Socialist Unity Party of New Zealand

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The Socialist Unity Party was one of the better-known

The Socialist Unity Party was founded in 1966 as a splinter group of the

The Socialist Unity Party's association with the Soviet government drew considerable criticism from mainstream politicians. In 1980, the Soviet ambassador to New Zealand, Vsevolod Sofinsky, was expelled after allegedly giving $10,000 to a member of the Socialist Unity Party.^[2] In 1987, another Soviet diplomat, Sergei Budnik, was ordered to leave the country by Prime Minister David Lange for his alleged involvement with the party.^[3][4]

At the same time, the Socialist Unity Party was strongly condemned by other communist groups, which accused it of not following "true" communism and of collaborating with capitalists. The Socialist Unity Party's most well known leader, Ken Douglas, was also criticised by hardliners for the comparatively moderate position he took within the trade union movement.^{[citation needed]}

The Socialist Unity Party, unlike some of the more radical groups, participated in

The Socialist Unity Party has now dissolved, although the Socialist Party of Aotearoa (now also defunct), which split from the Socialist Unity Party in 1990, continued for a number of years afterwards into the early 2010s.

Electoral results (1972–1981)

Further reading

• Jim McAloon, "'Communist' a Convenient Term of Abuse", Newsroom, 27 October 2017

References