his seat in 1938 but won the Waipawa by-election shortly before the leadership contest) followed him, becoming Prime Minister in 1949.
This was not, however, before the Country Party had had their first taste of Government. Rushworth having retired in 1938, Langstone took the mantle of Leader. Langstone began standing candidates outside the region covered by the independent Auckland Farmers' Union, but achieved little success and lost seats in the north thanks to the waste of resources on seats where the farmers backed National without dissent. More broadly, farmers were becoming increasingly comfortable thanks to Labour policies and therefore weren't driven to vote with desparation. Even so, they still won three seats in 1946, when Peter Fraser came two seats short of a majority. Langstone became Minister of Agriculture and created his bank, which issued interest-free loans to farmers.
Participating in Government lost Country two of their three seats, leaving Langstone a man alone - he was increasingly useless to Labour, as it became apparent that Country Party second preferences were flowing more and more to National. And he was also getting old. He handed over the reins to Paddy Kearins at the next general election (fought mainly on the issue of Sid Holland's coup of Holyoake due to the latter's perceived weak handling of the waterfront dispute of the previous year) and Kearins succeeded him as MP for Waimarino. Things improved at the next election, when the Country Party fought mainly on a social credit platform and regained Rushworth's old seat. This gain from National enabled another Labour-Country coalition to take power, but Nash only lasted for one term and Country failed to pass through any major policies. The later history of the Country Party is that of a series of funny-money Independents who eventually wound themselves up after losing their last seats in 1975, and split between Labour and Bruce Beetham's new Liberal Party.
Members of the Australian Country Party used to get very annoyed when compared with those of the NZ and Britain.