New Zealand Reform Party
Encyclopedia
The Reform Party, formally the New Zealand Political Reform League, was New Zealand
's second major political party
, having been founded as a conservative
response to the original Liberal Party
. It was in government between 1912 and 1928, and later merged with the United Party
(a remnant of the Liberals) to form the modern National Party
.
, founded by John Ballance
and fortified by Richard Seddon
, was highly dominant in New Zealand politics at the beginning of the 20th century. The conservative opposition, consisting only of independents, was disorganised and demoralised. It had no cohesive plan to counter the Liberal Party's dominance, and could not agree on a single leader — it was described by one historian as resembling a disparate band of guerrillas
, and presented no credible threat to continued Liberal Party rule.
Gradually, however, the Liberals began to falter — the first blow came with the death of Richard Seddon, their popular leader, but other factors contributed to their decline. Importantly for conservatives, the Liberals were slowly losing support from small farmers, who had once backed the Liberals due to their promise of land reform
. Having achieved the land reforms, farmers had little reason to continue their support the Liberals, and drifted towards the socially conservative opposition. At the same time, the Liberals were also slowly losing their other base of support, the urban working class — the Ballance and Seddon governments had introduced many reformist labour laws, but under later leaders, the reforms had slowed. The Liberals were split between the farmers and the workers, attempting to please both and therefore pleasing neither. The attempts of the Liberals to win back the labour vote were decried by conservatives as "socialistic", and the flight of farmers and businessmen from the Liberal Party was accelerated. The conservative opposition, which pledged its opposition to the alleged socialist tendencies of the Liberals, was strengthened.
The foundation of the Reform Party was closely associated with this return of the opposition to political significance, and with growing agitation against the Liberal Party's alleged socialism. The party itself crystallised around a farmer-turned-politician named William Massey
, who became the leader of most conservatives in Parliament in 1903. Also closely linked to the group were the Political Reform League, Auckland's "National Association", and (in an unofficial capacity) the Farmers' Union. The opposition began referring to itself as the Reform Party in 1909, and adopted a common platform for contesting elections. Among the party's important policy planks were farmers' freehold
and the reform of the public service. Despite campaigning heavily against the government's "socialism", it did not propose to undo the Liberal Party's labour and welfare reforms.
, the Reform Party managed to win thirty-seven seats compared with thirty-three for the Liberals. Supporters of the Liberals denied that Reform had won a mandate to rule, however, pointing out that the country quota
(a system in which rural electorates were smaller than urban ones, meaning that rural areas were slightly over-represented in Parliament) worked to "inflate" Reform's vote. Nevertheless, it did not take long for the Liberal government, now ruling only with the support of independents, to fall. William Massey became Prime Minister
on 10 July 1912.
In government, the Reform Party implemented many of its policies regarding freehold and public service reform. Many other Liberal-era policies were not changed, however, and Reform gained further support from disillusioned members of the Liberal Party. Reform also demonstrated its tough line against "socialism" with its responses to a number of notable strikes
— the Waihi miners' strike
, led by left-wing unions which Massey condemned as "enemies of order", was harshly suppressed, and one worker died. A dockworkers' strike in 1913 was also broken. The strikes prompted considerable concern about socialism in certain sectors of society, boosting Reform's results in the 1914 elections
.
In the 1919 elections, Reform further strengthened its position, despite the emergence of a single united Labour Party
. In the 1922 elections
, however, the approach of depression cost the government considerably, and Reform was forced to build an unstable coalition of independents.
In 1925, Massey died. After a period under interim leader Francis Bell (New Zealand Prime Minister), Reform chose Gordon Coates
as its new leader. Coates, while not regarded as politically astute, was relatively popular with the public, and campaigned well. In the 1925 elections
, Reform won a surprisingly high number of seats — fifty-five, compared with twelve for Labour and eleven for the chaotic Liberals. This victory was not as pronounced in the statistics for the popular vote, however — many believed that Reform had profited from the three-party configuration, with the anti-Reform being split.
In the 1928 elections
, however, there was a substantial reversal. The new United Party
, founded on the ashes of the Liberal Party, experienced a surge of support, tying with Reform on twenty-seven seats. The Labour Party won nineteen seats. The Reform Party government was defeated by an alliance of United and Labour.
remaining Prime Minister but Reform's Downie Stewart becoming Finance Minister
.
In coalition, the two parties suffered only minor losses in the 1931 elections
. As the depression failed to dissipate, however, the government became more and more unpopular, and support for the Labour Party soared. Clashes between Gordon Coates (who still led Reform) and Downie Stewart over economic policy eventually prompted Downie Stewart's resignation, earning the government a new critic and hurting its popularity still further. In addition, some of the coalition's measures to revive the economy were condemned by some as "socialist" — the Democrat Party
, founded to fight this "socialism", cost the coalition a certain amount of support. In the 1935 elections
, the coalition to suffered a massive defeat to the Labour Party, winning only nineteen seats to Labour's fifty-three.
