# 1931 New Zealand general election

The 1931 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 24th term. It resulted in the newly formed coalition between the United Party and the Reform Party remaining in office as the United–Reform Coalition Government, although the opposition Labour Party made some minor gains despite tallying more votes than any other single party.

## Background

In the 1928 election, the Reform Party won 28 seats to the United Party's 27 seats. Shortly after the election the Reform Party lost a vote of no-confidence and the United Party managed to form a government, the United Government, with the support of the Labour Party, with governing Reform Party going into the opposition. In 1931, however, the agreement between United and Labour collapsed due to differing opinions on how to counter the Great Depression. The Reform Party, fearing that the Depression would give Labour a substantial boost, reluctantly agreed to form a coalition with United to avert elections. By forming a coalition, United and Reform were able to blunt Labour's advantage, ending the possibility of the anti-Labour vote being split.

## The election

The date for the main 1931 elections was 2 December, a Wednesday. Elections to the four Māori electorates were held the day before. 874,787 people were registered to vote, and there was a turnout of 83.3%. This turnout was below average for the time period.
The number of seats was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902. However, in four electorates (Bay of Plenty, Oroua, Pahiatua, Waitomo) there was only one candidate.

## Results

The 1931 election saw the recently formed governing coalition retain office as the United–Reform Coalition, winning fifty-one seats, including four independents. This was a drop of four seats from what the two parties had won in the previous elections, but was still considerably better than many had expected given the economic situation. The Labour Party won twenty-four seats, a gain of five. In the popular vote (including pro-coalition independents), the coalition won 54.0% of the vote, down from the 66.1% that the two parties had won previously. Labour won 34.3%. The only other party to gain a place in Parliament was the Country Party, which won a single seat. Four other independents were elected. Four candidates were elected unopposed: Walter Broadfoot in Waitomo, John Cobbe in Oroua, Alfred Ransom in Pahiatua, and Kenneth Williams in Bay of Plenty.

### Party totals

Election results :
| Party | Party | Party | Leader | Votes | Percentage | Percentage | Seats | change |
| | | Reform | Gordon Coates | 190,170 | 26.60 | 54.03 | 28 | ±0 |
| | | United | George Forbes | 120,801 | 16.90 | 54.03 | 19 | -8 |
| | | Independents (in support of Coalition) | Independents (in support of Coalition) | 75,069 | 10.53 | 54.03 | 4 | +3 |
| | | Labour | Harry Holland | 244,867 | 34.27 | 34.27 | 24 | +5 |
| | | Country Party | Harold Rushworth | 16,710 | 2.34 | 2.34 | 1 | ±0 |
| | | Ratana | Ratana | 7,154 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0 | ±0 |
| | | Independents | Independents | 66,894 | 8.36 | 8.36 | 4 | -1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 714,511 | 100% | 100% | 80 | |

