New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour, is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers describe Labour as social democratic and pragmatic in practice. The party participates in the international Progressive Alliance. It is one of two major political parties in New Zealand, alongside its traditional rival, the National Party.
The New Zealand Labour Party formed in 1916 out of various socialist parties and trade unions. It is the country's oldest political party still in existence. Alongside the National Party, Labour has alternated in leading governments of New Zealand since the 1930s., there have been six periods of Labour government under 11 Labour prime ministers. The party has traditionally been supported by the working classes, Māori, Pasifika, and has had strongholds in inner cities and the Māori seats for much of its existence. Labour won the party vote in 71 out of 72 electorates in the, making it overwhelmingly the most successful political party of the MMP era.
The party first came to power under prime ministers Michael Joseph Savage and Peter Fraser from 1935 to 1949, when it established New Zealand's welfare state. It governed from 1957 to 1960, and again from 1972 to 1975. In 1974, prime minister Norman Kirk died in office, which contributed to a decline in party support. However, Labour won the popular vote in 1978 and 1981, with the first-past-the-post voting system preventing them from governing. Up to the 1980s, the party advocated a strong role for governments in economic and social matters. When it governed from 1984 to 1990, Labour's emergent neoliberal faction had a strong influence; the party broke precedent and transformed the economy from a protectionist one through extensive deregulation. As part of Rogernomics, Labour privatised state assets and greatly reduced the role of the state, causing a party split in 1989. Labour prime minister David Lange also introduced New Zealand's nuclear-free policy. After a significant defeat in the 1990 election, Labour's neoliberal faction would largely defect from the party and form ACT New Zealand. Labour again became the largest party from 1999 to 2008, when it governed in coalition with, or based on negotiated support from, several minor parties; Helen Clark became the first Labour prime minister to secure a third full term in office. Clark's government was marked by the creation of Kiwibank, a state-owned banking corporation; strong opposition to the Iraq War; and the foreshore and seabed controversy, which caused disillusioned Māori Labour MPs to split and create the Māori Party.
In the 2017 election the party, under Jacinda Ardern, returned to prominence with its best showing since the 2005 general election, winning 36.9% of the party vote and 46 seats. On 19 October 2017, Labour formed a minority coalition government with New Zealand First, with confidence and supply from the Green Party. In the 2020 general election, Labour won in a landslide, winning an overall majority of 10 and 50.01% of the vote. In the 2023 election, Labour lost its majority to the National Party and subsequently returned to Opposition., Chris Hipkins serves as the party's leader, while Carmel Sepuloni is the deputy leader.
History
Background
The founding of the New Zealand Labour Party, on 7 July 1916 in Wellington, brought together a number of earlier socialist groups advocating proportional representation, the abolition of the country quota, the recall of members of Parliament, as well as the nationalisation of production and exchange.Despite the Labour Party's Wellington origins, the West Coast town of Blackball is regarded as the "spiritual home" of the party, because it was the site of a miners' strike in 1908 that led to the founding of the first nationwide federation of trade unions. The Labour Party was established by trade unions, among other groups, and the party identifies itself as part of the wider labour movement in New Zealand. The Labour Party has long been identified with red, a political colour traditionally affiliated with socialism and the labour movement.
Formation (1901–1916)
At the turn of the 20th century, the radical side of New Zealand working class politics was represented by the Socialist Party, founded in 1901. The more moderate leftists generally supported the Liberal Party. In 1905 a group of working-class politicians who were dissatisfied with the Liberal approach established the Independent Political Labour League, which managed to win a seat in Parliament in the. At the same time, moderates contested as "Lib-Lab" candidates, aligning with the Liberal Party while enjoying the endorsement of the labour movement. This established the basic dividing line in New Zealand's left-wing politics – the Socialists/IPLL tended to be revolutionary and militant, while the moderates focused instead on progressive reform. The process of unifying these sides into a single party was difficult, with tensions between different factions running strong.In 1910 the Independent Political Labour League was relaunched as an organisation called the Labour Party. Soon, however, the leaders of the new organisation decided that additional effort was needed to promote left-wing cooperation, and organised a "Unity Conference". The Socialists refused to attend, but several independent labour activists agreed. The United Labour Party was born.
Soon afterward, the labour movement went through the 1912 Waihi miners' strike, a major industrial disturbance prompted by radicals in the union movement. The movement split over supporting or opposing the radicals, and in the end, the conservative Reform Party government of William Massey suppressed the strike by force. In the strike's aftermath, there was a major drive to end the divisions in the labour movement and to establish a united front. Accordingly, Walter Thomas Mills organised another Unity Conference, and this time the Socialists attended. The resulting group was named the Social Democratic Party.
Not all members of the United Labour Party accepted the new organisation, however, and some continued under their own banner. Gradually, however, the differences between the Social Democrats and the ULP Remnant broke down, and in 1915 they formed a unified caucus – both to oppose Reform better and to differentiate themselves from the Liberals. A year later yet another gathering took place. This time, all major factions of the labour movement agreed to unite, forming the Labour Party as it is today.
