What Will South Christchurch Electors Decide?

Northern Advocate, 2 June 1939, Page 7

What Will South Christchurch Electors Decide?

[Special to “Northern Advocate ”l CHRISTCHURCH. This Day.

Christchurch South must give its decision tomorrow in the Parliamentary by-election caused by the death cf Mr. E. J. Howard, who was Chairman of Committees in the last Parliament. Its choice lies between the National candidate, Mr. M. E. Lyons, and the Labour candidate, Mr. R. M. Macfarlane.

The general opinion in the city is that, the seat will remain true to its Radical tradition, and that victory for Mr. Macfarlanc is assured, though there is considerable speculation as to whether or not Mr. Lyons will succeed in increasing the votes cast for his party at the General Election last October.

Heavy Artillery

One of the most remarkable features of the campaign has been the concentration in the electorate of the Labour Party’s most forceful and influential speakers. From the outset the Labour Party made nc secret of its intentions. It was not concerned so much with the actual victory as with the size of the majority it might obtain. Realising that the result of the byelection might easily become one of the strong talking points in the coming Address-in-Reply in the House, the Labour Party was prepared to spare no expense to obtain a clear-cut result.

Some observers take the view that the Labour Party, which generally handles its campaign organising with considerable skill, has rather overdone things on this occasion.

Candidate Overshadowed

The effect of the importation of five members of Cabinet, plus three able members of Parliament —Messrs. J. A. Lee. J. Thorn and Dr. D. G. McMillan —has been to more or less obliterate the identity of its candidate. Mr. Macfarlane, instead of being the most prominent figure in the campaign, has actually become its most inconspicuous. Certainly on this occasion party interest has been studied before those of the individual. The National Party entered the byelection on the assumption that big changes had been made in the political situation of the country since the General Election last October, and because it believed that the time had come for a review of the situation generally. Labour took a different view, and contested the issue on precisely the same lines as those placed before the electors in October. Social security was again the basis of the Labour policy, while critcisrn of the Act nowon the Statute Book was the main theme of the National Party candidate.