THE LABOUR PARTY

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 45, 17 November 1925, Page 10

THE LABOUR PARTY

ELECTION FIGURES REVIEWED SOME COMPARISONS Mr. Walter Nash, secretary of the New Zealand Labour Party, has issued the following statement relative to the general elections: — “The result of the general elections, according to the figures that are al ready to hand, means that Labour has lost four seats; but a comparison of the figures with the two previous elections show a splendid gain as far as votes are concerned. Contesting 55 electorntes in 1919, Labour obtained 139,014 votes, or 25 per cent, of tbo total votes poliod. In 19'”’ in 40 electorates 145,118 votes were polled, or 23.3 per cent, of the total votes. In 1925 the totals already to hand show that the Labour candidates have obtained 181,067 votes, or 27.6 per cent, of the total poll. This is the largest percentage of votes ever obtained by the party. The comparative tables below show where the gam has

“The following comparison illustrates the progress made by the Labour Party in the 37 electorates which were contested by Labour candidates at the last three general elections:

“At the 1922 elections, the - Labour Party contested forty seats only, and the foliowin" comparison shows the progress made: —yotes polled by Labour candidates in 40 seats at 1922 elections, 145,148; votes polled in same seats at 1925 elections, 158,715; increase, 13,567. “Comparing all the seats contested at the three elections, we get the following result:—

“Labour’s advance has been consistent at each election. The Reform Party gain at the elections just concluded is at the expense of the old Liberal Party Ignoring the seats contested in 1925 that were not contested in 1922, and comparing the results in the seats contested at the 1922 elections with the votes obtained in the same seats in 1925, we get the follow-

>; “This comparison is for 'l6 seats only, and shows a gain of 13,567 votes with a loss of four scats. A comparison of the figures in the actual seats lost by Labour gives the following results: —

"In the three electorates first mentioned the Labour candidates were defeated by a combination of the Reform and Nationalist Parties. The effect of the combination of the Reform and Nationalist forces is shown by the fact that although, the Labour Party obtained 35,919 morn votes at the elections just concluded than in 1922, they have four seats less in the House of Representatives. The most remarkable fact, however, revealed by the figures is that although the total number of votes cast for all parties increased by 32,452 only, the Labour vote increased by 35,76(1, and 13,408 of these extra votes were obtained in the 40 seats contested in 1922. By a combined attack on Labour, the antiLabour forces have succeeded, but the progress of democratic movements and parties is determined by the number of adherents to their policy and platform, and if judged by this test Labour is steadily marching forward towards the establishment of a more, humane, more equitable, and more efficient form of Government.”

been: — 1919. 1922. 1925. Reform 214,290 266,123 308,413 Labour 139,011 145,148 181,06/ Nationalist 107.139 189,287 133,553 Others 22,397 22,512 31,922 Totals 542.8-10 623,070 654,S55 Votes polled out of each 1000 i ■ccordcd: Reform 395 427 471 Labour 25G 233 276 Nationalist 308 301 204 Others 41 36 49

1919 1922 111,875 138,787 1925 151,420

'o xbomv. Seats Labour votes Year. contested, polled. 1919 .... 55 139,011 1922 40 115,118 1925 .... 56 181,067

in# results: — Votes obtained. Number elected. 1922 ..... 145,148 17 . 1925 158,715 13 Inc. 13,567 Dec. 4

Votes Polled by Labour Candidates. Waimarino 1919. . 2,-173 '1922. 2,900 1925. 3,600 Napier . 2,709 3,405 4,596 Wellington East. . 3.317 4,274 4,996 Dunedin North .... . 3,978 5,020 5,101 12,477 15,659 18,293