Shortly after losing the 1935 elections, Reform and United resolved to merge completely, creating a united front against Labour. The new group was named the National Party
, and has remained Labour's principal opponent ever since.
.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's second major political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
, having been founded as a conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
response to the original Liberal Party
New Zealand Liberal Party
The New Zealand Liberal Party is generally regarded as having been the first real political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. Out of office, the Liberals gradually found themselves pressed between the conservative Reform Party and the growing Labour Party...
. It was in government between 1912 and 1928, and later merged with the United Party
United Party (New Zealand)
The United Party of New Zealand, a party formed out of the remnants of the Liberal Party, formed a government between 1928 and 1935, and in 1936 merged with the Reform Party to establish the National Party...
(a remnant of the Liberals) to form the modern National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
.
Foundation
The Liberal PartyNew Zealand Liberal Party
The New Zealand Liberal Party is generally regarded as having been the first real political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. Out of office, the Liberals gradually found themselves pressed between the conservative Reform Party and the growing Labour Party...
, founded by John Ballance
John Ballance
John Ballance served as the 14th Premier of New Zealand at the end of the 19th century, and was the founder of the Liberal Party .-Early life:...
and fortified by Richard Seddon
Richard Seddon
Richard John Seddon , sometimes known as King Dick, is to date the longest serving Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is regarded by some, including historian Keith Sinclair, as one of New Zealand's greatest political leaders....
, was highly dominant in New Zealand politics at the beginning of the 20th century. The conservative opposition, consisting only of independents, was disorganised and demoralised. It had no cohesive plan to counter the Liberal Party's dominance, and could not agree on a single leader — it was described by one historian as resembling a disparate band of guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
, and presented no credible threat to continued Liberal Party rule.
Gradually, however, the Liberals began to falter — the first blow came with the death of Richard Seddon, their popular leader, but other factors contributed to their decline. Importantly for conservatives, the Liberals were slowly losing support from small farmers, who had once backed the Liberals due to their promise of land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
. Having achieved the land reforms, farmers had little reason to continue their support the Liberals, and drifted towards the socially conservative opposition. At the same time, the Liberals were also slowly losing their other base of support, the urban working class — the Ballance and Seddon governments had introduced many reformist labour laws, but under later leaders, the reforms had slowed. The Liberals were split between the farmers and the workers, attempting to please both and therefore pleasing neither. The attempts of the Liberals to win back the labour vote were decried by conservatives as "socialistic", and the flight of farmers and businessmen from the Liberal Party was accelerated. The conservative opposition, which pledged its opposition to the alleged socialist tendencies of the Liberals, was strengthened.
The foundation of the Reform Party was closely associated with this return of the opposition to political significance, and with growing agitation against the Liberal Party's alleged socialism. The party itself crystallised around a farmer-turned-politician named William Massey
William Massey
William Ferguson Massey, often known as Bill Massey or "Farmer Bill" served as the 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1912 to 1925, and was the founder of the Reform Party. He is widely considered to have been one of the more skilled politicians of his time, and was known for the particular...
, who became the leader of most conservatives in Parliament in 1903. Also closely linked to the group were the Political Reform League, Auckland's "National Association", and (in an unofficial capacity) the Farmers' Union. The opposition began referring to itself as the Reform Party in 1909, and adopted a common platform for contesting elections. Among the party's important policy planks were farmers' freehold
Fee simple
In English law, a fee simple is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. It is the most common way that real estate is owned in common law countries, and is ordinarily the most complete ownership interest that can be had in real property short of allodial title, which is often reserved...
and the reform of the public service. Despite campaigning heavily against the government's "socialism", it did not propose to undo the Liberal Party's labour and welfare reforms.
Reform Government
In the 1911 electionsNew Zealand general election, 1911
The New Zealand general election of 1911 was held on Thursday, 7 and 14 December in the general electorates, and on Tuesday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 18th session of the New Zealand Parliament...
, the Reform Party managed to win thirty-seven seats compared with thirty-three for the Liberals. Supporters of the Liberals denied that Reform had won a mandate to rule, however, pointing out that the country quota
Country quota
The country quota was a part of the New Zealand electoral system from 1881 until 1945. Its effect was to make urban constituencies more populous than those in rural areas, thus making rural votes worth more in general elections....
(a system in which rural electorates were smaller than urban ones, meaning that rural areas were slightly over-represented in Parliament) worked to "inflate" Reform's vote. Nevertheless, it did not take long for the Liberal government, now ruling only with the support of independents, to fall. William Massey became Prime Minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
on 10 July 1912.
