The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term . It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.

Background

The Labour Party had won the 1957 elections by a narrow margin, beginning New Zealand's second period of Labour government. However, the new administration soon lost its narrow lead in public opinion, with its financial policies being the principle cause of dissatisfaction. The so-called "Black Budget", introduced by Arnold Nordmeyer, increased taxes substantially, with particularly large increases for alcohol and tobacco taxes — Labour became widely seen as both miserly and puritanical. The government defended its tax increases as a necessary measure to avert a balance of payments crisis, the but opposition, led by Keith Holyoake, made substantial gains out of the issue.

The election

The date for the main 1960 elections was 26 November. 1,310,742 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 89.8%. This turnout was slightly lower than what had been recorded in the previous elections. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

Results

The 1960 election saw a the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin. It had previously held a two-seat majority. Labour won a total of thirty-four seats, while the National Party won forty-six. In the popular vote, Labour won 43.4% to National's 47.6%. The Social Credit Party won 8.6% of the vote, but no seats.