1901 General Election

Published on May 19, 2022 at 17:35

1898 Election
1903 Election

The 1901 General Election was the twelfth general election to the Ivonian Parliament, and the first in the twentieth century. The incumbent Conservative Party Government led by Seward Spalding sought to defend its majority against the divided left-wing opposition. The 1898 election had seen the defeat of the eighteen year Dominion Party government, and the return of the political right to power. The Dominion Party had been defending a one-seat majority, a task made harder by the emergence of the Socialist Party which thoroughly splintered the left-of-center vote.

The Conservative Government campaigned quietly - their nineteen seats left them with plenty of buffer against a potential loss of seats to the left, in any case. The two left-of-center parties primarily fought each other, although the general mood in the two camps was quite different. Where the Socialist Party was confident of securing its place as the primary left-of-center party, the Dominion Party's campaign was grim as they did not expect a reversal in their fortunes. They were fighting to hold on to the single seat that they had, former Prime Minister Ramsey Hawkins' own seat, but saw few opportunities for expansion against the Socialist Party. Unlike the Country Party, which had been displaced as the primary conservative party, the Dominion Party did not have any region of the nation to retreat to.

Spalding went to the Governor-General on November 11, 1901, and the election was set for December 16, 1901. The Whitaker Herald pre-election survey found the favorabilities for the parties as 35% in favor of the Country Party, 54% in favor of the Conservative Party, 61% in favor of the Dominion Party and 45% in favor of the Socialist Party.

Results

Although the Conservative Party was returned to government, the results were unexpected, particularly on the left. The Dominion Party emerged from the campaign as the primary force on the left, although only barely, as they gained four seats to end the election on five. After taking two seats from the Socialists, their primary challenge for the future lay in wresting seats away from the Conservatives.

The election continued a trend towards the majority party securing a smaller share of the popular vote, with the Conservatives winning a clear majority on only 28.7% of the vote after substantial vote splitting in nearly every electorate.

The Country Party saw its vote share increase slightly to 25.4% of the national vote. More importantly, they were only a few percent behind the Conservatives in several seats, which left large targets painted on the backs of these Conservative incumbents.

Spalding went to the Governor-General on December 18th to receive his commission as Prime Minister.

Summary of Results

Party	Votes	Votes %	Seats	Seats %	Votes Δ	Votes % Δ	Seats Δ	Seats % Δ
Conservative	691,183	28.70%	17	68.00%	-103,320	-4.29%	-2	-8.00%
Dominion	608,556	25.27%	5	20.00%	134,859	5.60%	4	16.00%
Country	611,690	25.40%	2	8.00%	35,788	1.48%	0	0.00%
Socialist	496,618	20.62%	1	4.00%	-67,064	-2.79%	-2	-8.00%

Seats Changing Hands

Seat	Winner	Previous Winner	Swing Required	Two-Party Swing
Northampton River	Dominion	Conservative	5.21%	5.61%
Port Elizabeth	Dominion	Socialist	4.57%	5.14%
Princeton	Dominion	Conservative	5.27%	6.21%
Salem	Dominion	Socialist	6.12%	6.37%

Target Seats by Party

Target Seats for the Conservative Party

Seat	Province	Current Holder	Raw Margin
Northampton River	North Bay	Dominion	0.81%
Salem	South Yorkshire	Dominion	1.36%
Princeton	South Yorkshire	Dominion	1.87%
Port Elizabeth	North Bay	Dominion	3.03%
Lakeville	Westmoreland	Dominion	3.20%
South Country	Southshore	Country	7.65%
South Coast	Southshore	Country	10.48%
Outer North Bay	North Bay	Socialist	19.96%

