SWING AWAY FROM LABOUR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 19 May 1941, Page 6

SWING AWAY FROM LABOUR

WELLINGTON RESULTS MR HISLOP RE-ELECTED MAYOR [United Press Association] Wellington. May 18. An unmistakable swing away from Labour was the outstanding feature of the local body elections held throughout the Dominion on Saturday. This trend was exceptionally pronounced in Wellington, where Citizens’ ticket candidates won the mayoralty, all the seats on the City Council and Hospital Board and all city seats on the Harbour Board. All the sitting Labour members of these three local bodies were defeated, many of them being well-known public men with years of public service to their credit. Mr T. C. A. Hislop, the sitting | mayor, had an easy victory, receiving a majority of close on 1 9000 over his Labour opponent, jMr R. McKeen, M.P. The Citij zens’ candidates have all been j returned as mayors in Auckland, Christchurch and Dynedin. One of the surprises in the mayoral contests in the provincial towns was the defeat in Gisborne of Mr D. W. Coleman, M.P., the sitting mayor, both in the election for the mayoralty and that for the borough council. Citizens’ candidates captured all the seats on the Lower Hutt City Council, Labour losing the seats it previously held. The voting in the Mayoralty contest T. C. A. Hislop (C.) 19.831 R. McKeen (L.) 10.926 Majority 8.925 Informal 273 The result in 1938 was: Hislop, 24,368; C. H. Chapman, M.P. (L.), 18,198; majority for Hislop, 6170.