1931 New Zealand general election
{{short description|none}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1931 New Zealand general election
| country = New Zealand
| flag_year = 1931
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1928 New Zealand general election
| previous_year = 1928
| previous_members = 23rd New Zealand Parliament
| next_election = 1935 New Zealand general election
| next_year = 1935
| next_members = 25th New Zealand Parliament
| seats_for_election = All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives
41 seats were needed for a majority
| election_date = 1 (Māori) & 2 December (general) 1931
| elected_mps = elected members
| turnout = 714,511 (83.3%){{decrease}}
| image1 = 200x200px
| leader1 = Gordon Coates
| leader_since1 = 27 May 1925
| party1 = Reform Party (New Zealand)
| alliance1 = United–Reform Coalition
| leaders_seat1 = Kaipara
| last_election1 = 27 seats, 34.8%
| seats1 = 28
| seat_change1 = {{steady}} 0
| popular_vote1 = 190,170
| percentage1 = 26.6%
| swing1 = {{decrease}} 9.3%
| image2 = 200x200px
| leader2 = Harry Holland
| leader_since2 = 27 August 1919
| party2 = New Zealand Labour Party
| leaders_seat2 = Buller
| last_election2 = 19 seats, 26.2%
| seats2 = 24
| seat_change2 = {{increase}} 5
| popular_vote2 = 244,881
| percentage2 = 34.3%
| swing2 = {{increase}} 8.1%
| image4 = 200x200px
| leader4 = George Forbes
| leader_since4 = 21 May 1930
| party4 = United Party (New Zealand)
| alliance4 = United–Reform Coalition
| leaders_seat4 = Hurunui
| last_election4 = 27 seats, 29.8%
| seats4 = 19
| seat_change4 = {{decrease}} 8
| popular_vote4 = 120,801
| percentage4 = 16.9%
| swing4 = {{decrease}} 13.3%
| image5 = 200x200px
| leader5 = Harold Rushworth
| leader_since5 = November 1928
| party5 = Country Party (New Zealand)
| leaders_seat5 = Bay of Islands
| last_election5 = 1 seat, 1.6%
| seats5 = 1
| seat_change5 = {{steady}} 0
| popular_vote5 = 16,710
| percentage5 = 2.3%
| swing5 = {{increase}} 0.7%
| map_image = 1931 New Zealand general election - Results.svg
| map_size = 400px
| map_caption = Results of the election.
| title = Prime Minister
| posttitle = Subsequent Prime Minister
| before_election = George Forbes
| before_colour =
| after_election = George Forbes
| after_colour =
| before_party = United Party (New Zealand)
| after_party = United Party (New Zealand)
| result =
}}
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.{{cite web|title=General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout|url=http://www.elections.org.nz/events/past-events/general-elections-1853-2014-dates-and-turnout|publisher=Elections New Zealand|access-date=12 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114115332/http://www.elections.org.nz/events/past-events/general-elections-1853-2014-dates-and-turnout|archive-date=14 November 2014|url-status=dead}} However, in four electorates (Bay of Plenty, Oroua, Pahiatua, {{NZ electorate link|Waitomo}}) there was only one candidate.{{sfn|Bassett|1982|p=67}}{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=286}}
Results
File:Crowd in Willis Street, Wellington, awaiting the results of the 1931 general election.jpg and Mercer Streets in Wellington, outside the offices of The Evening Post, awaiting the results of the 1931 general election.]]