Target Seats for the Country Party

Seat	Province	Current Holder	Raw Margin
Sedgwick Country	Southshore	Conservative	1.20%
Madison	Westmoreland	Conservative	2.61%
Upper Coast	Westmoreland	Conservative	2.82%
Whitaker Outer	Southshore	Conservative	3.07%
Outer Anglia	New Anglia	Conservative	3.28%
Port Henry	Westmoreland	Conservative	3.41%
Enfield	South Yorkshire	Conservative	3.54%
Bloomington	South Yorkshire	Conservative	3.60%
Northampton	North Bay	Conservative	3.66%
South York	South Yorkshire	Conservative	4.00%
Westgate Centre	Westmoreland	Conservative	4.04%
Fort William	New Anglia	Conservative	4.07%
Irvington	South Yorkshire	Conservative	4.46%
Whitaker Centre	Southshore	Conservative	4.48%
Port of Whitaker	Southshore	Conservative	5.16%
Salem	South Yorkshire	Dominion	5.97%
Stanton	Westmoreland	Conservative	6.02%
Sedgwick	Southshore	Conservative	6.28%
Northampton River	North Bay	Dominion	7.12%
Princeton	South Yorkshire	Dominion	8.36%
Port Elizabeth	North Bay	Dominion	8.45%
Lakeville	Westmoreland	Dominion	10.90%
Outer North Bay	North Bay	Socialist	26.52%

Target Seats for the Dominion Party

Seat	Province	Current Holder	Raw Margin
Port of Whitaker	Southshore	Conservative	0.40%
Stanton	Westmoreland	Conservative	0.62%
Whitaker Centre	Southshore	Conservative	2.17%
Irvington	South Yorkshire	Conservative	2.43%
Enfield	South Yorkshire	Conservative	3.49%
South York	South Yorkshire	Conservative	3.93%
Outer Anglia	New Anglia	Conservative	4.74%
Westgate Centre	Westmoreland	Conservative	4.84%
Fort William	New Anglia	Conservative	5.30%
Bloomington	South Yorkshire	Conservative	5.49%
Madison	Westmoreland	Conservative	6.33%
Outer North Bay	North Bay	Socialist	6.69%
Port Henry	Westmoreland	Conservative	8.82%
Sedgwick Country	Southshore	Conservative	9.32%
Northampton	North Bay	Conservative	9.47%
Upper Coast	Westmoreland	Conservative	9.54%
Whitaker Outer	Southshore	Conservative	9.76%
Sedgwick	Southshore	Conservative	10.82%
South Country	Southshore	Country	14.61%
South Coast	Southshore	Country	17.75%

Target Seats for the Socialist Party

Seat	Province	Current Holder	Raw Margin
Salem	South Yorkshire	Dominion	0.49%
Port Elizabeth	North Bay	Dominion	1.15%
Port of Whitaker	Southshore	Conservative	4.01%
Princeton	South Yorkshire	Dominion	4.33%
Northampton River	North Bay	Dominion	4.81%
Lakeville	Westmoreland	Dominion	5.38%
Whitaker Centre	Southshore	Conservative	6.08%
Stanton	Westmoreland	Conservative	6.21%
Irvington	South Yorkshire	Conservative	6.26%
Enfield	South Yorkshire	Conservative	6.62%
Outer Anglia	New Anglia	Conservative	8.23%
South York	South Yorkshire	Conservative	8.35%
Madison	Westmoreland	Conservative	9.88%
Westgate Centre	Westmoreland	Conservative	9.96%
Bloomington	South Yorkshire	Conservative	10.49%
Fort William	New Anglia	Conservative	11.05%
Sedgwick Country	Southshore	Conservative	12.77%
Port Henry	Westmoreland	Conservative	16.50%
Upper Coast	Westmoreland	Conservative	16.82%
Whitaker Outer	Southshore	Conservative	17.82%
Northampton	North Bay	Conservative	18.35%
South Coast	Southshore	Country	21.90%
South Country	Southshore	Country	23.76%
Sedgwick	Southshore	Conservative	26.20%

Seat Details

Results in Fort William, New Anglia

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	24,836	30.11%	28,898	35.02%	-4.92%
Country	21,477	26.03%	20,095	24.35%	1.68%
Dominion	20,460	24.80%	15,610	18.92%	5.88%
Socialist	15,724	19.06%	17,906	21.70%	-2.64%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Fort William, after winning 30.11% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.92%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 4.07%.

