Swing Over To National At Polls

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 229, 27 September 1943, Page 2

Swing Over To National At Polls

INDEPENDENTS FAIL

Government Leads With Six Seats Sn Doubt

Labour was returned' as the Government of New Zealand with a substantially reduced majority as the result of the general election held on Saturday. The final party strengths are not yet definitely determined, being dependent to a large and unusual degree upon postal and declaration voting. The result in six constituencies remains in doubt. r Following the preliminary count the Labour Government was leading with 44 seats, as against 50 at the dissolution, and the National Opposition had 35 seats as against 25. One independent, Mr. H. Atmore (Nelson), had also beeen returned. There were three vacant seats at the dissolution as the result of deaths of sitting members, one formerly held by the Government and two by the Opposition. The feature of the election, apart from the evidence of a decided swing against the Government, was the almost complete elimination of independents and new parties. The Democratic Soldier Labour party, represented in the last Parliament by Mr. J. A. Lee, failed completely, Mr. Lee being the only candidate out of 53 nominated by the party who did not forfeit his deposit. Mr. Lee was heavily defeated by the official Labour candidate for Grey Lynn, Mr. F. Hackett, who was returned with the largest majority in the Dominion. The Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, and the Leader of the National Opposition, Mr. Holland, were both returned with comfortable majorities. Defeat of a Minister An outstanding feature of the poll was the defeat of the Minister of Agriculture and Marketing, Mr. J. G. Barclay, in the Marsden electorate. The Minister of Health, Mr. A. H. Nordmeyer, is in a most doubtful position in regard to the Oamaru seat, where the National candidate, Mr. T. R. Beatty, led on the preliminary count by only six votes. There are several hundred postal and absentee votes to be counted in this electorate. This was the closest contest in the Dominion. The Speaker of the House, Mr. Barnard, who was re-elected as a representative of the Labour party in 1938, joined Mr. Lee in the formation of the Democratic Labour party, and subsequently became an independent, was heavily defeated at Napier, finishing third. The seat was regained for Labour by Mr. A. E. Armstrong, a son of the late Mr. H. T. Armstrong, a former Labour Minister.