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 {{NZ electorate link|Waitomo}}, John Cobbe in {{NZ electorate link|Oroua}}, Alfred Ransom in {{NZ electorate link|Pahiatua}}, and Kenneth Williams in {{NZ electorate link|Bay of Plenty}}.{{cite news |title=Nominations Close |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19311120.2.111.1 |access-date=3 August 2013 |work=Evening Post |date=20 November 1931 |volume=CXII |issue=123 |page=11}}
=Party totals=
File:1931 New Zealand general election - Simple.svg
| class=wikitable style="text-align:right"
!colspan=9|center |
| colspan=9| Election results |
|---|
| width=125 colspan=3| Party
!width=125| Leader !width=75| Votes !width=75 colspan=2| Percentage !width=50| Seats !width=50| change |
| {{Party color cell|Reform Party (New Zealand)}}
| rowspan=3 {{party color cell|United–Reform Coalition|5px}} | align=left | Reform | align=left | Gordon Coates | 190,170 | 26.60 | rowspan=3|54.03 | 28 | ±0 |
| {{party color cell|United Party (New Zealand)}}
| align=left | United | align=left | George Forbes | 120,801 | 16.90 | 19 | -8 |
| {{party color cell|Independent politician}}
| align=left colspan=2|Independents (in support of Coalition) | 75,069 | 10.53 | 4 | +3 |
| colspan=2 {{party color cell|New Zealand Labour Party}}
| align=left | Labour | align=left | Harry Holland | 244,867 | colspan=2| 34.27 | 24 | +5 |
| colspan=2 {{party color cell|Country Party (New Zealand)}}
| align=left | Country Party | align=left | Harold Rushworth | 16,710 | colspan=2| 2.34 | 1 | ±0 |
| colspan=2 {{Party color cell|Ratana}}
|align=left colspan=2|Ratana | 7,154 | colspan=2| 1.00 | 0 | ±0 |
| colspan=2 {{party color cell|Independent politician}}
| align=left colspan=2|Independents | 66,894 | colspan=2| 8.36 | 4 | -1 |
| align=left colspan=4| Total
| 714,511 | colspan=2| 100% | 80 | |
=Votes summary=
{{bar box
| title=Popular Vote
| titlebar=#ddd
| width=625px
| barwidth=410px
| bars=
{{bar percent|All Coalition Parties|{{party color|United–Reform Coalition}}|54.03}}
{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|New Zealand Labour Party}}|34.27}}
{{bar percent|Coalition Reform|{{party color|Reform Party (New Zealand)}}|26.60}}
{{bar percent|Coalition United|{{party color|United Party (New Zealand)}}|16.90}}
{{bar percent|Country Party|{{party color|Country Party (New Zealand)}}|2.34}}
{{bar percent|Coalition Independent|{{party color|Independent politician}}|10.53}}
{{bar percent|Independent|{{party color|Independent politician}}|9.36}}
}}
{{bar box
| title=Parliament seats
| titlebar=#ddd
| width=625px
| barwidth=410px
| bars=
{{bar percent|All Coalition Parties|{{party color|United–Reform Coalition}}|63.75}}
{{bar percent|Coalition Reform|{{party color|Reform Party (New Zealand)}}|35.00}}
{{bar percent|Labour|{{party color|New Zealand Labour Party}}|30.00}}
{{bar percent|Coalition United|{{party color|United Party (New Zealand)}}|23.75}}
{{bar percent|Country Party|{{party color|Country Party (New Zealand)}}|1.25}}
{{bar percent|Coalition Independent|{{party color|Independent politician}}|5.00}}
{{bar percent|Independent|{{party color|Independent politician}}|5.00}}
}}
The following table shows the detailed results:
Key
{{Party index link|Reform Party (New Zealand)}}
{{Party index link|New Zealand Labour Party}}
{{Party index link|United Party (New Zealand)}}
{{Party index link|Country Party (New Zealand)}}
{{Party index link|Independent Liberal}}
{{Party index link|Ratana}}
{{Party index link|Independent politician}}
{{NZ electorate result start|Electorate results for the 1931 New Zealand general election{{sfn|McRobie|1989|pp=87f}}{{sfn|Skinner|1932|pp=1–10}}
}}
|-
|colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" | General electorates
|-
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Auckland Central
|incumbent = Bill Parry
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,793{{cite news |title=Election Counts |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19311209.2.109 |access-date=28 October 2014 |work=Auckland Star |volume=LXII |issue=291 |date=9 December 1931 |page=9}}
|second = Harold Penfound Congdon
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Auckland East
|incumbent = James Donald
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|winner = Bill Schramm
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 2,256{{cite news |title=Recount of Votes |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19311207.2.142 |access-date=31 October 2014 |work=Auckland Star |volume=LXII |issue=289 |date=7 December 1931 |page=9}}
|second = Harold Percy Burton
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Auckland Suburbs
|incumbent = Rex Mason
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 1,223
|second = Richard Herbert Marryatt{{cite news |title=Parliamentary Elections |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19311120.2.49.6 |access-date=7 November 2014 |work=Auckland Star |volume=LXII |issue=275 |date=20 November 1931 |page=5}}
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Auckland West
|incumbent = Michael Joseph Savage
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 4,517
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Avon
|incumbent = Dan Sullivan
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,039
|second = Harben Robert Young
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Awarua
|incumbent = Philip De La Perrelle
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 2,148
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Bay of Islands
|incumbent = Harold Rushworth
|incumbent-party = Country Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,209
|second = Allen Bell
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result uncontested
|electorate = Bay of Plenty
|incumbent = Kenneth Williams
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|hold = yes
|unopposed = true
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Buller
|incumbent = Harry Holland
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,631
|second = John Menzies{{cite news |title=Buller Electorate |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19311125.2.59.9 |access-date=8 November 2014 |work=The Evening Post |volume=CXII |issue=127 |date=25 November 1931 |page=10}}
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Central Otago
|incumbent = William Bodkin
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 2,516
|second = Charles Todd
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Chalmers
