From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1941 New South Wales state election
State election for New South Wales, Australia in May 1941
State election for New South Wales, Australia in May 1941
| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| election_name | 1941 New South Wales state election | |
| country | New South Wales | |
| type | parliamentary | |
| ongoing | no | |
| previous_election | 1938 New South Wales state election | |
| previous_year | 1938 | |
| next_election | 1944 New South Wales state election | |
| next_year | 1944 | |
| seats_for_election | All 90 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly | |
| 46 Assembly seats were needed for a majority | ||
| election_date | ||
| image1 | [[File:Williammckell.jpg | 147px]] |
| leader1 | William McKell | |
| leader_since1 | 23 September 1939 | |
| party1 | Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) | |
| leaders_seat1 | Redfern | |
| percentage1 | **50.8%** | |
| swing1 | 12.3 | |
| last_election1 | 30 seats | |
| seats1 | **54** | |
| seat_change1 | 24 | |
| image2 | [[File:Alexander mair.jpg | 150px]] |
| leader2 | Alexander Mair | |
| leader_since2 | 5 August 1939 | |
| party2 | UAP/Country coalition | |
| leaders_seat2 | Albury | |
| percentage2 | 31.3% | |
| swing2 | 18.4 | |
| last_election2 | 59 seats | |
| seats2 | 26 | |
| seat_change2 | 33 | |
| map_image | 1941 New South Wales state election.svg | |
| map_size | 400px | |
| map_caption | Two-candidate-preferred margin by electorate | |
| title | Premier | |
| before_election | Alexander Mair | |
| before_party | UAP/Country coalition | |
| after_election | William McKell | |
| after_party | Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) |
46 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
The 1941 New South Wales state election was held on 10 May 1941. This election was for all of the 90 seats in the 33rd New South Wales Legislative Assembly and was conducted in single-member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting.
Background
The replacement of Jack Lang by William McKell as leader of the Labor Party in 1939 reunited and rejuvenated the party. A small number of Labor party members continued to support the far-left-wing State Labor Party (Hughes-Evans) but that had minimal impact on the election results. The Labor Party moved away from Lang's populist, inflationary policies, which were seen as extremist by many voters in the middle ground of the political spectrum. McKell also improved the party's standing in rural electorates by personally selecting well-known local candidates.
By contrast, the internal party divisions and lack of policy direction affecting the United Australia Party (UAP) had resulted in Alexander Mair replacing Bertram Stevens as leader of the UAP and Premier in August 1939. The problems continued in the period prior to the election and throughout the course of the new parliament. These divisions were reflected federally in the forced resignation of Robert Menzies as the Prime Minister in August 1941, and the UAP disintegrated at a state level in 1943. The remnants of the UAP combined with the newly formed Commonwealth Party to form the Democratic Party in that year. Mair remained Leader of the Opposition until 10 February 1944 when he was replaced by Reginald Weaver.
The result of the election was a landslide victory for the Labor Party:
- Australian Labor Party 54 seats
- Independent Labor 1 seat
- United Australia Party 14 seats
- Independent UAP 5 seats
- Country Party 12 seats
- Independent 4 seats.
The Labor Party government of McKell had a majority of 18 and McKell remained Premier throughout the term of the Parliament. The Labor Party won two further seats from the Country Party at by-elections during the parliament. Jack Lang was expelled from the Labor Party in 1943, having persistently attacked the governments of McKell and Australian Prime minister John Curtin. Lang remained in parliament as the sole representative of Lang Labor.
This would be the first of NSW Labor's eight consecutive election victories.
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 18 April 1941 | The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. |
| 22 April 1941 | Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon. |
| 10 May 1941 | Polling day. |
| 16 May 1941 | First McKell Ministry sworn in. |
| 17 June 1941 | Last day for the writs to be returned and the results formally declared. |
| 28 May 1941 | Opening of 33rd Parliament. |
Results
Main article: Results of the 1941 New South Wales state election
| turnout % = 92.52 | informal % = 2.52 |votes % = 50.80 |votes % = 20.29 |votes % = 11.05 |votes % = 5.64 |votes % = 3.25 |votes % = 2.14 |votes % = 0.64 |votes % = 0.07 |votes % = 6.13 |}{{bar box|title=Popular vote|titlebar=#ddd|width=495px|barwidth=650px|bars=
Retiring members
Changing seats
| Seats changing hands | Seat | *1938* | *1941* | Party | Member | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arncliffe | District abolished | ||||||||
| Ashburnham | Country NSW}} | Labor NSW}} | |||||||
| Barwon | |||||||||
| Blacktown | New district | ||||||||
| Bondi | UAP}} | ||||||||
| Burwood | |||||||||
| Castlereagh | Labor NSW}} | ||||||||
| Concord | |||||||||
| Cook's River | New district | ||||||||
| Coogee | |||||||||
| Cootamundra | District abolished | ||||||||
| Dulwich Hill | UAP}} | Labor NSW}} | |||||||
| Drummoyne | |||||||||
| Dulwich Hill | |||||||||
| Georges River | |||||||||
| Glebe | District abolished | ||||||||
| Gloucester | UAP}} | ||||||||
| Hawkesbury | |||||||||
| Hornsby | |||||||||
| Hurstville | Clive Evatt | Labor NSW}} | |||||||
| Kogarah | |||||||||
| Liverpool Plains | Country NSW}} | ||||||||
| Monaro | |||||||||
| Mosman | Independent UAP}} | ||||||||
| Murrumbidgee | Country NSW}} | ||||||||
| Namoi | Labor NSW}} | ||||||||
| North Sydney | UAP}} | ||||||||
| Orange | |||||||||
| Oxley | |||||||||
| Petersham | District abolished | ||||||||
| Randwick | Labor NSW}} | ||||||||
| Rockdale | New district | ||||||||
| Ryde | UAP}} | Independent UAP}} | |||||||
| South Coast | |||||||||
| Tamworth | |||||||||
| Wagga Wagga | Labor NSW}} | ||||||||
| Waverley | |||||||||
| Wollongong-Kembla | New district | ||||||||
| Yass | |||||||||
| Young |
Notes
References
References
- Green, Antony. "1941 election totals". [[Parliament of New South Wales]].
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1941 New South Wales state election — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report