1951 Brooklyn by-election

New Zealand by-election April 2024 July 2019 1951 Brooklyn by-election New Zealand 1951 presidential no 1949 New Zealand general election 1949 general 1951 New Zealand general election 1951 general 1951 2 17 y 13,077 (63.60%) 120px Arnold Nordmeyer New Zealand Labour Party 5,287 63.56 109px Len Jacobsen New Zealand National Party 2,902 34.88 Member Peter Fraser New Zealand Labour Party Arnold Nordmeyer New Zealand Labour Party The Brooklyn by-election 1951 was a by-election held in the Brooklyn electorate in Wellington during the 29th New Zealand Parliament, on 17 February 1951. Background The by-election was caused by the death of incumbent MP Peter Fraser, who had been prime minister until the 1949 general election, on 17 December 1950 after a long illness.Beaglehole Tim 4f22 Fraser, Peter 11 December 2011 Tim Beaglehole Labour's deputy leader, Walter Nash deliberately brought the election of leader to replace Fraser to before the by-election so that if the Labour candidate was successful they would be unable to either participate or contest the position as only elected members of the caucus were eligible to stand. His decision caused a heated debate in caucus, though it was eventually voted for by a caucus majority of two to proceed with the early vote.Opposition Leader to be Named on January 15 The Dominion 6 8 January 1951 Candidates Communist Party The Communist Party (CPNZ) initially offered not to contest the by-election, approaching the Labour Party to withdraw in their favour on condition that Labour adopt several CPNZ policy platforms, notably an immediate withdrawal of New Zealand troops from the Korean War. Labour (who supported the Korean War) rebuffed the offer so the CPNZ ran a candidate.Communists To Run Candidate For Brooklyn Seat The Dominion 16 January 1951 8 Connie Birchfield, their candidate for Brooklyn in 1949, was selected to stand again. Labour Party Initial speculation was that former cabinet minister and current party president Arnold Nordmeyer, who had lost his seat of Oamaru in 1949, would likely be Labour's candidate. Three other names were also speculated as possible Labour nominees:https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19501219.2.65 Early Speculation – By-election For Brooklyn Otago Daily Times 27576 19 December 1950 5 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19501221.2.95 By-Election Not Till February? The Evening Post 26559 21 December 1950 8 Jim Collins, the vice-president of the Wellington Trades Council and secretary of the Wellington Labour Representation Committee. He had stood as a Labour candidate for the Wellington City Council five times between 1931 and 1941. Frank Kitts, a Wellington City Councillor, president of Labour's Wellington Central branch and Labour's mayoral candidate in 1950, who was only narrowly defeated. Roy Thomas, the president of the Wellington Labour Representation Committee and former national secretary of the Printing and Related Trades Union. Nordmeyer was the unanimous choice of the national executive and local selection committee over the other nominations.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19510118.2.102 Mr. Nordmeyer For Labour In Brooklyn The Evening Post 26581 18 January 1951 8 National Party There were four nominees for the National Party candidacy:Brooklyn National Nominees The Dominion 19 January 1951 6 Berta Burns, a former schoolteacher and journalist who was National's candidate for Brooklyn in 1949. Samuel Frickleton, a Victoria Cross recipient from the First World War working as a contact officer at the Rehabilitation Department. Leonard Theodore Jacobsen, a local businessman who was a Wellington City Councillor from 1944 until 1950 and National's candidate for Miramar in 1946. Elizabeth Reenberg, a nurse who was a Citizens' Association candidate for the Wellington Hospital Board at the 1950 local-body elections. Jacobsen was chosen after winning a ballot of local party members.Mr. L. T. Jacobsen National Candidate For Brooklyn The Dominion 24 January 1951 8 Results The following table gives the election results: Outcomes Nordmeyer was elected with a 2.35% swing. Norton Clifford New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science 1988 Victoria University of Wellington Wellington 0-475-11200-8 While National had won the 1949 election, both the 1950 local body elections and the by-election result pointed to the fact that National's hold on power was tenuous. Bassett Michael Confrontation '51: the 1951 Waterfront Dispute 1972 Reed Wellington 91 National's vote fell causing party officials concern over many urban seats which had been won in 1949 only by low majorities. Deputy Prime Minister Keith Holyoake denied that the government's popularity had been impaired and stated that Labour had not offered any worthy suggestions on how the problems of the day could be handled.Labour Retains Brooklyn Seat With 2260 Majority in Small By-election Poll The Dominion 19 February 1951 References Brooklyn 1951 Category:1951 elections in New Zealand Category:Politics of the Wellington Region Category:February 1951 in Oceania Category:1950s in Wellington