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| Turnout | 5,628 | |||||||||||||||
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The Grey by-election of 1918 was a by-election during the 18th New Zealand Parliament. It was held on the 29 May 1918. The seat had become vacant due to the imprisonment of sitting member Paddy Webb who was jailed on the issue of his vocal opposition to conscription which had been enforced by Prime Minister William Massey. [1] The by-election was won by the Labour candidate Harry Holland.
Two candidates contested the seat. The Labour Party candidate was Harry Holland, who was chosen based on his strong performance in the 1918 Wellington North by-election four months earlier. Holland's candidacy was a surprise to most as he was not from the West Coast, with many expecting Mark Fagan to be selected. [2] Holland accepted with the knowledge that he was to resign the seat when Webb was released. [3]
Former Mayor of Greymouth Thomas Eldon Coates, a local farmer and lawyer, stood as the candidate for the national coalition government formed between the Reform and Liberal party's for the duration of the First World War.
Initially the Liberal Party intended to stand their own candidate, James Kerr (the son of the former member of the Legislative Council of the same name [4] ), but he withdrew in order to prevent the anti-Labour vote being split. [5] [6]
The following table gives the election results:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Harry Holland | 2,865 | 50.90 | ||
| Reform | Thomas Coates | 2,717 | 48.27 | ||
| Informal votes | 46 | 0.81 | |||
| Majority | 148 | 2.62 | |||
| Turnout | 5,628 | ||||
Despite a lower voter turnout, Holland's majority was far lower than Webb's had been in 1914. Many in the Labour Party were displeased with the result and were suspicious of Holland's perceived radicalism. Holland defended this, writing to Josiah Cocking:
...the whole Labor movement is agreed that the victory is the greatest ever won by Labor in New Zealand — because it was the first time that Labor had ever succeeded in defeating the Tories & Liberals in a straight out fight. [8]
A notable feature of the by-election was the poor voter turnout with well over a third abstaining. It was claimed that the majority of those who chose not to vote were Liberal Party supporters who had previously voted for Webb, thought Holland too extremist and withdrew their support. [8]
The 1938 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 26th term. It resulted in the governing Labour Party being re-elected, although the newly founded National Party gained a certain amount of ground.
The 1943 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 27th term. With the onset of World War II, elections were initially postponed, but it was eventually decided to hold a general election in September 1943, around two years after it would normally have occurred. The election saw the governing Labour Party re-elected by a comfortable margin, although the party nevertheless lost considerable ground to the expanding National Party.
The 1946 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 28th term. It saw the governing Labour Party re-elected, but by a substantially narrower margin than in the three previous elections. The National Party continued its gradual rise.
The 1949 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 29th term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the opposition National Party. This marked the end of the First Labour government and the beginning of the First National government.
The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 30th term. The First National Government was re-elected, with the National Party increasing its parliamentary majority over the opposition Labour Party.
The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority. It also saw the debut of the new Social Credit Party, which won more than eleven percent of the vote but failed to win a seat.
The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 32nd term. It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party. The 1957 elections marked the beginning of the second Labour government, although this administration was to last only a single term.
The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.
Henry Edmund Holland was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the first leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.
The New Zealand general election of 1919 was held on Tuesday, 16 December in the Māori electorates and on Wednesday, 17 December in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 20th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 560,673 (80.5%) voters turned out to vote.
The 19th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It opened on 24 June 1915, following the 1914 election. It was dissolved on 27 November 1919 in preparation for 1919 election.
Patrick Charles Webb was a New Zealand trade unionist and politician.
Mark Anthony Fagan was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party and a union secretary. He was Speaker of the Legislative Council from 1939 until his death.
Moses Ayrton was a New Zealand Methodist minister and socialist.
The 30th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1951 general election on 1 September of that year.
The Hutt by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Hutt, an urban seat at the bottom of the North Island. The by-election was held on 18 December 1929, and was precipitated by the resignation of sitting United member of parliament Thomas Wilford on who had been appointed the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom by Prime Minister Joseph Ward. The by-election was contested by Walter Nash of the Labour Party, James Kerr from the United Party and Harold Johnston of the Reform Party. The lead up to the by-election was marred by harsh words between candidates.
The New Zealand Labour Party leadership election, 1919 was held on 27 August 1919 to choose the next leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. The election was won by Grey MP Harry Holland.
The Wellington North by-election of 1918 was a by-election held in the Wellington North electorate during the 19th New Zealand Parliament, on 12 February 1918. It was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Alexander Herdman of the Reform Party, who was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, and was won by John Luke with a majority of 420.
The Auckland East by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Auckland East, an urban seat at the top of the North Island.
The 1923 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election was held in February 1923 to determine the future leadership of the New Zealand Labour Party. The election was won by Buller MP Harry Holland, once again retaining office.
