# 1941 New South Wales state election

The 1941 New South Wales state election was held on 10 May 1941. This election was for all of the 90 seats in the 33rd New South Wales Legislative Assembly and was conducted in single-member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting.

## Background

The replacement of Jack Lang by William McKell as leader of the Labor Party in 1939 reunited and rejuvenated the party. A small number of Labor party members continued to support the far-left-wing State Labor Party (Hughes-Evans) but that had minimal impact on the election results. The Labor Party moved away from Lang's populist, inflationary policies, which were seen as extremist by many voters in the middle ground of the political spectrum. McKell also improved the party's standing in rural electorates by personally selecting well-known local candidates.
By contrast, the internal party divisions and lack of policy direction affecting the United Australia Party (UAP) had resulted in Alexander Mair replacing Bertram Stevens as leader of the UAP and Premier in August 1939. The problems continued in the period prior to the election and throughout the course of the new parliament. These divisions were reflected federally in the forced resignation of Robert Menzies as the Prime Minister in August 1941, and the UAP disintegrated at a state level in 1943. The remnants of the UAP combined with the newly formed Commonwealth Party to form the Democratic Party in that year. Mair remained Leader of the Opposition until 10 February 1944 when he was replaced by Reginald Weaver.
The result of the election was a landslide victory for the Labor Party:
* Australian Labor Party 54 seats
* Independent Labor 1 seat
* United Australia Party 14 seats
* Independent UAP 5 seats
* Country Party 12 seats
* Independent 4 seats.
The Labor Party government of McKell had a majority of 18 and McKell remained Premier throughout the term of the Parliament. The Labor Party won two further seats from the Country Party at by-elections during the parliament. Jack Lang was expelled from the Labor Party in 1943, having persistently attacked the governments of McKell and Australian Prime minister John Curtin. Lang remained in parliament as the sole representative of Lang Labor.
This would be the first of NSW Labor's eight consecutive election victories.

## Key dates

| Date | Event |
| 18 April 1941 | The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. |
| 22 April 1941 | Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon. |
| 10 May 1941 | Polling day. |
| 16 May 1941 | First McKell Ministry sworn in. |
| 17 June 1941 | Last day for the writs to be returned and the results formally declared. |
| 28 May 1941 | Opening of 33rd Parliament. |

## Results

New South Wales state election, 10 May 1941 Legislative Assembly
<< 1938–1944 >> :
| Enrolled voters | Enrolled voters | 1,684,781 | | | | |
| Votes cast | Votes cast | 1,389,896 | | Turnout | 92.52 | −3.27 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | 35,858 | | Informal | 2.52 | −0.13 |
| Summary of votes by party |||||||
| Party | Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | 706,014 | 50.80 | +12.28 | 54 | + 24 |
| | United Australia | 281,982 | 20.29 | –15.57 | 14 | –23 |
| | Country | 153,639 | 11.05 | –2.81 | 12 | –10 |
| | State Labor | 78,363 | 5.64 | +5.64 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Ind. United Australia | 45,195 | 3.25 | +3.25 | 5 | +5 |
| | Independent Labor | 29,677 | 2.14 | +2.14 | 1 | +1 |
| | New Social Order | 8,906 | 0.64 | +0.64 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Independent Coalition | 925 | 0.07 | +0.07 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Independent | 85,195 | 6.13 | –4.75 | 4 | +3 |
| Total | Total | 1,389,896 | | | 90 | |
Popular vote
Labor
50.80%
United
20.29%
Country
11.05%
State Labor
5.64%
Independent UAP
3.25%
Independent Labor
2.14%
Independents
6.13%
Parliamentary seats
Labor
54
United
14
Country
12
State Labor
0
Independent UAPs
5
Independent Labor
1
Independents
4 :

## Retiring members
### United Australia

* Bruce Walker (Hawkesbury )

### Country

* Harry Carter (Liverpool Plains)
* Robert Hankinson (Murrumbidgee )
* Colin Sinclair (Namoi)

## Changing seats

Seats changing hands :
| Seat | 1938 | 1938 | 1938 | 1941 | 1941 | 1941 |
| Seat | Party | Party | Member | Member | Party | Party |
| Arncliffe | | Labor | Joseph Cahill | District abolished | District abolished | District abolished |
| Ashburnham | | Country | Hilton Elliott | Edgar Dring | Labor | |
| Barwon | | Country | | Roy Heferen | Labor | |
| Blacktown | New district | New district | New district | Frank Hill | Labor | |
| Bondi | | United Australia | Norman Thomas | Abe Landa | Labor | |
| Burwood | | United Australia | Harrie Mitchell | Gordon Jackett | Ind. United Australia | |
| Castlereagh | | Country | Alfred Yeo | Jack Renshaw | Labor | |
| Concord | | United Australia | Stan Lloyd | Bill Carlton | Labor | |
| Cook's River | New district | New district | New district | Joseph Cahill | Labor | |
| Coogee | | United Australia | Thomas Mutch | Lou Cunningham | Labor | |
| Cootamundra | | Country | Bill Ross | District abolished | District abolished | District abolished |
| Dulwich Hill | | United Australia | Guy Arkins | George Weir | Labor | |
| Drummoyne | | United Australia | John Lee | Robert Greig | Labor | |
| Dulwich Hill | | Labor | Guy Arkins | George Weir | Labor | |
| Georges River | | United Australia | Cecil Monro | Arthur Williams | Labor | |
| Glebe | | Labor | Bill Carlton | District abolished | District abolished | District abolished |
| Gloucester | | United Australia | Charles Bennett | Ray Fitzgerald | Independent | |
| Hawkesbury | | United Australia | Bruce Walker | Frank Finnan | Labor | |
| Hornsby | | United Australia | James Shand | Sydney Storey | Ind. United Australia | |
| Hurstville | | United Australia | | Clive Evatt | Labor | |
| Kogarah | | United Australia | James Ross | William Currey | Labor | |
| Liverpool Plains | | Country | Harry Carter | Roger Nott | Labor | |
| Monaro | | Country | William Hedges | John Seiffert | Labor | |
| Mosman | | United Australia | Herbert Lloyd | Donald Macdonald | Ind. United Australia | |
| Murrumbidgee | | Country | Robert Hankinson | George Enticknap | Independent Labor | |
| Namoi | | Country | Colin Sinclair | Raymond Hamilton | Labor | |
| North Sydney | | United Australia | Hubert Primrose | James Geraghty | Labor | |
| Orange | | United Australia | Alwyn Tonking | Bob O'Halloran | Labor | |
| Oxley | | United Australia | Lewis Martin | George Mitchell | Independent | |
| Petersham | | United Australia | Eric Solomon | District abolished | District abolished | District abolished |
| Randwick | | United Australia | Arthur Moverly | William Gollan | Labor | |
| Rockdale | New district | New district | New district | John McGrath | Labor | |
| Ryde | | United Australia | | James Shand | Ind. United Australia | |
| South Coast | | United Australia | Henry Bate | Rupert Beale | Independent | |
| Tamworth | | United Australia | | Bill Chaffey | Ind. United Australia | |
| Wagga Wagga | | Country | Matthew Kilpatrick | Eddie Graham | Labor | |
| Waverley | | United Australia | | Clarrie Martin | Labor | |
| Wollongong-Kembla | New district | New district | New district | Billy Davies | Labor | |
| Yass | | United Australia | George Ardill | Bill Sheahan | Labor | |
| Young | | Country | Albert Reid | Fred Cahill | Labor | |