![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turnout | 714,511 (83.3%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() Results of the election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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 United–Reform Coalition Government, although the opposition Labour Party made some minor gains despite tallying more votes than any other single party.
In the 1928 election, the Reform Party won 28 seats to the United Party's 27 seats. Shortly after the election the Reform Party lost a vote of no-confidence and 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 date for the main 1931 elections was 2 December, a Wednesday. Elections to the four Māori electorates 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 was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902. [1] However, in four electorates (Bay of Plenty, Oroua, Pahiatua, Waitomo) there was only one candidate. [2] [3]
The 1931 election saw the recently formed governing coalition retain office as the United–Reform Coalition, winning fifty-one seats, including four independents. This was a drop of four 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 (including pro-coalition independents), the coalition won 54.0% of the vote, down from the 66.1% 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 other independents were elected. Four candidates were elected unopposed: Walter Broadfoot in Waitomo, John Cobbe in Oroua, Alfred Ransom in Pahiatua, and Kenneth Williams in Bay of Plenty. [4]
![]() | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Election results | ||||||||
Party | Leader | Votes | Percentage | Seats | change | |||
Reform | Gordon Coates | 190,170 | 26.60 | 54.03 | 28 | ±0 | ||
United | George Forbes | 120,801 | 16.90 | 19 | -8 | |||
Independents (in support of Coalition) | 75,069 | 10.53 | 4 | +3 | ||||
Labour | Harry Holland | 244,867 | 34.27 | 24 | +5 | |||
Country Party | Harold Rushworth | 16,710 | 2.34 | 1 | ±0 | |||
Ratana | 7,154 | 1.00 | 0 | ±0 | ||||
Independents | 66,894 | 8.36 | 4 | -1 | ||||
Total | 714,511 | 100% | 80 |
The following table shows the detailed results:
Key
Reform Labour United Country Party Independent Liberal Ratana Independent
Table footnotes:
The 1935 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 25th term. It resulted in the Labour Party's first electoral victory, with Michael Joseph Savage becoming the first Labour Prime Minister after defeating the governing coalition, consisting of the United Party and the Reform Party, in a landslide.
The 25th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It opened on 25 March 1936, following the 1935 election. It was dissolved on 16 September 1938 in preparation for the 1938 election.
The 24th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It opened on 23 February 1932, following the 1931 election. It was dissolved on 1 November 1935 in preparation for the 1935 election. The 24th Parliament was extended by one year because the 1935 election was held later than anticipated due to the ongoing depression, similarly the 1919, and the 1943 elections were held two years late, having been postponed during World War I and World War II respectively.
The 1922 New Zealand general election was held on Monday, 6 December in the Māori electorates, and on Tuesday, 7 December in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 21st session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 700,111 (87.7%) voters turned out to vote. In one seat there was only one candidate.
The 1925 New Zealand general election was held 4 November to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 22nd session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 678,877 (90.02%) voters turned out to vote. In one seat there was only one candidate.
The 1928 New Zealand general election was held on 13 and 14 November in the Māori and European electorates, respectively, to elect 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament.
Auckland Central is a New Zealand electoral division returning one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The electorate is currently represented by Chlöe Swarbrick, a member of the Green Party; she has represented the seat since 2020.
Auckland East was a New Zealand electorate, situated in the east of Auckland. It existed between 1861 and 1887, and again between 1905 and 1946.
Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the 1871 election and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for the introduction of the MMP voting system for the 1996 election. The current MP is Poto Williams, a member of the New Zealand Labour Party who was first elected in the 2013 Christchurch East by-election.
Wellington Central is an electorate, represented by a Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives. Its MP since November 2008 has been Labour Party's Grant Robertson. In the 2020 election he was opposed by James Shaw (Greens) and Nicola Willis (National), both also entered parliament via their respective party lists.
Waikato is an electorate in the New Zealand Parliament. A Waikato electorate was first created in 1871 and an electorate by this name has existed from 1871 to 1963, 1969 to 1996, and 2008 to the present, though exact borders have often changed.
Clutha was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate from 1866 to 1996.
Grey Lynn is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, in the city of Auckland. It existed from 1902 to 1978, and was represented by nine Members of Parliament.
Daniel Stewart Reid was a New Zealand politician of the Reform Party.
Motueka is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created in 1860 and existed until the 1890 election, when it was abolished. For the 1896 election the Motueka electorate was recreated, and lasted until the 1946 election, when it was again abolished.
The United–Reform Coalition, also known as the National Political Federation from 1935, was a coalition between two of the three major parties of New Zealand, the United and Reform parties, from 1931 to 1936. The Coalition formed the Government of New Zealand from its formation in September 1931, successfully contesting and winning the 1931 general election in December. The Coalition was defeated at the 1935 general election by Labour. The following year the coalition was formalised by the formation of the modern New Zealand National Party.
The 22nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. Its composition was determined by the 1925 election, and it sat until the 1928 election.
Alexander Donald McLeod was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand. He was Minister of Lands (1924–1928) and Industries and Commerce (1926–1928) in the Reform Government.
The Waitemata by-election was held on 19 July 1941 was caused by the death of Jack Lyon during the term of the 26th New Zealand Parliament. Mary Dreaver of the Labour Party won the by-election; she was the third woman elected to the House of Representatives.
The 1936 Manukau by-election was a by-election during the 25th New Zealand Parliament in the Manukau electorate. It was held on Wednesday 30 September 1936. This by-election came about because of the resignation of Bill Jordan upon his appointment to the position of High Commissioner to the UK during the term of the 25th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election in the Manukau electorate was contested by Arthur Osborne for Labour and Frederick Doidge for National, with Osborne winning the election.