Results in Outer Anglia, New Anglia

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	30,564	29.06%	35,595	33.85%	-4.78%
Country	27,118	25.78%	25,304	24.06%	1.72%
Dominion	25,580	24.32%	19,432	18.48%	5.85%
Socialist	21,910	20.83%	24,839	23.62%	-2.79%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Outer Anglia, after winning 29.06% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.78%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 3.28%.

Results in Northampton, North Bay

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	24,156	32.87%	28,045	38.16%	-5.29%
Country	21,463	29.21%	20,054	27.28%	1.92%
Dominion	17,196	23.40%	13,105	17.83%	5.57%
Socialist	10,673	14.52%	12,295	16.73%	-2.20%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Northampton, after winning 32.87% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 5.29%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 3.66%.

Results in Northampton River, North Bay

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Dominion	28,492	28.19%	21,874	21.66%	6.53%
Conservative*	27,673	27.38%	32,387	32.07%	-4.69%
Socialist	23,632	23.38%	26,762	26.50%	-3.12%
Country	21,290	21.06%	19,966	19.77%	1.29%

The Dominion Party won the seat of Northampton River, after winning 28.19% of the vote. They gained the seat from the Conservative Party after a swing of 5.61%, and a relative two-party swing of 10.42%. This was enough to exceed the required two-party swing of 5.21%; the seat now sits on a raw margin of 0.81%.

Results in Outer North Bay, North Bay

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Socialist*	34,348	38.30%	34,287	38.24%	0.05%
Dominion	28,345	31.60%	29,178	32.54%	-0.94%
Conservative	16,442	18.33%	16,975	18.93%	-0.60%
Country	10,558	11.77%	9,220	10.28%	1.49%

The Socialist Party won the seat of Outer North Bay, after winning 38.30% of the vote. They held the seat and saw their share of the vote increase by 0.05%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 6.69%.

Results in Port Elizabeth, North Bay

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Dominion	31,805	28.16%	24,209	21.43%	6.72%
Socialist*	30,510	27.01%	34,535	30.58%	-3.57%
Conservative	28,383	25.13%	33,278	29.46%	-4.34%
Country	22,260	19.71%	20,921	18.52%	1.18%

The Dominion Party won the seat of Port Elizabeth, after winning 28.16% of the vote. They gained the seat from the Socialist Party after a swing of 5.14%, and a relative two-party swing of 9.83%. This was enough to exceed the required two-party swing of 4.57%; the seat now sits on a raw margin of 1.15%.

Results in Bloomington, South Yorkshire

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	22,703	29.90%	26,286	34.61%	-4.72%
Country	19,970	26.30%	18,548	24.42%	1.87%
Dominion	18,532	24.40%	13,426	17.68%	6.72%
Socialist	14,736	19.40%	17,682	23.28%	-3.88%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Bloomington, after winning 29.90% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.72%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 3.60%.

Results in Enfield, South Yorkshire

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	22,669	28.41%	26,246	32.90%	-4.48%
Dominion	19,885	24.92%	14,195	17.79%	7.13%
Country	19,846	24.87%	18,422	23.09%	1.78%
Socialist	17,386	21.79%	20,919	26.22%	-4.43%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Enfield, after winning 28.41% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.48%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 3.49%.

Results in Irvington, South Yorkshire

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	23,329	28.29%	27,023	32.77%	-4.48%
Dominion	21,323	25.85%	15,293	18.54%	7.31%
Country	19,654	23.83%	18,331	22.23%	1.60%
Socialist	18,167	22.03%	21,825	26.46%	-4.44%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Irvington, after winning 28.29% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.48%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 2.43%.

Results in Princeton, South Yorkshire

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Dominion	26,323	28.64%	18,896	20.58%	8.06%
Conservative*	24,606	26.77%	28,578	31.13%	-4.36%
Socialist	22,345	24.31%	26,850	29.24%	-4.93%
Country	18,639	20.28%	17,489	19.05%	1.23%

The Dominion Party won the seat of Princeton, after winning 28.64% of the vote. They gained the seat from the Conservative Party after a swing of 6.21%, and a relative two-party swing of 11.88%. This was enough to exceed the required two-party swing of 5.27%; the seat now sits on a raw margin of 1.87%.

