Grey River Argus FRIDAY, May 10, 1935. LABOUR PROGRESS IN MAIN CENTRES.

Grey River Argus, 10 May 1935, Page 4

Grey River Argus FRIDAY, May 10, 1935. LABOUR PROGRESS IN MAIN CENTRES.

The main cities, especially in h e North Island, have now so large a percentage of the Dominion population that the municipal pollings give an idea of Labour’s prospects for the Parliamentary elections. It is a very re-assuring idea this year. No doubt this is why a suggestion appears in the anti-Labour press that Labour expected to do even better than it has done. It has been placed in control of the Municipal Council in the largest city of the Dominion. Auckland electors have voted eight Labourites above the highest opponent in the poll, and elected fifteen Labourites out of a Council of twenty-one. This is the biggest landslide in North Island municipal history. In addition to Labour being given control of the Transport Board every Harbour Board vacancy to be filled has been filled by a Labourite, while Labour also has gained in strength on the Hospital Board. The Mayoral candidate of Labour was only 400 votes behind the winner, and if it were fair to say that at Christchurch or Dunedin the Labour Mayors have been re-elected by narrow margins, it would be more so to acknowledge Auckland fell short o.f having also a Labour Mayor by decidedly a narrower margin. Had there not been a misapprehension over the nomination, Labour would have won, just as it did in Dunedin, where the majority was nearly 1700 for the Labour Mayor. Capital is being made out of the reduction in Labour strength on the Christchurch City Council, but the victory of th e Party in the contest for the Mayoralty’ is quite as good an indication of the dimension of the Labour vote in that city. At Wellington, again, the progress of Labour has been - notable, its Mayoral candidate having polled far and away more votes than any previous nominee of the Party for this position. For

the City Council, Labourites filled all the leading places at the polls, and their strength is increased numerically, while every seat on the Harbour Board that was contested in the city and in Hutt was won by a Labourite. Again the Party has won control of Wellington Hospital Board. On the Dunedin local bodies there are gains, and as in every other one of the four big centres, the aggregate vote of the Party has grown impressively. Other centres where progress is evident are Wanganui, with a Labour Mayor and increased Council representation; Gisborne, where the Member for the district defeated a former West Coaster, and Palmerston North, whilst Westport has re-elected a Mayor sympathetic with Labour. It may be admitted that the national political issue does not in a majority of municipalities arise at the elections, but there is no mistaking the general significance of the results in the large centres wher e that issue does naturally assert itself every time.

At the same time, experience 1 hitherto has shown that the city' municipal vote is invariably smaller than the Parliamentary ■vote for Labour, so that opponents of the movement are quite welcome to any consolation that they may claim from a comparison of the results this time with, those on the prevoius occasion. The North Island now may be said to have superseded the South in its relative advance of Labour strength and this is a matter of interest when the prospects are that Ihe South Island shall presently have to forfeit two or three Parliamentarv seats in its