The 1935 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 25th term. It resulted in the Labour Party's first electoral victory, with Michael Joseph Savage becoming the first Labour Prime Minister. The governing coalition, consisting of the United Party and the Reform Party, suffered a major defeat, attributed by many to their handling of the Great Depression. The year after the election, United and Reform took their coalition further, merging to form the modern National Party. The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... The 25th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... Michael Joseph Savage (March 23, 1872 - March 27, 1940) was a New Zealand politician and the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand. ... The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealands head of government and is the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand. ... This article discusses the party which originated in 1927 from a faction of the Liberal Party. ... The Reform Party was New Zealands second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party. ... The Great Depression redirects here. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ...

Background

Since 1931, New Zealand had been governed by a coalition of the United Party and the Reform Party. United and Reform had traditionally been enemies — United was a revival of the old Liberal Party, a progressive party with a strong urban base, while Reform was a conservative party with a strong rural base. When the 1928 elections left United and Reform with an equal number of seats, United managed to obtain support from the growing Labour Party, but in 1931, the worsening depression prompted a dispute over economic policy, and Labour withdrew its backing. Reform then agreed to go into coalition with United, fearing that an election would lead to significant gains for the "socialistic" Labour. The coalition held on to power in the 1931 elections, but the ongoing economic troubles made the government deeply unpopular, and by the time of the 1935 elections, Labour's support was soaring. 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... This article discusses the party which originated in 1927 from a faction of the Liberal Party. ... The Reform Party was New Zealands second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party. ... This article is about the original New Zealand Liberal Party. ... The New Zealand general election of 1925 was held November 14 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... The 1931 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 24th term. ...

The election

The date for the main 1935 elections was 27 November, a Wednesday. Elections to the four Maori seats were held the day before. 919,798 people were registered to vote, and there was a turnout of 90.8%. This turnout was considerably higher than for the turnout in the previous election, but still about average for the time period. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902. After the establishment of Westminster-style Parliamentary Government in New Zealand in 1852, the Māori inhabitants had allotted to them from 1867 specific seats in the New Zealand Parliament. ... Men turning out to vote in the Australian 1899 Federation referendum. ...

Results

The 1935 election saw a massive win for the opposition Labour Party, which won fifty-three seats. The governing coalition won only nineteen. This difference was not so great in the popular vote, however, with Labour winning 46.1% to the coalition's 32.9%. Many commentators blamed the coalition's failure to win seats on vote splitting by the Democrat Party, an "anti-socialist" group founded by a former organiser for the coalition. The Democrats won 7.8% of the vote, but no seats. Apart from Labour and the coalition, the only two groups to win places in Parliament were the Country Party and the Ratana movement, both of which gained two seats. Four independents were elected. The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... This article or section should be merged with Spoiler effect A split vote, or vote splitting, occurs in an election when the existence of two or more candidates that represent relatively similar viewpoints among voters reduces the votes received by each of them, reducing the chances of any one of... This article is about the pro-business party founded in 1934. ... The Country Party of New Zealand was a political party which based itself around rural voters. ... Both a religion and a pan-tribal political force, the Ratana movement was founded by Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana (1873 - 1939) in early 20th century New Zealand. ...

  The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... This article discusses the party which originated in 1927 from a faction of the Liberal Party. ... The Reform Party was New Zealands second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party. ... This article is about the pro-business party founded in 1934. ... The Country Party of New Zealand was a political party which based itself around rural voters. ... Both a religion and a pan-tribal political force, the Ratana movement was founded by Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana (1873 - 1939) in early 20th century New Zealand. ...

New Zealand elections
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  Members of New Zealands House of Representatives, commonly called Parliament, normally gain their seats in nationwide general elections, or (less frequently) in by-elections. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... The 1853 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 1st term. ... The 1855 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 2nd term. ... The New Zealand general election of 1860 was held between December 12 and March 28 to elect 53 MPs to the third session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1866 was held between February 12 and April 6 to elect 70 MPs to the fourth session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1871 was held between January 14 and February 1 to elect 78 MPs to the fifth session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1875 was held between December 29 and January 4 (1876) to elect a total of 88 MPs to the 6th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1879 was held between August 15 and September 1 to elect a total of 88 MPs to the 7th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1881 was held December 9 to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 8th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1884 was held July 22 to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 9th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1887 was held July 22 to elect 95 MPs to the ninth session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1890 was held on December 5 to elect 74 MPs to the 11th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1893 was held November 28 to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 12th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1896 was held December 4 to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 13th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1899 was held December 6 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 14th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1902 was held November 25 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 15th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1905 was held December 6 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 16th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1908 was held November 17, November 24 and December 1 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 17th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1911 was held December 7 and December 14 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 18th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1914 was held December 10 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1919 was held December 17 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 20th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1922 was held December 7 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 21st session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1925 was held November 4 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 22nd session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1928 was held on November 14 to elect 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 1931 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 24th term. ... Until 1996, New Zealand used the British system of first past the post (FPP) for parliamentary elections . ... The 1999 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 46th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. ... Wikinews has news related to: Results of the 2005 New Zealand General Election The 2005 New Zealand general election took place on 17 September 2005 and determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. ...