This paper is about the Values Party, a new and interesting addition to the New Zealand political scene in 1972. Of necessity it is a discussion composed of two closely related elements, the electoral system and the Values Party as a minor party in that system. Consequently this paper seeks to analyse that system and Values' place in it, and by so doing place in the proper perspective the composition and views of Values Party supporters in Canterbury and Otago. Of all the problems which face the Values Party as a new minor party in New Zealand, the national electoral situation and its effect is initially the most significant.