1925 New Zealand general election

1925 New Zealand general election
← 1922 3 (Māori) & 4 November (general) 1925 1928 →
All 80 seats in the House of Representatives
41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout90.02%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Gordon Coates Harry Holland George Forbes
Party Reform Labour Liberal
Leader since 27 May 1925 27 August 1919 13 August 1925
Leader's seat Kaipara Buller Hurunui
Last election 37 seats, 39.4% 17 seats, 23.7% 22 seats, 26.3%
Seats won 55 12 11
Seat change Increase 18 Decrease 5 Decrease 11
Popular vote 324,239 187,610 143,931
Percentage 47.18% 27.30% 20.94%
Swing Increase 8.39% Increase 3.50% Decrease 3.81%
Results of the election.
Prime Minister before election

Gordon Coates
Reform

Subsequent Prime Minister

Gordon Coates
Reform

The 1925 New Zealand general election was held 4 November (the Māori vote had taken place the previous day) to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 22nd session of the New Zealand Parliament.

The result was a landslide victory for the Reform Party. A total number of 678,877 (90.02%) voters turned out to vote. In one seat (Bay of Plenty) there was only one candidate.[1][2]

In 1922, registration as an elector was made compulsory for all those eligible (except Māori).

Results

Gordon Coates continued as Prime Minister, with his Reform Party winning an outright majority of 30. Leonard Isitt and George Witty were both appointed to the Legislative Council by Gordon Coates on 28 October 1925; shortly before the election on 4 November. Both were Liberals but their retirement removed "a source of some bitterness from the Party's ranks".[3] Gordon Coates was Reform, and both of their former seats went to Reform candidates.

After the election both Labour and Liberals held 11 seats. A tie at 4,900 votes each in Lyttelton (between the Labour and Reform candidates) was eventually settled in Labour's favour on 13 March 1926. After winning the 15 April 1926 by-election in Eden, Labour became the official opposition.[4]

Party totals

Election results
Party Candidates Total votes Percentage Seats won
Reform 72 324,239 47.18 55
Labour 58 187,610 27.30 12
Liberal 52 143,931 20.94 11
Country Party 5 2,398 0.35 0
Independent 10 29,107 4.24 2
Total 202 687,285 80

[5]

Votes summary

Popular Vote
Reform
 
 47.18%
Labour
 
 27.30%
Liberal
 
 20.94%
Country
 
 0.35%
Independent
 
 4.24%
Parliament seats
Reform
 
 68.75%
Labour
 
 15.00%
Liberal
 
 13.75%
Independent
 
 2.50%

Electorate results

The election results were as follows:

