Alexander Harris (1878 – 24 August 1952) was a Member of Parliament for the electorate in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand.

Birth and education

He was born in London in 1878, and educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

, London.

Member of Parliament

Alexander Harris represented Waitemata in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for 24 years from 1911 to 1935.

Independent

In July 1927, Alex Harris publicly stated that he wanted more "freedom of action" and announced that he had "no intention of attending any caucuses of the Reform Party". Harris and his colleague, Vivian Potter, were opposed to

Gordon Coates Joseph Gordon Coates (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912. Born in rural Northland, Coates grew up on a cattle run a ...

and his moves to introduce public ferries and buses to compete with private enterprise in Auckland; an approach they regarded as "socialist". In retaliation, Coates removed Harris from his position as Chairman of the Commerce Select Committee.

Notes

References

* * * 1878 births 1952 deaths Independent MPs of New Zealand Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election People educated at Dulwich College English emigrants to New Zealand {{NewZealand-Liberal-politician-stub