Bruce by-election, 1920

Bruce by-election, 1920

14 April 1920

Turnout 4,532   Candidate John Edie James Begg Party Liberal Reform Popular vote 2,331 2,201

MP before election James Allen Reform Elected MP John Edie Liberal

The Bruce by-election of 1920 was a by-election held on 14 April 1920 during the 20th New Zealand Parliament in the rural lower South Island electorate of the Bruce.

Background

The contest was triggered due to the resignation from Parliament of James Allen, who took up the position of New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.^[1] The Liberal Party's chosen candidate was John Edie. He had contested the Bruce electorate in the 1919 election against James Allen and was beaten by the mere margin of 126 votes (only 2.15%).^[2]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

Bruce by-election, 1920[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Edie	2,331	51.44
	Reform	James Begg	2,201	48.56
Majority			130	2.86
Turnout			4,532

The Bruce electorate was abolished for the 1922 general election. Edie won the Clutha electorate, holding it until 1925.^[4]

Notes

1. McGibbon, Ian. "Allen, James". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
2. The New Zealand Official Year-Book. Government Printer. 1920. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
3. "Bruce By-election". Manawatu Times. XLIII (1541). 15 April 1920. p. 5. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
4. Wilson 1985, pp. 194, 242.

References

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.