Hutt by-election, 1929

Hutt by-election, 1929

1928 general ← 18 December 1929 (1929-12-18) → 1931 general

Candidate Walter Nash James Kerr Harold Johnston Party Labour United Reform Popular vote 5,047 4,835 2,570 Percentage 40.53% 38.83% 20.64%

Hutt electorate boundaries used for the by-election

Member before election Thomas Wilford United Elected Member Walter Nash Labour

Thomas Wilford
United

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. 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.

After standing in Hutt for Labour in both 1925 and 1928, Walter Nash's selection as the Labour candidate for the by-election came as no surprise. Nash came a respectable second to Wilford and was seen as well capable of winning the seat. He was the current General Secretary of the Labour Party and was thus well known. Local newspaper the Hutt News printed several articles through the campaigning attempting to discredit Nash as a Soviet-style socialist.Peter Fraser served as the campaign organiser, and Mark Fagan was Nash's election secretary.

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