1928 New Zealand general election

1928 New Zealand general election

13 (Māori) & 14 November (general) 1928
All 80 seats in the House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	88.01%
First party Second party   Leader Sir Joseph Ward Gordon Coates Party United Reform Leader since 17 September 1928 30 May 1925 Leader's seat Invercargill Kaipara Last election 11 seats, 22.4% 55 seats, 47.7% Seats won 27 27 Seat change 16 28 Popular vote 225,042 263,382 Percentage 29.75% 34.82% Swing 7.26% 9.97%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Harry Holland Harold Rushworth Party Labour Country Party Leader since 27 August 1919 November 1928 Leader's seat Buller Bay of Islands Last election 12 seats, 27.2% 0 seats, 0.3% Seats won 19 1 Seat change 7 1 Popular vote 198,092 11,990 Percentage 26.19% 1.59% Swing 3.50% 1.24%
Prime Minister before election Gordon Coates Reform Prime Minister-designate Joseph Ward United

The New Zealand general election of 1928 was held on 13 and 14 November in the Māori and European electorates, respectively, to elect 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament.

1928 was the year postal voting was introduced for certain specified groups (e.g. invalids) who could not get to a polling booth on election day.

The election

The 1928 election was held on Tuesday, 13 November in the Māori electorates, and on Wednesday, 14 November in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 23rd session of Parliament. A total of 844,633 electors were registered on the European roll, of which 743,691 (88.05%) turned out to vote. All 80 electorates were contested. 47 and 29 electorates were in the North Island and South Island, respectively, plus the 4 Māori electorates.

In 1927, a faction of the decaying Liberal Party formed a new organisation, which was eventually named the United Party. In 1928, to the considerable surprise of most observers and many members of the party itself, United won a considerable victory, taking Auckland East and Grey Lynn from Labour. The United Government came to power with Labour support. Labour, forming the official opposition since 1926, were thus replaced by Reform. Six Independents were elected (most with allegiances to the main parties. Four of these backed United, one supported Reform and one favoured neither.

The Bay of Islands electorate went to Harold Rushworth of the Country Party after a recount of the votes, but the election was declared void January 1929. Rushworth won the resulting by-election. This marked the Country Party's first entry into Parliament, where it would retain a presence until 1938.

Result by party

The table below shows the result of the 1928 election.

style="width: 2px; background-color: #00BB00;" data-sort-value="Reform Party (New Zealand)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #BBFFFF;" data-sort-value="United Party (New Zealand)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #D82A20;" data-sort-value="New Zealand Labour Party" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #B9F58B;" data-sort-value="Country Party (New Zealand)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #A52A2A;" data-sort-value="Ratana" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent politician" |

Election results
Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won	Change
Reform	74	271,259	35.87	281	-27
United	60	228,438	30.20	272	+16
Labour	59	197,953	26.17	19	+7
Country Party	5	11,990	1.59	1	+1
Ratana	3	4,924	0.65	0	±0
Independent	30	41,767	5.52	5	+3
Total		231	756,331		80

¹ Includes two who won as Independent Reform

²   Unitedpreviously contested as   Liberal

Votes summary

Popular Vote Reform   35.87% United   30.20% Labour   26.17% Country   1.59% Rantana   0.65% Independent   5.52%

Parliament seats Reform   35.00% United   33.75% Labour   23.75% Country   1.25% Independent   6.25%

Initial composition of the 23rd Parliament

Map of electorates.

The United Party was organised in the House of Representatives, prior to the dissolution of the 22nd Parliament.

The Auckland Star reported on 18 September 1928, that:

...the United Party were assembled yesterday in Wellington when Sir Joseph Ward accepted the leadership of the party. It had previously been decided, by unanimous resolution, that the party should go to the polls as "The United Party"...

The Evening Post newspaper reported on the same day that:

The Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Ward took his seat as Leader of the United Party in the House of Representatives this afternoon, Mr G.W. Forbes, who has led the Nationalist Party up to the present, relinquishing his former place in favour of Sir Joseph. From now until the end of the session the Nationalist Party ceases to exist under that name.

References

• Bassett, Michael (1982). Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911–1931. Auckland: Historical Publications. ISBN 0-86870-006-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Mackie, Thomas T.; Rose, Richard (1991). The International Almanac of Electoral History, 3rd edition. Macmillan. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. Retrieved 4 December 2013. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Photos of Members of Parliament as elected in November 1928