In government, the Reform Party implemented many of its policies regarding freehold and public service reform. Many other Liberal-era policies were not changed, however, and Reform gained further support from disillusioned members of the Liberal Party. Reform also demonstrated its tough line against "socialism" with its responses to a number of notable strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
— the Waihi miners' strike
Waihi miners' strike
The Waihi miners' strike was a major strike action in 1912 by gold miners in the New Zealand town of Waihi. It is widely regarded as the most significant industrial action in the history of New Zealand's labour movement...
, led by left-wing unions which Massey condemned as "enemies of order", was harshly suppressed, and one worker died. A dockworkers' strike in 1913 was also broken. The strikes prompted considerable concern about socialism in certain sectors of society, boosting Reform's results in the 1914 elections
New Zealand general election, 1914
The New Zealand general election of 1914 was held on 10 December to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 616,043 voters were registered, of which 84.7% voters turned out to vote....
.
In the 1919 elections, Reform further strengthened its position, despite the emergence of a single united Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
. In the 1922 elections
New Zealand general election, 1922
The New Zealand general election of 1922 was held on Monday, 6 December in the Māori electorates, and on Tuesday, 7 December in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 21st session of the New Zealand Parliament...
, however, the approach of depression cost the government considerably, and Reform was forced to build an unstable coalition of independents.
In 1925, Massey died. After a period under interim leader Francis Bell (New Zealand Prime Minister), Reform chose Gordon Coates
Gordon Coates
Joseph Gordon Coates, MC and bar served as the 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928.- Early life :Born on the Hukatere Peninsula in Kaipara Harbour where his family ran a farm, Coates took on significant responsibility at a relatively early age because his father suffered from...
as its new leader. Coates, while not regarded as politically astute, was relatively popular with the public, and campaigned well. In the 1925 elections
New Zealand general election, 1925
The New Zealand general election of 1925 was held 4 November to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 22nd session of the New Zealand Parliament...
, Reform won a surprisingly high number of seats — fifty-five, compared with twelve for Labour and eleven for the chaotic Liberals. This victory was not as pronounced in the statistics for the popular vote, however — many believed that Reform had profited from the three-party configuration, with the anti-Reform being split.
In the 1928 elections
New Zealand general election, 1928
The New Zealand general election of 1928 was held on Tuesday, 13 November in the Māori electorates, and on Wednesday, 14 November in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament...
, however, there was a substantial reversal. The new United Party
United Party (New Zealand)
The United Party of New Zealand, a party formed out of the remnants of the Liberal Party, formed a government between 1928 and 1935, and in 1936 merged with the Reform Party to establish the National Party...
, founded on the ashes of the Liberal Party, experienced a surge of support, tying with Reform on twenty-seven seats. The Labour Party won nineteen seats. The Reform Party government was defeated by an alliance of United and Labour.
Opposition and Coalition
The Reform Party, still led by Coates, continued in opposition. The worsening economic situation left the United Party government struggling, and in 1931, the Labour Party withdrew its support in protest at certain economic measures. The Reform Party reluctantly agreed to support the United Party government, as the depression had raised fears of major gains for Labour if an election were held. United and Reform established a coalition government, with United's George ForbesGeorge William Forbes
George William Forbes served as the 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1930 to 1935. Few expected him to become Prime Minister when he did, and some believed him unsuitable, but he nevertheless remained in that office for five years...
remaining Prime Minister but Reform's Downie Stewart becoming Finance Minister
Minister of Finance (New Zealand)
The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. The position is often considered to be the most important Cabinet role after that of the Prime Minister....
.
In coalition, the two parties suffered only minor losses in the 1931 elections
New Zealand general election, 1931
The 1931 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 24th term. It resulted in the newly formed coalition between the United Party and the Reform Party remaining in office as the Liberal-Reform Government, although the opposition Labour...
. As the depression failed to dissipate, however, the government became more and more unpopular, and support for the Labour Party soared. Clashes between Gordon Coates (who still led Reform) and Downie Stewart over economic policy eventually prompted Downie Stewart's resignation, earning the government a new critic and hurting its popularity still further. In addition, some of the coalition's measures to revive the economy were condemned by some as "socialist" — the Democrat Party
New Zealand Democrat Party
The New Zealand Democrat Party was a political party in New Zealand, founded in 1934 with the purpose of opposing "socialist" legislation by the government....
, founded to fight this "socialism", cost the coalition a certain amount of support. In the 1935 elections
New Zealand general election, 1935
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 coalition to suffered a massive defeat to the Labour Party, winning only nineteen seats to Labour's fifty-three.
Shortly after losing the 1935 elections, Reform and United resolved to merge completely, creating a united front against Labour. The new group was named the National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
, and has remained Labour's principal opponent ever since.
Further reading
- The two books above are a printing of six radio talks broadcast by the New Zealand Broadcasting Service in 1959: including an address/paper by William J. Gardner titled: "The Reform Party."
.
- This is a lecture given by the chancellor of the University of New Zealand at Victoria University College on 30 June 1910.