Electoral record of constituent parties pre–1916 Labour
Early years (1916–1935)
Almost immediately, the new Labour Party became involved in the acrimonious debate about conscription which arose during World War I. The party strongly opposed conscription, and several leading members – Peter Fraser, Harry Holland, Bob Semple and Paddy Webb – were jailed and expelled from Parliament for their stand against the war. The loss of leadership threatened to seriously destabilise the party, but the party survived.In its first real electoral test as a united party, the, Labour won eight seats – the party's quick success shocked many conservatives. The eight seats compared with 47 for the governing Reform Party and 21 for the Liberal Party.
Although Labour had split with its more militant faction, it maintained what were at the time radical socialist policies. Labour's 'Usehold' policy on land was, in essence, the replacement of freehold tenure by a system of perpetual lease from the state, with all land-transfer conducted through the state. This policy proved unpopular with voters, and Labour dropped it, along with other more radical policies, in the course of the 1920s.
File:New Zealand Parliamentary Labour Party, 1922.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Members of the Labour parliamentary caucus, 1922. Prominent members are Harry Holland, Peter Fraser and Michael Joseph Savage.
In the, Labour more than doubled its number of seats, winning seventeen. In the, it declined somewhat but had the consolation of soon overtaking the Liberals as the second-largest party. Labour leader Harry Holland became the official Leader of the Opposition on 16 June 1926, after the Eden by-election on 15 April elected Rex Mason to replace James Parr, who had resigned. After the, however, the party was left in an advantageous position – the Reform Party had 28 seats and the new United Party had 27 seats, and neither could govern without Labour support. Labour chose to back United, the party closest to its own views – this put an end to five terms of Reform Party government.
In the early 1930s the rigours of the Great Depression brought Labour considerable popularity, but also caused tension between Labour and the United Party. In 1931 United passed a number of economic measures which Labour deemed hostile to workers, and the agreement between the two parties collapsed. United then formed a coalition government with Reform, making Labour the Opposition. The coalition retained power in the, but gradually, the public became highly dissatisfied with its failure to resolve the country's economic problems. Harry Holland died in 1933 and his deputy, Michael Joseph Savage, became the Labour Party parliamentary leader. In the, the Labour Party gained a significant majority, gaining 53 seats to the coalition's 19, and returned to government.
Several of the early Labour Party stalwarts were Australian-born: Alfred Hindmarsh, Harry Holland, Michael Joseph Savage, Bob Semple, Paddy Webb, Bill Parry and later Jerry Skinner, Mabel Howard, Hugh Watt, Jim Edwards and Dorothy Jelicich.
First Government (1935–1949)
Party leader Michael Joseph Savage became prime minister on 6 December 1935, marking the beginning of Labour's first term in office. The new government quickly set about implementing a number of significant reforms, including a reorganisation of the social-welfare system and setting up the state housing scheme. Workers also benefited from the introduction of the forty-hour week, and legislation making it easier for unions to negotiate on their behalf. Savage himself was highly popular with the working classes, and his portrait could be found on walls in many houses around the country. At this time the Labour Party pursued an alliance with the Māori Rātana movement.The parliamentary opposition, meanwhile, attacked the Labour Party's more left-wing policies and accused it of undermining free enterprise and hard work. In May 1936, months after Labour's first general election win, the Reform Party and the United Party took their coalition to the next step, agreeing to merge with each other. The combined organisation, named the National Party, would be Labour's main rival in future years.
File:Labour Government caucus 1935.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Members of the First Labour Government on the steps of the Parliamentary Library in Wellington, 1935
Labour also faced opposition within its own ranks. While the Labour Party had been explicitly socialist at its inception, it had gradually drifted away from its earlier radicalism. The death of the party's former leader, the "doctrinaire" Harry Holland, had marked a significant turning-point in the party's history. Some within the party, however, were displeased about the changing focus of the party. Most notably, John A. Lee. Lee, whose views were a mixture of socialism and social credit theory, emerged as a vocal critic of the party's leadership, accusing it of behaving autocratically and of betraying the party's rank and file. After a long and bitter dispute, the party executive expelled Lee from the party, who then established his own breakaway Democratic Labour Party.
Savage died in 1940 and Peter Fraser, who became Labour's longest-serving prime minister, replaced him. Fraser became best-known as New Zealand's head of government for most of World War II. In the post-war period, however, ongoing shortages and industrial problems cost Labour considerable popularity, and the National Party, under Sidney Holland, gained ground, although Labour was able to win the 1943 and 1946 elections. Eventually, in the, Labour suffered electoral defeat.
Fraser died shortly afterward, and was replaced by Walter Nash, the long-serving minister of finance. It would be some time before Labour would return to power; Nash lacked the charisma of his predecessors, and National won considerable support for opposing the "industrial anarchy" of the 1951 waterfront dispute. In the, however, Labour won a narrow majority of two seats, and returned to office.