Labour Party

It governed in 2017-2023, winning 50% of the party vote and 65 seats in 2020, and has sat in opposition since the 2023 election, holding 34 of 123 seats. It is named in the market on which party wins most seats in the 2026 New Zealand general election.

History

Labour was formed in 1916 from socialist groups and trade unions and won 53 seats in 1935. It governed in 1935-1949, 1957-1960, 1972-1975, 1984-1990 and 1999-2008 under leaders including Michael Joseph Savage, Norman Kirk, David Lange and Helen Clark. In 2017 Jacinda Ardern formed a government with New Zealand First, backed by the Greens, and won the first majority of the proportional era in 2020. Hipkins became prime minister in January 2023, and Labour lost the October 2023 election.

Positions

Wikipedia describes Labour as centre-left, with democratic socialism as a founding principle and a pragmatic social-democratic practice. Its positions include a higher minimum wage, social safety nets and worker protections, free tertiary education, child-poverty reduction, environmental protection, LGBTQ+ equality and an anti-nuclear foreign policy. Its voter base has been working-class, Māori, Pasifika and inner-city voters, although Māori support has fragmented since 2004. Deputy leader is Carmel Sepuloni.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia