MR. HOLLAND’S COMMENT

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 198, 19 May 1941, Page 8

MR. HOLLAND’S COMMENT

Protest At Trades Hall Rule Seen SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULT (By Telegraph—Press Associatiou.) ■ CHRISTCHURCH, May 18. “The municipal election results tel! their own story,” said the Leader of the -Opposition, Mr. Holland. "The nation-wide landslide against Labour candidates* is most significant, specially following the recent Waipawa by-elec-tion, when the National Party quadrupled its majority. “In my opinion the results can be interpreted as a demonstration of the public’s determination not to have tlie war effort activities interfered with by less important subjects,” Mr. Holland said.

“The rejection of the Labour candidates is the public’s method of protesting against the rapidly-growing extent of trades hall domination in both national and municipal politics. The fact that the landslide is so nation-wide shows that public feeling is uniform all over the Dominion, for the issues were different in the various centres.” It was obvious from the voting that many thousands of erstwhile Labour supporters had reversed their votes. If, as had often been contended, municipal elections held the same year as Parliamentary elections should be regarded as a barometer of public opinion, National Party supporters would examine the results with unusual interest in view of the- Parliamentary elections within six months.