GAIN BY NATIONAL PARTY AT EXPENSE OF LABOUR

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 1, 27 September 1943, Page 7

GAIN BY NATIONAL PARTY AT EXPENSE OF LABOUR

No Democratic Or Independent Group

Candidates Successful

Though a preliminary count o£ the votes polled at Saturday’s election for the House of Representatives shows the return of the Labour Government with its pre-election .strength reduced by six to forty-four, the postal and absent votes vet to come can have an important bearing on the result, as there are several electorates where the successful candidate is at present leading by only a very small majority. The National Party, which had 25 out of the SO seats m the House at the time of the dissolution of Parliament, now has 35 members. The remaining seat was won by an Independent 1 ill the outstanding votes are counted, however, there must be some doubt as to what the state of the parties m the new Parliament Two Ministers of the Crown, the Minister of Marketing, Hon. J. G. Barclay, and the Minister of Health, Hon. A H. Nordmeyer, were defeated in Marsden and Oamaru respectively by Nationalist candidates. The Leadei of the Democratic Labour Party, Mr. J. A. Lee, was defeated in Grey Lynn by the Labour candidate, and the Speaker of the House Hon. W. E. Barnard, who stood as an Independent, also lost Napier to Labour. None of the Democratic Labour Party candidates were successful, and only a few of them polled four figures. The Independent Group (Peop eS. Movement) candidates made a poor showing, and all these candidates will forfeit their deposits of £lO, having failed to poll a quarter of the votes received by the successful candidate. Nine seats—Bay of Islands, Hamilton, Marsden, Master ton, New Plymouth, Oamaru, Rotorua, VVaitemata, and Wellington West —were taken from the Labour Party by the National Party. It also won Egmont and Riccarton, which were previously held by Independents. With oply one loss, that in Eastern Maori, it had a net gain of ten seats. Withi the three seats it gained Labour had a net loss of six seats. With the exception of the Independent, Mr. H. Atmoie (Nelson) all members of the new Parliament are either members of the National Party or the Labour Party. The only woman member of the new House will be Miss M. B. Howard (Christchurch East). Two of the sitting women members Mrs C. C Stewart (Wellington West) and Mrs. M. M. Dreaver (Waitemata) were both defeated. Ihe largest individual vote was that of 10,724 received by the National Party candidate for Remuera, Mr. R. M Algie. . Both in the town and rural electorate there was a pronounced swing to the National Party. Ihe tendency with the armed forces’ votes, however, appeared to be for them to favour the sitting member. In sixty-six electorates there was-no change in the party representation. . . The state of the parties as a result of Saturday s poll and at the time of dissolution is as follows. New Parliament. At Dissolution. : . Labour 44 .50 ' National ~ 35 . -5 . Independent 1 4 Democratic Labour Nil 1. The totals of votes polled were as follows: — Labour ,I.;.;. . 410,594' National •> 368,119 Democratic Labour • 36,921 Independent Group (People’s Movement) 7,609 Independents and Others —..s-i..’ 08,691 861,934

The total number of names on the rolls was 1,018,834.