The 1921 Auckland East by-election was a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in the

New Zealand electorate An electorate or electoral district ( mi, rohe pōti) is a geographical constituency used for electing a member () to the New Zealand Parliament. The size of electorates is determined such that all electorates have approximately the same populati ...

of Auckland East, an urban seat at the top of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. The by-election was held on 2 December 1921, and was precipitated by the resignation of sitting

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member of parliament and former Mayor of Auckland, Arthur Myers.

Background

The Labour Party selected

John A. Lee John Alfred Alexander Lee (31 October 1891 – 13 June 1982) was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialism in New Zealand, socialists in New Zealand's political history. Lee was elected as a me ...

, the President of the Auckland Labour Representation Committee, as their candidate. Unsuccessful nominees for the Labour candidacy were Rex Mason, James Purtell and

Robert Frederick Way Robert Frederick Way (1872 – 30 June 1947) was a New Zealand politician and trade unionist. He was an organiser and candidate for the Socialist Party, Social Democratic Party then the Labour Party standing many time for office himself. Biogr ...

Result

The following table gives the election results:

Aftermath

Lee defeated Mackenzie in the ; both had war disabilities.

References

Auckland East 1921 1921 elections in New Zealand History of Auckland Politics of the Auckland Region 1920s in Auckland {{NewZealand-election-stub