1966 New Zealand general election

26 November 1966 (1966-11-26)
All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament 41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	1,205,095 (86.0%)
First party Second party Third party   150x150px Leader Keith Holyoake Norman Kirk Vernon Cracknell Party National Labour Social Credit Leader since 1957 1965 1963 Leader's seat Pahiatua Lyttelton Hobson Last election 45 seats, 47.1% 35 seats, 43.7% 0 seats, 7.9% Seats won 44 35 1 Seat change 1 0 1 Popular vote 525,925 499,392 174,513 Percentage 43.6% 41.4% 14.5% Swing 3.5% 2.3% 6.6%
Prime Minister before election Keith Holyoake National Elected Prime Minister Keith Holyoake National

The 1966 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 35th term. It saw the governing National Party win a third consecutive term in office. It was also the first time since the 1943 elections that a minor party won a seat in Parliament.

Background

The National Party had established its second administration following the 1960 elections, and had been re-elected in the 1963 elections. Keith Holyoake remained Prime Minister. The Labour Party experienced a leadership change shortly before the 1966 elections: Arnold Nordmeyer, who was closely associated with an unpopular previous Labour government, was replaced by the younger Norman Kirk. Labour remained disunited, however, with ongoing leadership problems undermining Kirk's position. Disagreement between unionists and non-unionists regarding economic policy also weakened the party.

One significant issue that divided National and Labour in the 1966 elections was the question of New Zealand's participation in the Vietnam War. Under National, New Zealand contributed a small number of troops, which Holyoake strongly defended during the election campaign. Labour, by contrast, made the recall of troops one of its key policies; former Labour leader Walter Nash was a particularly strong critic of the war.

The election

The date for the main 1966 elections was 26 November. 1,409,600 people were registered to vote. Turnout was 86.0%, a number relatively low for the time. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902. It was, however, the last election in which the number of seats was set at this level.

Election results

Party standings

The 1966 election saw the governing National Party retain office by an eight-seat margin. It had previously held office by a ten-seat margin — the drop was a result of losing the Hobson seat to Social Credit's Vernon Cracknell. National won a total of forty-four seats, while the Labour Party remained static on thirty-five. In the popular vote, the parties were closer — National won 43.6% to Labour's 41.4%. The Social Credit Party won 14.5% of the vote and one seat.

Election results
Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won	Change
	National	80	525,945	43.64	44	-1
	Labour	80	499,392	41.44	35	±0
	Social Credit	80	174,513	14.48	1	+1
	Communist	8	3,167	0.26	0	±0
	Independents (including Tommy Armstrong)	13	5,243	0.44	0	±0
Total		261	1,205,095		80

Votes summary

Popular Vote
National			43.64%
Labour			41.44%
Social Credit			14.48%
Other			0.70%

Parliament seats
National			55.00%
Labour			43.75%
Social Credit			1.25%

Initial MPs

The table below shows the results of the 1966 general election:

