Social Democratic Party (New Zealand)

[3] The Social Democrats gained a rapid boost when, shortly after their formation, Paddy Webb and James McCombs won by-elections and entered Parliament.

They joined with John Robertson, who won a seat in the 1911 election as a Labour candidate bringing the Social Democrat caucus to three.

The Social Democrats, still closely linked to the United Federation of Labour, were plunged into disarray, with three of the party's leaders, Harry Holland, Peter Fraser and Bob Semple, being jailed for their roles in the strike.

However, union anger at the government for its "heavy-handed" response to the 1913 strikes was still strong, and the outbreak of World War I had also strengthened the labour vote.

[4] Two years later, in 1916, the close working relationship between the Social Democrats and the ULP remnant was formalised with a merger – the two officially came together as the Labour Party, the same organisation that survives today.