|incumbent = Alfred Ansell
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 172
|second = Norman Hartley Campbell
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Christchurch East
|incumbent = Tim Armstrong
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,206
|second = George Frederick Allen
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Christchurch North
|incumbent = Henry Holland
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 2,077
|second = Elizabeth McCombs
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Christchurch South
|incumbent = Ted Howard
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|second = Charlie McCully{{cite news |title=Straight Grained |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NZTR19281108.2.30 |access-date=2 November 2014 |work=New Zealand Truth |issue=1197 |date=8 November 1928 |page=6}}
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Clutha
|incumbent = Fred Waite
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|winner = Peter McSkimming
|winner-party = Independent politician
|majority = 1,530
|second = Fred Waite
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Dunedin Central
|incumbent = Charles Statham
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|majority = 262
|second = Peter Neilson
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Dunedin North
|incumbent = Jim Munro
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 524
|second = John McCrae{{cite web |url=https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C36395 |title=John McCrae |via=Online Cenotaph |publisher=Auckland War Memorial Museum |access-date=9 July 2022}}{{cite news |title=Dunedin North |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19311107.2.105 |access-date=11 November 2014 |work=Auckland Star |volume=LXII |issue=264 |date=7 November 1931 |page=11}}
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Dunedin South
|incumbent = William Taverner
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|winner = Fred Jones
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 3,644
|second = William Taverner
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Dunedin West
|incumbent = William Downie Stewart Jr
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 924
|second = John Gilchrist
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Eden
|incumbent = Arthur Stallworthy
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,270{{cite news |title=Election Results |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19311208.2.11 |access-date=1 November 2014 |work=Auckland Star |volume=LXII |issue=290 |date=8 December 1931 |page=3}}
|second = Bill Anderton
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Egmont
|incumbent = Charles Wilkinson
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|majority = 1,308
|second = F. Gawith
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Franklin
|incumbent = Jack Massey
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 2,457
|second = Harry Oswald Mellsop{{cite news |title=Electoral |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NZH19311211.2.177.4 |access-date=15 November 2014 |work=The New Zealand Herald |volume=LXVIII |issue=21053 |date=11 December 1931 |page=22}}
|second-party = Country Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Gisborne
|incumbent = Douglas Lysnar
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|winner = David Coleman
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|second = Douglas Lysnar
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Grey Lynn
|incumbent = John Fletcher
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|winner = John A. Lee
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|second = John Fletcher
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Hamilton
|incumbent = Alexander Young
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 3,072{{cite news |title=Electors' Choice |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19311203.2.80 |access-date=1 November 2014 |work=Auckland Star |volume=LXII |issue=286 |date=3 December 1931 |page=8}}
|second = Hubert Beebe
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
|-
| Hauraki
| style="background-color:{{party color|Reform Party (New Zealand)}};" |
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;background-color:{{Reform Party (New Zealand)/meta/shading}};" | Walter William Massey
| style="text-align:right;" | 2,750
| style="background-color:{{party color|New Zealand Labour Party}};" |
| style="text-align:center;" | Charles Robert Petrie
|-
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Hawke's Bay
|incumbent = Hugh Campbell
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 2,259
|second = Ted Cullen{{cite news |title=A Coalition Certainty |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19311117.2.62.2 |access-date=29 June 2014 |volume=CXII |issue=120 |work=The Evening Post |date=17 November 1931 |page=10}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Hurunui
|incumbent = George Forbes
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 3,953
|second = R. J. Logan{{cite news |title=In Canterbury |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19311127.2.90 |access-date=16 November 2014 |work=Auckland Star |volume=LXII |issue=281 |date=27 November 1931 |page=8}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Hutt
|incumbent = Walter Nash
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 2,823
|second = James Kerr{{refn|group=nb|For some biographical details of James Kerr refer to his father's article}}
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Invercargill
|incumbent = Vincent Ward
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|winner = James Hargest
|winner-party = Independent politician
|majority = 508
|second = William McChesney
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Kaiapoi
|incumbent = Richard Hawke
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,414
|second = John Archer{{DNZB|Gustafson|Barry|3A17|Archer, John Kendrick|8 April 2011||Barry Gustafson}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Kaipara
|incumbent = Gordon Coates
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 2,084
|second-party = Country Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Lyttelton
|incumbent = James McCombs
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 32
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Manawatu
|incumbent = Joseph Linklater
