New Zealand general election, 1931

New Zealand general election, 1931

1928 ← 1 (Māori) & 2 December (general) 1931 → 1935

All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority Turnout 714,511 (83.3%)   First party Second party   Leader Gordon Coates Harry Holland Party Reform Labour Alliance United/Reform Leader since 1925 1919 (party formation) Leader's seat Kaipara Buller Last election 27 seats, 34.8% 19 seats, 26.2% Seats won 28 24 Seat change 1 5 Popular vote 396,004[note 1] 244,881 Percentage 55.4%[note 1] 34.3% Swing -9.2%[note 1] 8.1%   Third party Fourth party   Leader George William Forbes Harold Rushworth Party United Country Party Alliance United/Reform Leader since 1925 1928 Leader's seat Hurunui Bay of Islands Last election 27 seats, 29.8% 1 seat, 1.6% Seats won 19 1 Seat change 8 0 Popular vote See note 16,710 Percentage See note 2.3% Swing See note 0.7%

Prime Minister before election George William Forbes United Prime Minister-Designate George William Forbes United

The 1931 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 24th term. It resulted in the newly formed coalition between the United Party and the Reform Party remaining in office as the Liberal-Reform Government, although the opposition Labour Party made some minor gains.

Background

In the 1928 elections, the United Party and the Reform Party had both won twenty-seven seats. The United Party managed to form a government, the United Government, with the support of the Labour Party, with governing Reform Party going into the opposition. In 1931, however, the agreement between United and Labour collapsed due to differing opinions on how to counter the Great Depression. The Reform Party, fearing that the Depression would give Labour a substantial boost, reluctantly agreed to form a coalition with United to avert elections. By forming a coalition, United and Reform were able to blunt Labour's advantage, ending the possibility of the anti-Labour vote being split.

The election

The date for the main 1931 elections was 2 December, a Wednesday. Elections to the four Maori seats were held the day before. 874,787 people were registered to vote, and there was a turnout of 83.3%. This turnout was below average for the time period. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.^[1]

Results

Crowd on intersection of Willis and Mercer Streets, Wellington, outside the offices of the Evening Post, awaiting the results of the 1931 general election.

The 1931 election saw the governing coalition retain office as the Liberal-Reform Government, winning fifty-one seats. This was a drop of three seats from what the two parties had won in the previous elections, but was still considerably better than many had expected given the economic situation. The Labour Party won twenty-four seats, a gain of five. In the popular vote, the coalition won 55.4% of the vote, down from the 64.6% that the two parties had won previously. Labour won 34.3%. The only other party to gain a place in Parliament was the Country Party, which won a single seat. Four independents were elected.

Result of the 24th election to the New Zealand House of Representatives

For a list of Members of Parliament elected in 1931, see 24th New Zealand Parliament.

		Party	Leader	Votes	Percentage	Seats won	change
		Reform	Gordon Coates	396,004[note 1]	55.4	28	+1
		United	George William Forbes			19	-8
		Independents (in support of Coalition)				4	+3
		Labour	Harry Holland	244,881	34.3	24	+5
		Country Party	Harold Rushworth	16,710	2.3	1	±0
		Independents (including Harry Atmore)		56,916	8.0	4	-1
		Coalition win	Total Votes	714,511	100%	80

Note:

1. ^ Reform and United results are shown together, as well as those of four independents

References

1. ^ "General elections 1853-2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. http://www.elections.org.nz/elections/resultsdata/elections-dates-turnout.html. Retrieved 12 January 2011.