### Votes summary

Popular Vote
All Coalition Parties
54.03%
Labour
34.27%
Coalition Reform
26.60%
Coalition United
16.90%
Country Party
2.34%
Coalition Independent
10.53%
Independent
9.36% :
Parliament seats
All Coalition Parties
63.75%
Coalition Reform
35.00%
Labour
30.00%
Coalition United
23.75%
Country Party
1.25%
Coalition Independent
5.00%
Independent
5.00% :
The following table shows the detailed results:
Key
Reform  Labour  United  Country Party  Independent Liberal  Ratana  Independent
Electorate results for the 1931 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Auckland Central | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | 3,793 | | Harold Penfound Congdon |
| Auckland East | James Donald | | Bill Schramm | 2,256 | | Harold Percy Burton |
| Auckland Suburbs | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | 1,223 | | Richard Herbert Marryatt |
| Auckland West | Michael Joseph Savage | Michael Joseph Savage | Michael Joseph Savage | 4,517 | | Hugh Ross Mackenzie |
| Avon | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | 3,039 | | Harben Robert Young |
| Awarua | Philip De La Perrelle | Philip De La Perrelle | Philip De La Perrelle | 2,148 | | Norman McIntyre |
| Bay of Islands | Harold Rushworth | Harold Rushworth | Harold Rushworth | 1,209 | | Allen Bell |
| Bay of Plenty | Kenneth Williams | Kenneth Williams | Kenneth Williams | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Buller | Harry Holland | Harry Holland | Harry Holland | 3,631 | | John Menzies |
| Central Otago | William Bodkin | William Bodkin | William Bodkin | 2,516 | | Charles Todd |
| Chalmers | Alfred Ansell | Alfred Ansell | Alfred Ansell | 172 | | Norman Hartley Campbell |
| Christchurch East | Tim Armstrong | Tim Armstrong | Tim Armstrong | 3,206 | | George Frederick Allen |
| Christchurch North | Henry Holland | Henry Holland | Henry Holland | 2,077 | | Elizabeth McCombs |
| Christchurch South | Ted Howard | Ted Howard | Ted Howard | 2,798 | | Charlie McCully |
| Clutha | Fred Waite | | Peter McSkimming | 1,530 | | Fred Waite |
| Dunedin Central | Charles Statham | Charles Statham | Charles Statham | 262 | | Peter Neilson |
| Dunedin North | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | 524 | | John McCrae |
| Dunedin South | William Taverner | | Fred Jones | 3,644 | | William Taverner |
| Dunedin West | William Downie Stewart Jr | William Downie Stewart Jr | William Downie Stewart Jr | 924 | | John Gilchrist |
| Eden | Arthur Stallworthy | Arthur Stallworthy | Arthur Stallworthy | 1,270 | | Bill Anderton |
| Egmont | Charles Wilkinson | Charles Wilkinson | Charles Wilkinson | 1,308 | | F. Gawith |
| Franklin | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | Jack Massey | 2,457 | | Harry Oswald Mellsop |
| Gisborne | Douglas Lysnar | | David Coleman | 317 | | Douglas Lysnar |
| Grey Lynn | John Fletcher | | John A. Lee | 3,242 | | John Fletcher |
| Hamilton | Alexander Young | Alexander Young | Alexander Young | 3,072 | | Hubert Beebe |
| Hauraki | Walter William Massey | Walter William Massey | Walter William Massey | 2,750 | | Charles Robert Petrie |
| Hawke's Bay | Hugh Campbell | Hugh Campbell | Hugh Campbell | 2,259 | | Ted Cullen |
| Hurunui | George Forbes | George Forbes | George Forbes | 3,953 | | R. J. Logan |
| Hutt | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | 2,823 | | James Kerr |
| Invercargill | Vincent Ward | | James Hargest | 508 | | William McChesney |
| Kaiapoi | Richard Hawke | Richard Hawke | Richard Hawke | 1,414 | | John Archer |
| Kaipara | Gordon Coates | Gordon Coates | Gordon Coates | 2,084 | | Albert Edward Robinson |
| Lyttelton | James McCombs | James McCombs | James McCombs | 32 | | Frederick Willie Freeman |
| Manawatu | Joseph Linklater | Joseph Linklater | Joseph Linklater | 2,246 | | Lorrie Hunter |
| Manukau | Bill Jordan | Bill Jordan | Bill Jordan | 3,394 | | Stanley Rickards |
| Marsden | Alfred Murdoch | Alfred Murdoch | Alfred Murdoch | 2,942 | | Jim Barclay |
| Masterton | George Sykes | George Sykes | George Sykes | 1,951 | | Peter Butler |
| Mataura | David McDougall | David McDougall | David McDougall | 943 | | Thomas Golden |
| Mid-Canterbury | David Jones | | Jeremiah Connolly | 136 | | David Jones |
| Motueka | George Black | George Black | George Black | 517 | | Keith Holyoake |
| Napier | Bill Barnard | Bill Barnard | Bill Barnard | 1,456 | | John Butler |
| Nelson | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | 100 | | Herbert Everett |
| New Plymouth | Sydney George Smith | Sydney George Smith | Sydney George Smith | 3,472 | | William Sheat |