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 2,246
|second = Lorrie Hunter
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Manukau
|incumbent = Bill Jordan
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Marsden
|incumbent = Alfred Murdoch
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 2,942
|second = Jim Barclay
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Masterton
|incumbent = George Sykes
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,951
|second = Peter Butler
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Mataura
|incumbent = David McDougall
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 943
|second = Thomas Golden{{cite news |title=Mr McDougall Opposed |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19311117.2.62.19 |access-date=24 November 2014 |work=The Evening Post |volume=CXII |issue=120 |date=17 November 1931 |page=10}}
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Mid-Canterbury
|incumbent = David Jones
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|winner = Jeremiah Connolly
|winner-party = Independent Liberal
|second = David Jones
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Motueka
|incumbent = George Black
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|majority = 517
|second = Keith Holyoake
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Napier
|incumbent = Bill Barnard
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 1,456
|second = John Butler
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Nelson
|incumbent = Harry Atmore
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|majority = 100
|second = Herbert Everett{{cite news |title=Opposing Mr Atmore |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19311105.2.95.2 |access-date=27 November 2014 |work=The Evening Post |volume=CXII |issue=110 |date=5 November 1931 |page=10}}
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = New Plymouth
|incumbent = Sydney George Smith
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 3,472
|second = William Sheat
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Oamaru
|incumbent = John Andrew MacPherson
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|second = John Kirkness
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result uncontested
|electorate = Oroua
|incumbent = John Cobbe
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|hold = yes
|unopposed = true
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Otaki
|incumbent = William Hughes Field
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,321
|second = Jim Thorn
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result uncontested
|electorate = Pahiatua
|incumbent = Alfred Ransom
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|hold = yes
|unopposed = true
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Palmerston
|incumbent = Jimmy Nash
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,245
|second = Joe Hodgens
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Parnell
|incumbent = Bill Endean
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|second = John William Yarnall
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Patea
|incumbent = Harold Dickie
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 3,495
|second = W. G. Simpson
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Raglan
|incumbent = Lee Martin
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|winner = Stewart Reid
|winner-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 806
|second = Lee Martin
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Rangitikei
|incumbent = James Thomas Hogan
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|winner = Alexander Stuart
|winner-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 15
|second = James Thomas Hogan
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Riccarton
|incumbent = Bert Kyle
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 589
|second = Archibald Albany McLachlan{{refn|group=nb|For some biographical details of McLachlan refer to his grandfather's article}}
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Roskill
|incumbent = George Munns
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|winner = Arthur Shapton Richards
|winner-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|second = William John Holdsworth{{cite news |title=Electoral |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NZH19311209.2.175.5 |access-date=2 December 2014 |work=The New Zealand Herald |volume=LXVIII |issue=21051 |date=9 December 1931 |page=18}}
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Rotorua
|incumbent = Cecil Clinkard
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 57
|second = Alexander Moncur
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Stratford
|incumbent = William Polson
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|majority = 1,518
|second = J W McMillan{{refn|group=nb|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{{cite news |title=Stratford Electorate |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NZH19311113.2.123 |access-date=6 December 2014 |work=The New Zealand Herald |volume=LXVIII |issue=21029 |date=13 November 1931 |page=11}}}}
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Tauranga
|incumbent = Charles Macmillan
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 658
|second = Bill Sullivan{{refn|group=nb|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}}
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Temuka
|incumbent = Thomas Burnett
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,237
|second = Thomas Herbert Langford
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Thames
|incumbent = Albert Samuel
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 464
|second = John Sommerville Montgomerie{{cite news | url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=NA19250618.2.27 | title=Reform Triumph | work=The Northern Advocate | date=18 June 1925 | access-date=15 December 2014 | page=5}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Timaru
|incumbent = Clyde Carr
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 820
|second = Herbert N. Armstrong{{Cite thesis |last=Kerr |first=Stephen |title="Good Old Clyde": Clyde Carr M.P., Timaru and the Art of Incumbency, 1928–1962 |url=http://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/10092/4267/1/Thesis_fulltext.pdf |year=2003 |publisher=University of Canterbury |access-date=16 December 2014 |page=66}}{{refn|group=nb|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}}
