The United Party was a political party in New Zealand. It was founded in 1927, partly out of the remnants of the Liberal Party, and formed the United Government between 1928 and 1931, and the United–Reform coalition Government between 1931 and 1935. In 1936, it merged with the Reform Party to form the National Party.

The New Zealand Liberal Party was the first organised political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. The Liberal strategy was to create a large class of small land-owning farmers who supported Liberal ideals, by buying large tracts of Māori land and selling it to small farmers on credit. The Liberal Government also established the basis of the later welfare state, with old age pensions, developed a system for settling industrial disputes, which was accepted by both employers and trade unions. In 1893 it extended voting rights to women, making New Zealand the first country in the world to enact universal adult suffrage.