22nd New Zealand Parliament
Term of the Parliament of New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 22nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. Its composition was determined by the 1925 election, and it sat until the 1928 election.[1]
.JPG)
| 22nd Parliament of New Zealand | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New Zealand Parliament | ||||
| Term | 16 June 1926 – 9 October 1928 | ||||
| Election | 1925 New Zealand general election | ||||
| Government | Reform Government | ||||
| House of Representatives | |||||
 | |||||
| Members | 80 | ||||
| Speaker of the House | Charles Statham | ||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Coates | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Harry Holland | ||||
| Legislative Council | |||||
| Members | 41 (at start) 40 (at end) | ||||
| Speaker of the Council | Sir Walter Carncross | ||||
| Leader of the Council | Sir Francis Bell from 23 June 1927 — Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes until 14 September 1926 | ||||
| Sovereign | |||||
| Monarch | HM George V | ||||
| Governor-General | HE Gen. Sir Charles Fergusson | ||||
Historical context
The 22nd Parliament saw the Reform Party's Gordon Coates continue his rule as Prime Minister, in the continuing Reform Government.
The 22nd Parliament consisted of 80 representatives chosen by geographical electorates: 46 from North Island electorates, 30 from South Island electorates, and four Māori electorates.[2] The Parliament was elected using the First Past the Post electoral voting system.
In 1926, the Reform candidate Sir James Gunson was expected to "romp home" in the Eden by-election. Reform had 55 seats. But with National (Liberal) having 11 seats plus two Liberal-leaning independents and Labour 12, Labour realised their chance to be the official Opposition, "threw their all" into the contest, and became the official Opposition; helped by Ellen Melville standing as Independent Reform. In 1927 a Labour farmer Lee Martin won the Raglan by-election against a weak Reform candidate plus Country Party, Liberal and Independent Reform candidates. [3]
Parliamentary sessions
The Parliament sat for three sessions:[4]
| Session | from | to |
|---|---|---|
| First | 16 Jun 1926 | 11 Sep 1926 |
| Second | 23 Jun 1927 | 5 Dec 1927 |
| Third | 28 Jun 1928 | 9 Oct 1928 |
Party standings
Start of Parliament
| Party | Leader(s) | Seats at start | |
| Reform Party | Gordon Coates | 55 | |
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 12 | |
| Liberal Party | George Forbes | 11 | |
| Independents | 2 | ||
End of Parliament
| Party | Leader(s) | Seats at end | |
| Reform Party | Gordon Coates | 53 | |
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 14 | |
| United Party | Sir Joseph Ward | 11 | |
| Independents | 2 | ||
Initial composition of the 22nd Parliament
The election results were as follows:
Key
Reform Labour Liberal Country Party Independent Liberal Independent
Table footnotes:
- Melville Lyons was elected for the Reform Party, originally the votes were equal (4900), then a recount found for Lyons. But on appeal his election was declared void on 13 March 1926, and the previous holder, James McCombs, was restored as the electorate representative.
By-elections during 22nd Parliament
There were a number of changes during the term of the 22nd Parliament.
| Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eden | 1926 | 15 April[14] | James Parr | Appointed High Commissioner, UK | Rex Mason | ||
| Raglan | 1927 | 29 September[15] | Richard Bollard | Death | Lee Martin | ||