| Oamaru | John Andrew MacPherson | John Andrew MacPherson | John Andrew MacPherson | 1,046 | | John Kirkness |
| Oroua | John Cobbe | John Cobbe | John Cobbe | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Otaki | William Hughes Field | William Hughes Field | William Hughes Field | 1,321 | | Jim Thorn |
| Pahiatua | Alfred Ransom | Alfred Ransom | Alfred Ransom | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Palmerston | Jimmy Nash | Jimmy Nash | Jimmy Nash | 1,245 | | Joe Hodgens |
| Parnell | Bill Endean | Bill Endean | Bill Endean | 4,821 | | John William Yarnall |
| Patea | Harold Dickie | Harold Dickie | Harold Dickie | 3,495 | | W. G. Simpson |
| Raglan | Lee Martin | | Stewart Reid | 806 | | Lee Martin |
| Rangitikei | James Thomas Hogan | | Alexander Stuart | 15 | | James Thomas Hogan |
| Riccarton | Bert Kyle | Bert Kyle | Bert Kyle | 589 | | Archibald Albany McLachlan |
| Roskill | George Munns | | Arthur Shapton Richards | 171 | | William John Holdsworth |
| Rotorua | Cecil Clinkard | Cecil Clinkard | Cecil Clinkard | 57 | | Alexander Moncur |
| Stratford | William Polson | William Polson | William Polson | 1,518 | | J W McMillan |
| Tauranga | Charles Macmillan | Charles Macmillan | Charles Macmillan | 658 | | Bill Sullivan |
| Temuka | Thomas Burnett | Thomas Burnett | Thomas Burnett | 1,237 | | Thomas Herbert Langford |
| Thames | Albert Samuel | Albert Samuel | Albert Samuel | 464 | | John Sommerville Montgomerie |
| Timaru | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | 820 | | Herbert N. Armstrong |
| Waikato | Frederick Lye | Frederick Lye | Frederick Lye | 981 | | Solomon Netheim Ziman |
| Waimarino | Frank Langstone | Frank Langstone | Frank Langstone | 591 | | William Henry Wackrow |
| Waipawa | Albert Jull | Albert Jull | Albert Jull | 386 | | John Davies Ormond, Jr. |
| Wairarapa | Thomas McDonald | | Alex McLeod | 616 | | Thomas McDonald |
| Wairau | Edward Healy | Edward Healy | Edward Healy | 1,424 | | William Girling |
| Waitaki | John Bitchener | John Bitchener | John Bitchener | 885 | | Alexander McLean Paterson |
| Waitemata | Alexander Harris | Alexander Harris | Alexander Harris | 2,378 | | Arthur Osborne |
| Waitomo | Walter Broadfoot | Walter Broadfoot | Walter Broadfoot | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Wallace | Adam Hamilton | Adam Hamilton | Adam Hamilton | 2,842 | | Peter Gilfedder |
| Wanganui | Bill Veitch | Bill Veitch | Bill Veitch | 590 | | Bill Rogers |
| Wellington Central | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | 2,471 | | Robert Darroch |
| Wellington East | Bob Semple | Bob Semple | Bob Semple | 593 | | Thomas Forsyth |
| Wellington North | Charles Chapman | Charles Chapman | Charles Chapman | 1,061 | | George Troup |
| Wellington South | Robert McKeen | Robert McKeen | Robert McKeen | 2,659 | | Will Appleton |
| Wellington Suburbs | Robert Wright | Robert Wright | Robert Wright | 2,570 | | Tom Brindle |
| Westland | James O'Brien | James O'Brien | James O'Brien | 1,121 | | John Greenslade |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | Āpirana Ngata | Āpirana Ngata | Āpirana Ngata | 3,211 | | Pita Moko |
| Northern Maori | Taurekareka Henare | Taurekareka Henare | Taurekareka Henare | 1,188 | | Paraire Karaka Paikea |
| Southern Maori | Tuiti Makitanara | Tuiti Makitanara | Tuiti Makitanara | 19 | | Eruera Tirikatene |
| Western Maori | Taite Te Tomo | Taite Te Tomo | Taite Te Tomo | 1,436 | | Toko Ratana |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ For some biographical details of James Kerr refer to his father's article
* ↑ For some biographical details of McLachlan refer to his grandfather's article
* ↑ McMillan claimed to stand for the Reform Party, but he was not the official candidate, as the United–Reform Coalition endorsed William Polson, who ran as an Independent
* ↑ Bill Sullivan was a member of the United Party, but Charles Macmillan was the official candidate of the United–Reform Coalition, hence Sullivan stood as an Independent
* ↑ The Reform and United parties could not agree on an official coalition candidate for the Timaru electorate, so neither Armstrong (Reform) nor Herbert Hall (United) were official candidates, and many sources show them as Independents
* ↑ Ziman was the father of John Ziman
* ↑ Jull was the official candidate of the United–Reform Coalition
* ↑ Ormond was the son of John Davies Ormond and the father of John Ormond
* Four of the eight independent MPs (Connolly, Hargest, McSkimming, and Polson) were aligned with the United–Reform Coalition, and are not classified as independents by some sources.