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Waikato
|incumbent = Frederick Lye
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 981
|second = Solomon Netheim Ziman{{refn|group=nb|Ziman was the father of John Ziman{{cite web|title=Ziman, John Michael|url=https://michaelberryphysics.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/berry416.pdf|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=16 December 2014}}}}
|second-party = Country Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Waimarino
|incumbent = Frank Langstone
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 591
|second = William Henry Wackrow
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Waipawa
|incumbent = Albert Jull{{refn|group=nb|Jull was the official candidate of the United–Reform Coalition}}
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 386
|second = John Davies Ormond, Jr.{{refn|group=nb|Ormond was the son of John Davies Ormond and the father of John Ormond}}
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result change
|electorate = Wairarapa
|incumbent = Thomas McDonald
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|winner = Alex McLeod
|winner-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 616
|second = Thomas McDonald
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wairau
|incumbent = Edward Healy
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,424
|second = William Girling
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Waitaki
|incumbent = John Bitchener
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 885
|second = Alexander McLean Paterson{{Cite thesis |last=Facer |first=Wayne Arthur Pickard |title=William Jellie: Unitarian, Scholar and Educator |type=M.Phil. |chapter=In New Zealand: Timaru 1923–1925 |url=http://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/4359/02_whole.pdf?sequence=1 |year=2012 |publisher=Massey University |access-date=14 March 2015}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Waitemata
|incumbent = Alexander Harris
|incumbent-party = Independent politician
|second = Arthur Osborne{{cite news |title=Parliamentary Elections |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS19311120.2.49.5 |access-date=29 October 2014 |work=Auckland Star |volume=LXII |issue=275 |date=20 November 1931}}
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result uncontested
|electorate = Waitomo
|incumbent = Walter Broadfoot
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|hold = yes
|unopposed = true
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wallace
|incumbent = Adam Hamilton
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 2,842
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wanganui
|incumbent = Bill Veitch
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 590
|second = Bill Rogers
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wellington Central
|incumbent = Peter Fraser
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 2,471{{cite news |title=Declaration of Result of Poll for the Electoral District of Wellington Suburbs |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19311210.2.6.7 |access-date=5 March 2014 |work=The Evening Post |date=10 December 1931 |volume=CXII |issue=140 |page=2}}
|second = Robert Darroch
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wellington East
|incumbent = Bob Semple
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|second = Thomas Forsyth
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wellington North
|incumbent = Charles Chapman
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|second = George Troup
|second-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wellington South
|incumbent = Robert McKeen
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 2,659
|second = Will Appleton{{cite news|title=Coalition Selection|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19311113.2.84.1|access-date=17 March 2015|work=The Evening Post|volume=CXII|issue=117|date=13 November 1931|page=8}}
|second-party = United Party (New Zealand)
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Wellington Suburbs
|incumbent = Robert Wright
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|second = Tom Brindle
|second-party = New Zealand Labour Party
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Westland
|incumbent = James O'Brien
|incumbent-party = New Zealand Labour Party
|majority = 1,121
|second = John Greenslade
|second-party = Independent politician
}}
|-
|colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" | Māori electorates
|-
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Eastern Maori
|incumbent = Āpirana Ngata
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 3,211
|second = Pita Moko
|second-party = Ratana
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Northern Maori
|incumbent = Taurekareka Henare
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,188
|second = Paraire Karaka Paikea
|second-party = Ratana
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Southern Maori
|incumbent = Tuiti Makitanara
|incumbent-party = United Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 19
|second = Eruera Tirikatene
|second-party = Ratana
}}
{{NZ electorate result hold
|electorate = Western Maori
|incumbent = Taite Te Tomo
|incumbent-party = Reform Party (New Zealand)
|majority = 1,436
|second = Toko Ratana
|second-party = Ratana
}}
|}
Table footnotes:
{{reflist|group=nb}}
- 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.
Notes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book |last= Bassett |first= Michael |title= Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911-1931 |author-link=Michael Bassett |year= 1982 |publisher=Historical Publications |location= Auckland |isbn= 0-86870-006-1 }}
- {{cite book |title=Electoral Atlas of New Zealand |last=McRobie |first=Alan |year=1989 |publisher=GP Books |location=Wellington |isbn=0-477-01384-8}}
- {{cite book |last=Skinner | first=W. A. G. |title=The General Election, 1931 |year=1932 |publisher=Government Printer |url= https://atojs.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/atojs?a=d&d=AJHR1932-I-II.2.3.2.31 |access-date=2 November 2014}}
- {{cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-year= First ed. published 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc=154283103}}
{{New Zealand elections}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1931 New Zealand general election}}