John Payne (politician)
| John Payne | |
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Grey Lynn |
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In office 1911–1919 |
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| Preceded by | George Fowlds |
| Succeeded by | Fred Bartram |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 November 1871 Manchester, England |
| Died |
27 January 1942 (aged 70) Napier, New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
John Payne (23 November 1871 – 27 January 1942) was a New Zealand politician.
Payne was born in Manchester, England. His father was clerk to a solicitor, and Payne himself initially took up office employment, but later migrated to New Zealand. There, he worked as a farmhand and a goldminer before turning to accountancy. He taught finance in Auckland for a time, and was also involved in the early film business in New Zealand.
In the 1911 general election, Payne stood for Parliament, contesting the seat of Grey Lynn on a left-wing platform for the original Labour Party. Among his proposals were free tertiary education, legislation to increase the power of workers, an expansion of social welfare, a state bank, and the abolition of the Legislative Council. He was elected, defeating George Fowlds of the Liberal Party in a run-off.
In Parliament, Payne supported the Liberals, despite apparently having agreed to support the Reform Party in exchange for their backing in the Grey Lynn run-off. Accusations were made that he had been bribed, and although these were later withdrawn, Payne's relationship with Reform was severely damaged. In 1913, when the Social Democratic Party was established, Payne unofficially allied himself with it, but did not join. In the 1914 election, Payne was re-elected with Social Democrat support—along with two Social Democrats and three members of the United Labour Party, Payne was part of the loose left-wing grouping in Parliament.
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