Key

  Reform   Labour   Liberal   Country Party   Independent Liberal   Independent

Electorate results for the 1925 New Zealand general election[6][7][8]
Electorate Incumbent Winner Majority Runner up
General electorates
Ashburton William Nosworthy 2,117 John Nicholson Harle
Auckland Central Bill Parry 3,500 Charles Augustus Wilson
Auckland East John A. Lee 288 James Stewart
Auckland West Michael Joseph Savage 476 Samuel Oldfield
Avon Dan Sullivan 1,789 Walter Edmund Leadley
Awarua Philip De La Perrelle John Hamilton 220[9] Philip De La Perrelle
Bay of Islands Allen Bell Allen Bell 2,787 Hugh James Sweeney
Bay of Plenty Kenneth Williams Uncontested
Buller Harry Holland 1,532 C S Bielby
Chalmers James Dickson 1,593 Michael Connelly
Christchurch East Tim Armstrong 2,855 Denis Franklyn Dennehy
Christchurch North Leonard Isitt Henry Holland 2,910 Henry Thacker
Christchurch South Ted Howard 1,569 Harry Ell
Clutha John Edie Fred Waite 1,653 John Edie
Dunedin Central Charles Statham 2,299 John Gilchrist
Dunedin North Jim Munro Harold Tapley 262 Jim Munro
Dunedin South Thomas Sidey 2,221 John McManus
Dunedin West William Downie Stewart 2,478 R Harrison
Eden James Parr 2,336 Rex Mason
Egmont Oswald Hawken 1,290 W C G Green
Ellesmere Heaton Rhodes David Jones 634 Jeremiah Connolly
Franklin Ewen McLennan 5,024 D McClymont
Gisborne Douglas Lysnar 1,672 David Coleman
Grey Lynn Fred Bartram 765 Ellen Melville
Hamilton Alexander Young 4,725 Lee Martin
Hawke's Bay Gilbert McKay Hugh Campbell 726 Gilbert McKay
Hurunui George Forbes 811 J G Armstrong
Hutt Thomas Wilford 1,794 Walter Nash
Invercargill Josiah Hanan Joseph Ward 159 James Hargest
Kaiapoi David Buddo 556 William Brock[10]
Kaipara Gordon Coates 4,835 Bill Barnard
Lyttelton James McCombs[nb 1] 6 Melville Lyons
Manawatu Joseph Linklater 2,074 Ben Roberts
Manukau Bill Jordan 1,054 Jack Massey
Marsden Alfred Murdoch William Jones 651 Alfred Murdoch
Masterton George Sykes 922 Jack Andrews
Mataura George Anderson 2,664 W Hinchey
Motueka Richard Hudson 2,102 Mark Fagan
Napier Lew McIlvride John Mason 573 Lew McIlvride
Nelson Harry Atmore 2,349 Albert Gilbert
Oamaru John MacPherson Ernest Lee 1,097 John MacPherson
Ohinemuri Hugh Poland Albert Samuel 108 Hugh Poland
Oroua David Guthrie John Gordon Eliott 470 John Cobbe
Otaki William Hughes Field 2,057 Bob Semple
Pahiatua Alfred Ransom 113 Archibald McNicol
Palmerston Jimmy Nash 3,240 Walter Bromley
Parnell James Samuel Dickson 4,887 Robert Frederick Way
Patea James Randall Corrigan Harold Dickie 1,275 James Randall Corrigan
Raglan Richard Bollard 2,856 Ernest Piggott[11]
Rangitikei Billy Glenn 1,963 Charles Joseph Duggan
Riccarton George Witty Bert Kyle 2,260 Winter Cole
Roskill Vivian Potter 2,913 Alfred Hall-Skelton
Rotorua Frank Hockly 2,776 Cecil Clinkard
Stratford Robert Masters Edward Walter 269 Robert Masters
Taranaki Sydney George Smith Charles Bellringer 50 Sydney George Smith
Tauranga Charles Macmillan 2,310 Robert Coulter
Temuka Thomas Burnett 535 Charles John Talbot
Thames Thomas William Rhodes 3,307 W E G Willy
Timaru Frank Rolleston 2,486 Percy Vinnell
Waikato Frederick Lye Stewart Reid 918 Frederick Lye
Waimarino Frank Langstone Robert William Smith 140 Frank Langstone
Waipawa George Hunter 1,781 William Ashton Chambers
Wairarapa Alex McLeod 1,424 F T Arkle
Wairau William Girling 1,949 Richard McCallum
Waitaki John Bitchener 502 George Barclay
Waitemata Alexander Harris 3,577 Arthur Osborne
Waitomo John Rolleston 1,435 Walter Broadfoot
Wakatipu James Horn 843 James Ritchie[12]
Wallace John Charles Thomson Adam Hamilton 1,328 James Morris MacKenzie
Wanganui Bill Veitch 891 John Coull [13]
Wellington Central Peter Fraser 2,390 Andrew Sloane
Wellington East Alec Monteith Thomas Forsyth 1,195 Alec Monteith
Wellington North John Luke 1,946 Harry Combs
Wellington South Robert McKeen 1,474 Archibald Burnett Sievwright
Wellington Suburbs Robert Wright 1,542 Charles Chapman
Westland James O'Brien Tom Seddon 12 James O'Brien
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori Āpirana Ngata 3,604 Hone Mokena
Northern Maori Taurekareka Henare 1,609 Hone Wi Kaitaia
Southern Maori Henare Uru 16 Tuiti MacDonald
Western Maori Māui Pōmare 2,723 Rangi Mawhete

Table footnotes:

  1. ^ Melville Lyons was elected for the Reform Party, originally the votes were equal (4900), then a recount found for Lyons. But on appeal his election was declared void on 13 March 1926, and the previous holder, James McCombs, was restored as the electorate representative.

Notes

  1. ^ Bassett 1982, p. 67.
  2. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 286.
  3. ^ Bassett 1982, p. 35.
  4. ^ Bassett 1982, p. 36-37.
  5. ^ NZ Electoral Commission http://www.elections.org.nz/events/past-events/general-elections-1890-1993 Archived 30 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ The New Zealand Official Year-Book. Government Printer. 1926. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  7. ^ Skinner 1926, pp. 1–6.
  8. ^ "Candidates in the Contest". The Evening Post. Vol. CX, no. 109. 4 November 1925. p. 9. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Awarua". The Evening Post. Vol. 116, no. 116. 12 November 1925. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  10. ^ "Election Notices". The Press. Vol. LXI, no. 18524. 28 October 1925. p. 17. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  11. ^ "Labour in Raglan". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXII, no. 19149. 15 October 1925. p. 14. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  12. ^ "General Election". The Evening Post. Vol. CX, no. 30. 4 August 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Local and General News". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXII, no. 19163. 31 October 1925. p. 12. Retrieved 28 November 2014.

References

  • Bassett, Michael (1982). Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911–1931. Auckland: Historical Publications. ISBN 0-86870-006-1.
  • Chapman, Robert M. (1948). The Significance of the 1928 General Election: A Study in Certain Trends in New Zealand Politics During the Nineteen-Twenties (Thesis). Palmerston North: Massey University.
  • Skinner, W. A. G. (1926). The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.