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, although the opposition Labour Party made some minor gains. The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... The 24th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. ... This article discusses the party which originated in 1927 from a faction of the Liberal Party. ... The Reform Party was New Zealands second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ...

 

New Zealand elections
1853 | 1855 | 1860 | 1866 | 1871 | 1875 | 1879 | 1881 | 1884 | 1887 | 1890 | 1893 | 1896 | 1899 | 1902 | 1905 | 1908 | 1911 | 1914 | 1919 | 1922 | 1925 | 1928 | 1931 | 1935 | 1938 | 1943 | 1946 | 1949 | 1951 | 1954 | 1957 | 1960 | 1963 | 1966 | 1969 | 1972 | 1975 | 1978 | 1981 | 1984 | 1987 | 1990 | 1993 | reform | 1996 | 1999 | 2002 | 2005 | 2008

  Members of New Zealands House of Representatives, commonly called Parliament, normally gain their seats in nationwide general elections, or (less frequently) in by-elections. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... The 1853 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 1st term. ... The 1855 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 2nd term. ... The New Zealand general election of 1860 was held between December 12 and March 28 to elect 53 MPs to the third session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1866 was held between February 12 and April 6 to elect 70 MPs to the fourth session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1871 was held between January 14 and February 1 to elect 78 MPs to the fifth session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1875 was held between December 29 and January 4 (1876) to elect a total of 88 MPs to the 6th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1879 was held between August 15 and September 1 to elect a total of 88 MPs to the 7th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1881 was held December 9 to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 8th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1884 was held July 22 to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 9th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1887 was held July 22 to elect 95 MPs to the ninth session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1890 was held on December 5 to elect 74 MPs to the 11th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1893 was held November 28 to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 12th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1896 was held December 4 to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 13th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1899 was held December 6 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 14th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1902 was held November 25 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 15th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1905 was held December 6 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 16th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1908 was held November 17, November 24 and December 1 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 17th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1911 was held December 7 and December 14 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 18th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1914 was held December 10 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1919 was held December 17 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 20th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1922 was held December 7 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 21st session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1925 was held November 4 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 22nd session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1928 was held on November 14 to elect 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... Until 1996, New Zealand used the British system of first past the post (FPP) for parliamentary elections . ... The 1999 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 46th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. ... Wikinews has news related to: Results of the 2005 New Zealand General Election The 2005 New Zealand general election took place on 17 September 2005 and determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. ...

Background

In the 1928 elections, the United Party and the Reform Party had both won twenty-seven seats. The United Party managed to form a 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 New Zealand general election of 1925 was held November 14 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... This article discusses the party which originated in 1927 from a faction of the Liberal Party. ... The Reform Party was New Zealands second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... The Great Depression redirects here. ...

The election

The date for the main 1931 elections was 2 December, a Wednesday. Elections to the four Maori seats 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 being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902. After the establishment of Westminster-style Parliamentary Government in New Zealand in 1852, the Māori inhabitants had allotted to them from 1867 specific seats in the New Zealand Parliament. ... Men turning out to vote in the Australian 1899 Federation referendum. ...

Results

The 1931 election saw the governing coalition retain office, winning fifty-one seats. This was a drop of three 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, the coalition won 55.4% of the vote, down from the 64.6% 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 independents were elected. The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The Country Party of New Zealand was a political party which based itself around rural voters. ...