1938 Wakefield by-election

A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Wakefield on 10 December 1938. This was triggered by the death of United Australia MP Charles Hawker.

The election was won by Labor candidate Sydney McHugh from a massive 20 percent two-party swing.

Results

Wakefield by-election, 1938^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Australia	Richard Layton Butler	19,591	39.3	-24.1
	Labor	Sydney McHugh	18,870	37.9	+1.3
	Independent	Percy Quirke	11,343	22.8	+22.8
Total formal votes			49,804	97.8	+1.7
Informal votes			1,114	2.2	−1.7
Turnout			50,918	93.6	−2.9
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Sydney McHugh	28,255	56.7	+20.1
	United Australia	Richard Layton Butler	21,549	43.3	-20.1
	Labor gain from United Australia		Swing	+20.1

v t e By-elections of the 15th Parliament of Australia (1937–1940)
1938	Wakefield
1939	Griffith Wilmot
1940	Corio
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