In 1950, the National Government reinstated the , which had been phased out by the previous Labour Government in 1935 and abolished for murder in 1941. Another eight executions were carried out through Holland's administration (out of 36 murder convictions, 22 of whom had resulted in a death sentence). To solve the partisan-infected issue Holland called for a referendum to be held on the same day as the general election of 1957, but the proposal failed to make the ballot. No executions were carried out under Holland's successor, Keith Holyoake, and in 1961 Holyoake oversaw a vote in which Parliament voted 41–30 (with eleven National MPs crossing the floor) to abolish capital punishment for murder.