The New Zealand Labour Party 1916-1935: An Outline of the General Development of the Party from the Time of its Formation until it Became the Government

Abstract

This study seeks to give a general narrative account of the history of the Labour Party from its formation until the time when it achieved office in 1935. Much has been written in theses on the Labour movement as a whole until 1919 or thereabouts. Specialised work has been done upon various aspects of the policy of the Labour Government. But, as far as I am aware, little has been written on the Party in the vital years from 1916 until the 1935 Election. The exceptions are the few books published by Labour stalwarts. These have a natural tendency to be unrelieved eulogies but apart from this limitation, they tend to dwell on the circumstances of the early formative years and on the battles fought during the Depression. The years 1920-30, for example, are skimped as a general period of steady growth between more exciting earlier and later times. The repair of this gap has necessitated a concentration on facts and events. Analysis has been sparing. The questions first to be answered are 'what' and 'when'. 'How' and 'why' remain, therefore, to a great extent unanswered. This thesis will have served a purpose if it provides a general framework of the course and development of the Party within the period as a basis for more concentrated research on particular spheres of policy. The origins of policy - the extent to which it was indigenous or was adapted from the British Labour movement - the examination of Labour's policy and outlook related to socialist doctrines - the role of the Party in international affairs - the influence and role of individual leaders - are all fruitful fields for further research. Finally, the basically narrative approach is here by no means exhausted. The complexities of the years 1930-35, for example, are such as to warrant separate critical treatment.