New Zealand Labour Party

New Zealand Labour Party
Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa
LeaderChris Hipkins
Deputy LeaderCarmel Sepuloni
PresidentJill Day
General SecretaryRob Salmond[1]
Founded7 July 1916; 108 years ago (1916-07-07)
Merger ofSocial Democratic Party
United Labour Party
HeadquartersFraser House, 160–162 Willis St, Wellington 6011
Youth wingYoung Labour
LGBT+ wingRainbow Labour
IdeologySocial democracy
Political positionCentre-left
International affiliationProgressive Alliance[2]
Colours  Red
Slogan"In It For You"[3]
MPs in the House of Representatives
34 / 123
Regional councillors
2 / 131
Local councillors
15 / 634
Mayors
1 / 67
Website
labour.org.nz
Part of a series on
Organised labour
Labour movement
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The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour (Māori: Reipa),[4] is a centre-left political party in New Zealand.[5][6][7][8] The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism,[9] while observers describe Labour as social democratic[10][11] and pragmatic in practice.[10][11] The party participates in the international Progressive Alliance.[2] 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.[12] Alongside the National Party, Labour has alternated in leading governments of New Zealand since the 1930s.[13] As of 2020, 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.[14] Labour won the party vote in 71 out of 72 electorates in the 2020 election, making it overwhelmingly the most successful political party of the MMP era.[15][16]

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, a member of the party's left, 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.[17] 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.[18] In the 2023 election, Labour lost its majority to the National Party and subsequently returned to Opposition.[19] Since 2023, Chris Hipkins serves as the party's leader, while Carmel Sepuloni is the deputy leader

  1. ^ Moir, Jo. "Labour appoints Rob Salmond as new general secretary". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Parties & Organisations". Progressive Alliance. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Election 2023: 'In It For You', Chris Hipkins launches slogan for Labour 2023 campaign".
  4. ^ "Reipa – Māori Dictionary". maoridictionary.co.nz. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  5. ^ Boston, Jonathan; et al. (2003). New Zealand Votes: The General Election of 2002. Victoria University Press. p. 358.
  6. ^ "Voters' preexisting opinions shift to align with political party positions". Association for Psychological Science. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via Science Daily.
  7. ^ Papillon, Martin; Turgeon, Luc; Wallner, Jennifer; White, Stephen (2014). Comparing Canada: Methods and Perspectives on Canadian Politics. UBC Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780774827867. Retrieved 30 August 2016. [...] [I]n New Zealand politics, by the centre-left Labour Party and the centre-right National Party [...].
  8. ^ Khalil, Shaimaa (22 January 2023). "Chris Hipkins: Uphill battle looms for New Zealand's next PM". Wellington: BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2023. ...his centre-left Labour party.
  9. ^ "New Zealand Labour Party Policy Platform" (PDF). New Zealand Labour Party. March 2016. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2017. The Labour Party's values are based on our founding principle of Democratic Socialism.
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Bean2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Aimer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference founded was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Miller 2005, pp. 32–33.
  14. ^ "New Zealand – Political process | Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  15. ^ Schwartz, Matthew (17 October 2020). "New Zealand PM Ardern Wins Re-Election In Best Showing For Labour Party In Decades". NPR. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  16. ^ Shaw, Richard; Hayward, Bronwyn; Vowles, Jack; Curtin, Jennifer; MacDonald, Lindsey (17 October 2020). "Jacinda Ardern and Labour returned in a landslide – 5 experts on a historic New Zealand election". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  17. ^ "2017 General Election – Official Result". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  18. ^ "New Zealand election: Jacinda Ardern's Labour Party scores landslide win". BBC News. 17 October 2020. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  19. ^ Corlett, Eva (14 October 2023). "New Zealand abandons Labour and shifts to the right as country votes for wholesale change". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.