New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is a centre-right New Zealand political party that has spent more time in government than any of the country’s other extant parties. Along with the Labour Party, the National Party is one of the two largest and most powerful parties in modern New Zealand politics. The National Party was originally founded in 1936 as a consolidation of various pre-existing conservative and liberal parties. The party’s formation was largely a response to the political rise of the left-wing Labour Party. After forming a government for the first time in 1949, the National Party became one of the most dominant forces in New Zealand politics. In general, the National Party is a broad church party that throws its support behind free-market economic policies, lower taxes, equal opportunity for all and the values of ambition and hard work. The most recent National Party government as of 2020 lasted from 2008 until Prime Minister Bill English’s government was displaced by the Jacinda Ardern-led Labour government in 2017. In 2023, under Christopher Luxon, the National Party once again won a majority and formed its sixth government.

Background

Political parties play an integral role in New Zealand’s democratic system of government. Each party’s level of political power is determined by how many seats it holds in New Zealand’s Parliament. As a result, each party attempts to win as many votes as possible during the country’s regular parliamentary elections. In these elections, voters from across New Zealand go to the polls to make their voices heard by casting an electoral vote and a party vote. There are two ways a party can win parliamentary seats on Election Day. While some seats are won directly through electoral votes, others can be won if a party receives at least five percent of the party vote.

The key to understanding how New Zealand’s political parties gain or lose power is understanding the difference between electoral and party votes. Voters cast their electoral vote for the specific candidate they want to represent their electorate in Parliament. Ahead of elections, each party chooses candidates to potentially represent each electorate. When the polls close, the candidates with the highest number of votes in each electorate are declared electorate Members of Parliament (MPs). Although many candidates in New Zealand elections stand in an electorate on behalf of registered parties like the National Party, others stand on behalf of unregistered parties or as independents. Party votes differ from electorate votes in that they are not cast in support of specific candidates. Voters instead cast their party vote for the party they want to be represented by in Parliament. In preparation for the party vote, each party puts together a list of candidates for potential parliamentary seats. A varying number of these candidates ultimately win seats based on the share of the party vote won by each party. Put simply, the party that wins the largest proportion of the party vote secures the largest number of parliamentary seats. Candidates elected to Parliament in this fashion are referred to as list MPs.

There are a number of leading parties in modern New Zealand. In addition to the National Party, the largest and most powerful party is Labour. Other top parties include the Green Party, the ACT Party and the Maori Party.

Overview

One of the oldest extant political parties in New Zealand, the National Party has a history stretching back to 1936. Its formation came about thanks to an amalgamation of several earlier political groups that were opposed to Labour. The two most notable groups that were part of the merger were the United Party and the Reform Party. Both had been part of a coalition since 1931. The Reform Party was a conservative group that formed a government from 1912 to 1928. The United Party, which was first formed in 1927, succeeded the defunct Liberal Party and formed a government under Joseph Ward in 1928. Despite forming a coalition with the Reform Party, the United Party suffered a major loss to Labour in 1935 that led to the need for a new party that would allow people from across the conservative spectrum to come together in opposition to Labour. This ultimately resulted in the creation of the National Party in 1936.

While the National Party did not immediately rise to power, it did manage to gradually chip away at Labour’s dominance. The party’s breakthrough came when it finally won the opportunity to form a government in 1949. From that point forward, the National Party was firmly entrenched as one of New Zealand’s leading political organizations. In the thirty-five years that followed, the party formed governments from 1960–1972 and 1974–1984.

By the time of its 1984 ouster, the National Party was plagued by internal disputes that prevented it from forming a government again until 1990. Despite maintaining its hold on power throughout the 1990s, the party endured a serious split in 1993 when one of its ministers broke off to form the New Zealand First Party. Party leader Prime Minister James Bolger subsequently formed a coalition the next year. He was later replaced by Jennifer Shipley, who took the helm of the National Party and became New Zealand’s first female prime minister in 1997. Two years later, the party suffered another major ouster at the hands of Labour. That loss ultimately left the National Party out of power until John Key led the party in forming a new government in 2008. Key served as prime minister until he abruptly resigned in 2016. His departure signalled the beginning of another decline for the National Party. Despite winning fifty-six seats in the House of Representatives in the 2017 election, the party fell short of being able to form a majority government. This eventually allowed Labour to form a government under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern thanks to a coalition with the New Zealand First Party. The National Party had an even worse showing in the 2020 election, losing twenty-one seats in all as Labour secured a major win. In 2023, the National Party allied itself with ACT and New Zealand First, securing a majority and forming its sixth government.

The National Party is a broad-church political organization (meaning it represents many different opinions) with both conservative and liberal tendencies that is built upon a system of values that emphasizes the importance of ambition and hard work. Among other things, the party stands for lower taxes, individual freedom and choice, personal responsibility and equal opportunity for all.

Bibliography

“Central Government.” New Zealand Now, 14 July 2022, www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/living-in-nz/history-government/central-government. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

Cole, Alison. “An Idiot’s Guide to New Zealand’s Political Parties.” Vice, 17 Aug. 2017, www.vice.com/en/article/9kkb73/an-idiots-guide-to-new-zealands-political-parties. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

“National Party.” New Zealand Parliament, 2020, www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/political-parties/national-party. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

“Our Values.” National, 2020, www.national.org.nz/values. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

“Political Parties in New Zealand.” Electoral Commission, 2020, elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/political-parties-in-new-zealand. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.