PARTY STRENGTHS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 45, 21 August 1930, Page 11

PARTY STRENGTHS

RECENT FLUCTUATIONS

INTERESTING ANALYSIS

I The unprecedented number of deaths of sitting members of the House of Representatives in the course of the current session of Parliament has caused some interesting fluctuations in the. balance of parties. AVith two seats now waiting to be filled, the position as between the United and Reform Parties is virtually the same as it was after the General Election in 1928. The electors returned a House in 1928 in which United and Reform were equal with 28 seats each, Labour having 19 represeiitativs, while there were four Independents and 1 Country Party member. By February, 1929, the United Party strength had been reduced to 26 as the result of the loss of the Hutt by-election, and tho defection of Mr. 11. R. Jenkins' to Reform. The subsequent winning of the Parnell by-election by the Reform Party gave tho official Opposition, forces in tho Houso an advantage of three spats over the governing party. . The. numerical difference was increased to four last June, when' Mr. J. S. Fletcher"definitely deserted the United Party benches and declared his independence. The state of parties in the House at the beginning of this session was thus:— [ United .v.... 25 Reform '-9 Labour ..-....;..* 20 " Independent 5 Country Party ...... 1 so 'i MR. LYSNAR'S VOTE. ! Since the session opened, the United Party has. lost the Right Hon. Sir! Joseph Ward by death, and tlie Reform .Party Sir Maui Pomare and Sir George Hunter. Sir Joseph's seat-has been retained for the party by the . recent I victory of Mr. Vincent Ward. The j voting strength pf parties, however, has also been altered by a changed at- | titude on the part of one of the Reform adherents. Mr. AY. D. Lysnar, the member for Gisborne, has always maintained a more or less Independent attitude, but in' recent-.years he has been" fairly consistent in following the Reform leader into the lobbies on crucial divisions. This session, however, ho has shown a distinct preference for the United Party, and on no occasion has he voted-with the Reform members. Soon after the House met he made his intentions clear by announcing that as he saw a necessity for a! working arrangement to ensure stabil- J ity in politics in the present .unusual j circumstances, ho would consistently j give his vptc to the Government on noconfidonco motipns. " ' Of the five Independent members, the only ono (excluding, of course, Sir Charles Statham, the Speaker), who consistently supports the Government is Mr. J. T. Hogan (Rangitikei). He regularly attends tho United Party caucuses, but has not so far declared himself an "out and out" United Party member, and may, therefore, be still classified as an independent. j AVith the seats of Sir Maui Pomare (Reform) and Sir George Hunter (Reform) still to be filled, tho position of, parties in the Houso may be summar- j i'scd as follows: — United ...« 25 ! Reform 26 , ■ Ind. Reform 1 Labour 20 Country Party 1 Independent 5 78 If it is assumed that the votes of Mr. Hogan and Mr. Lysnur are always'given to the. Government., the United Party holds a voting majority of one over the Reform Party. •