Key

  National     Labour     Social Credit  

Electorate results for the New Zealand general election, 1966

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Ashburton		Richard Gerard		Rob Talbot	983		A J Srhoy
Auckland Central		Norman Douglas			2,562		M B Quinn
Avon		John Mathison			5,232		J R Dawson
Awarua		Gordon Grieve			3,222		M E Booker
Bay of Plenty		Percy Allen			3,596		L T Fischer
Buller		Bill Rowling			1,822		Ernie King
Christchurch Central		Robert Macfarlane			1,409		F W P Francis
Clutha		Peter Gordon			3,312		Les McKay
Dunedin Central		Brian MacDonell			1,245		J E Farry
Dunedin North		Ethel McMillan			2,833		G B Gerard
Eden		John Rae			2,548		J W Stewart
Egmont		William Sheat		Venn Young	3,262		H N Johnston
Fendalton		Harry Lake			2,271		Bruce Barclay
Franklin		Alfred E. Allen			5,083		R Waishing
Gisborne		Esme Tombleson			1,432		Bob MacDonald
Grey Lynn		Ritchie Macdonald			4,399		H A Nash
Hamilton		Lance Adams-Schneider			2,225		R D Reese
Hastings		Duncan MacIntyre			2,129		Mrs S M L Davies
Hauraki		Arthur Kinsella			2,336		H J Uttinger
Hawkes Bay		Richard Harrison			3,915		L K Evans
Heretaunga		Ron Bailey			2,647		T A Ross
Hobson		Logan Sloane		Vernon Cracknell	490		Logan Sloane
Hutt		Sir Walter Nash			1,949		John Kennedy-Good
Invercargill		Ralph Hanan			2,396		L N Valentine
Island Bay		Arnold Nordmeyer			2,806		Abraham Saul Goldsmith
Karori		Jack Marshall			5,270		P J Blizard
Lyttelton		Norman Kirk			2,121		G P A de Latour
Manawatu		Blair Tennent		Les Gandar	2,298		E J Hemmingsen
Manukau		Colin Moyle			2,728		M L Peers
Manurewa		Phil Amos			2,389		B F Kimpton
Marlborough		Tom Shand			732		Gerard Wall
Marsden		Donald McKay			4,077		O J Lewis
Miramar		Bill Fox		Bill Young	146		W A Fox
Mt Albert		Warren Freer			2,654		T D Hibberd
Napier		James Edwards		Gordon Christie	393		M Kidson
Nelson		Stanley Whitehead			2,045		E B Slack
New Lynn		Rex Mason		Jonathan Hunt	3,727		K P Lynch
New Plymouth		Ernest Aderman		Ron Barclay	78		B E Clark
North Shore		Dean Eyre		George Gair	1,108		Michael Bassett
Onehunga		Hugh Watt			4,265		Mrs D T L Double
Otago Central		John George			2,305		B O Griffiths
Otaki		Allan McCready			3,575		G W Herbert
Pahiatua		Keith Holyoake			5,291		F M O'Brien
Pakuranga		Bob Tizard			2,259		N W Holmes
Palmerston North		Bill Brown			259		Joe Walding
Petone		Michael Moohan			2,607		P M Love
Piako		Geoffrey Sim		Jack Luxton	3,884		M E Barroclough
Porirua		Henry May			1,928
Raglan		Douglas Carter			1,659		R N Little
Rangiora		Herbert Pickering			957		Whetu Tirikatene
Rangitikei		Norman Shelton			4,005		R J Wiseman
Remuera		Ronald Algie		Allan Highet	6,660		W C Nairn
Riccarton		Mick Connelly			2,725		I G B Wilson
Rodney		Jack Scott			2,722		N C McConachy
Roskill		Arthur Faulkner			3,822		A W G Cook
Rotorua		Harry Lapwood			2,298		F B Knipe
St Albans		Bert Walker			2,575		E G Adcock
St Kilda		William Fraser			2,809		R M Hall
Selwyn		John McAlpine		Colin McLachlan	2,597		T K Campbell
Stratford		David Thomson			4,115		M D J Butler
Sydenham		Mabel Howard			3,947		H L Garrett
Tamaki		Robert Muldoon			2,827		K Ryan
Taupo		Rona Stevenson			258		Barry Gustafson
Tauranga		George Walsh			2,299		Mrs O E Smuts-Kennedy
Timaru		Basil Arthur			3,108		N S Brown
Waimarino		Roy Jack			2,491		S A Cameron
Waipa		Leslie Munro			3,081		N R D Shewan
Wairarapa		Haddon Donald			533		Jack Williams
Waitakere		Martyn Finlay			3,813		Peter Wilkinson
Waitaki		Allan Dick			2,009		Stan Rodger
Waitemata		Norman King			3,832		T J Power
Waitomo		David Seath			4,442		A J Ingram
Wallace		Brian Talboys			3,965		Aubrey Begg
Wanganui		George Spooner			908		J T H Grace
Wellington Central		Dan Riddiford			1,713		R O'Regan
Westland		Paddy Blanchfield			4,041		G K A Ferguson
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Puti Tipene Watene			3,121		Arnold Reedy
Northern Maori		Matiu Rata			4,297		F R Wilcox
Southern Maori		Eruera Tirikatene			3,832		M B P Pere
Western Maori		Iriaka Matiu Ratana			5,580		T M Te Heuheu