Hutt by-election, 1929

Hutt by-election, 1929

18 December 1929

Candidate Walter Nash James Kerr Harold Johnston Party Labour United Reform Popular vote 5,047 4,835 2,570

Member before election Thomas Wilford United Elected Member Walter Nash Labour

The Hutt by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Hutt, an urban seat at the bottom of the North Island.

The by-election was held on 18 December 1929, and was precipitated by the resignation of sitting United MP Thomas Wilford on who had been appointed the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom by Prime Minister Joseph Ward.^[1][2]

The by-election was contested by Walter Nash of the Labour Party, James Kerr from the United Party and Harold Johnston of the Reform Party. The lead up to the by-election was marred by harsh words between candidates. Local newspaper the Hutt News printed several articles through the campaigning attempting to discredit Nash as a Soviet style socialist.^[3]

1929 general election result

Hutt by-election, 1929[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Walter Nash	5,047	40.53	-4.55
	United	James Kerr[mb 1]	4,835	38.83
	Reform	Harold Johnston[mb 2]	2,570	20.64
Majority			212	1.70	-8.14
Informal votes			103	0.82	-1.31
Turnout			12,555	84.27	-6.67
Registered electors			14,898

Table footnotes:

1. For some biographical details of Kerr refer to his father's article.
2. For some biographical details of Johnston refer to his father's article.

References

1. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 245. OCLC 154283103.
2. Scholefield, Guy (1932). Who's Who in New Zealand and the Western Pacific, 1932 (3rd ed.). Wellington: The Rangatira Press. p. 15.
3. Sinclair, Keith (1976). Walter Nash. Auckland: Oxford. p. 78.
4. "The Hutt Seat". The Evening Post CXII (108). 3 November 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 18 November 2014.