1943 Christchurch East by-election

New Zealand by-election April 2024 April 2026 1943 Christchurch East by-election New Zealand 1943 presidential no 1938 New Zealand general election 1938 general 1943 New Zealand general election 1943 general Christchurch East 1943 2 6 y 9,644 (65.01%) 100x120px Mabel Howard New Zealand Labour Party 4,559 47.27% 100x120px Horace Herring Democratic Labour Party (New Zealand) 2,578 26.73% 100x120px Melville Lyons New Zealand National Party 2,371 24.59% Christchurch East electorate 1938-46.jpg Christchurch East electorate boundaries used for the by-election MP Tim Armstrong Mabel Howard New Zealand Labour Party New Zealand Labour Party The 1943 Christchurch East by-election held on 6 February was caused by the death of Tim Armstrong during the term of the 26th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election in the Christchurch East electorate was contested by five candidates, including representatives from the Labour Party, the Labour breakaway party Democratic Labour Party and the National Party. The election was won by the Labour candidate, Mabel Howard, and started her long parliamentary career, which included her becoming the first female cabinet minister in 1947. Background and candidates Tim Armstrong was first elected to Parliament in the Christchurch East electorate in the 1922 general election and held the electorate for Labour until his death.Split vote https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19430118.2.23 15 November 2011 The Evening Post 18 January 1943 CXXXV 14 3 The by-election in this Labour stronghold attracted five candidates.Five candidates https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19430122.2.23 15 November 2011 The Evening Post 22 January 1943 CXXXV 18 3 Mabel Howard, the daughter of former member of parliament Ted Howard, had wanted to follow her father in the 1939 Christchurch South by-election caused by his death, but although she was the favoured candidate by the local branch of the party,Labour Party Nomination https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19390503.2.30 14 November 2011 The Evening Post 3 May 1939 CXXVII 102 7 the Labour Party hierarchy chose Robert Macfarlane instead. Howard believed that back then, she was opposed due to her connections to John A. Lee, who was seen as a radical within the party.McAloon Jim 5H38 Howard, Mabel Bowden 1894–1972 15 November 2011 But for the 1943 by-election in the Christchurch East electorate, Mabel Howard was nominated by the Labour Party. Lee had been expelled from the Labour Party in 1940 and had immediately set up a splinter party that he called Democratic Labour Party (DLP).McLintock A. H. DEMOCRATIC LABOUR PARTY http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/political-parties/5 An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 15 November 2011 1966 Horace Herring stood for the DLP and it was expected that this would split the Labour vote. Owen McKee was a union delegate from South Canterbury. A former vice-president of the General Labourers' Union in Timaru, he was seen as running a personal campaign against Howard over a difference of opinion. His candidacy was not seen as serious.Wordy Campaign http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19430203.2.30 15 November 2011 The Evening Post 3 February 1943 CXXXV 28 4 Melville Lyons was the candidate put forward by the National Party. A seasoned political campaigner, Lyons had briefly been elected to Parliament in 1925 for the Lyttelton electorate before his election was declared void.Scholefield 1950 121 At the time, he was Deputy-Mayor of Christchurch.Chairmen and mayors http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/howthecouncilworks/ourhistory/chairmenmayors.aspx Christchurch City Council 9 November 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100522063807/http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/howthecouncilworks/ourhistory/chairmenmayors.aspx 22 May 2010 dmy In conjunction with the split vote caused by the DLP, Lyons was expected to be a threat to Labour. The last candidate, Lincoln Efford, was a peace advocate and was not taken seriously. Results thumb|200px|Official record from the Electoral Department. There were 15,330 voters registered in the Christchurch East electorate for the 1938 general election held on 15 October. Results of the Christchurch East general election were:General Election https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19381022.2.85 14 November 2011 The Evening Post 22 October 1938 CXXVI 98 10 Christchurch East general election, 1938 The General Election, 1938 https://atojs.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/atojs?a=d&d=AJHR1939-I.2.3.2.36 National Library 8 February 2012 2 1939 New Zealand Labour Party Tim Armstrong 10,561 75.74 +2.25 New Zealand National Party Ken Armour 3,382 24.26 +1.49 7,179 51.49 +0.76 73 0.52 -0.61 15,330 14,016 91.43 There were 14,835 people on the electoral roll, of which 9,644 voted in the 6 February 1943 by-election. The individual results were: As it had been predicted, the Labour vote was split between Howard and Herring. The National vote was practically unchanged compared to the 1938 general election. With Labour's substantial majority in 1938, even the split vote gained Howard a comfortable win, with Herring (DLP) coming second and Lyons (National) coming third. The two remaining candidates had marginal returns. Howard was the fourth woman to be represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and the fifth woman overall.Women in parliament 1933–2005 http://www.elections.org.nz/study/education-centre/women-in-parliament.html Elections New Zealand 16 November 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20130208182924/http://www.elections.org.nz/study/education-centre/women-in-parliament.html 8 February 2013 dead dmy-all It started Howard's long parliamentary career, which lasted until 1969 when she retired. She was to become the first woman cabinet minister (as Minister of Health in 1947–1949Scholefield 1950 51) in New Zealand. Notes References Scholefield Guy Guy Scholefield New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 3rd First ed. published 1913 1950 Govt. Printer Wellington Christchurch East 1943 Christchurch East 1943 Category:1940s in Christchurch Category:February 1943 in Oceania