Results in Salem, South Yorkshire

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Dominion	26,468	26.96%	18,941	19.29%	7.67%
Socialist*	25,984	26.46%	30,966	31.54%	-5.07%
Conservative	25,130	25.59%	29,104	29.64%	-4.05%
Country	20,602	20.98%	19,173	19.53%	1.46%

The Dominion Party won the seat of Salem, after winning 26.96% of the vote. They gained the seat from the Socialist Party after a swing of 6.37%, and a relative two-party swing of 12.51%. This was enough to exceed the required two-party swing of 6.12%; the seat now sits on a raw margin of 0.49%.

Results in South York, South Yorkshire

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	33,907	29.07%	39,272	33.67%	-4.60%
Dominion	29,324	25.14%	21,089	18.08%	7.06%
Country	29,247	25.07%	27,233	23.35%	1.73%
Socialist	24,163	20.72%	29,047	24.90%	-4.19%

The Conservative Party won the seat of South York, after winning 29.07% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.60%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 3.93%.

Results in Port of Whitaker, Southshore

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	34,634	27.39%	40,498	32.03%	-4.64%
Dominion	34,127	26.99%	25,902	20.49%	6.51%
Socialist	29,567	23.38%	33,594	26.57%	-3.18%
Country	28,110	22.23%	26,447	20.92%	1.32%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Port of Whitaker, after winning 27.39% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.64%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 0.40%.

Results in Sedgwick, Southshore

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	18,167	35.83%	21,106	41.63%	-5.80%
Country	14,985	29.55%	14,082	27.77%	1.78%
Dominion	12,678	25.00%	9,834	19.39%	5.61%
Socialist	4,879	9.62%	5,682	11.21%	-1.58%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Sedgwick, after winning 35.83% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 5.80%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 6.28%.

Results in Sedgwick Country, Southshore

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	27,485	30.82%	31,913	35.79%	-4.97%
Country	26,414	29.62%	24,575	27.56%	2.06%
Dominion	19,176	21.51%	14,391	16.14%	5.37%
Socialist	16,094	18.05%	18,291	20.51%	-2.46%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Sedgwick Country, after winning 30.82% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.97%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 1.20%.

Results in South Coast, Southshore

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Country*	38,866	37.53%	39,518	38.16%	-0.63%
Conservative	28,014	27.05%	30,673	29.62%	-2.57%
Dominion	20,488	19.79%	15,100	14.58%	5.20%
Socialist	16,185	15.63%	18,263	17.64%	-2.01%

The Country Party won the seat of South Coast, after winning 37.53% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 0.63%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 10.48%.

Results in South Country, Southshore

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Country*	34,722	36.50%	35,524	37.35%	-0.85%
Conservative	27,448	28.86%	30,164	31.72%	-2.86%
Dominion	20,829	21.90%	15,642	16.45%	5.45%
Socialist	12,120	12.74%	13,771	14.48%	-1.74%

The Country Party won the seat of South Country, after winning 36.50% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 0.85%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 7.65%.

Results in Whitaker Centre, Southshore

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	36,843	28.18%	43,067	32.94%	-4.76%
Dominion	34,004	26.01%	25,862	19.78%	6.23%
Country	30,988	23.70%	29,085	22.25%	1.46%
Socialist	28,890	22.10%	32,711	25.02%	-2.92%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Whitaker Centre, after winning 28.18% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.76%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 2.17%.

Results in Whitaker Outer, Southshore

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	31,745	32.66%	36,901	37.96%	-5.30%
Country	28,762	29.59%	26,857	27.63%	1.96%
Dominion	22,262	22.90%	16,951	17.44%	5.47%
Socialist	14,428	14.84%	16,498	16.97%	-2.13%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Whitaker Outer, after winning 32.66% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 5.30%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 3.07%.

Results in Lakeville, Westmoreland

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Dominion*	24,104	29.87%	23,231	28.79%	1.08%
Conservative	21,520	26.67%	23,156	28.69%	-2.02%
Socialist	19,760	24.49%	20,576	25.50%	-1.01%
Country	15,307	18.97%	13,736	17.02%	1.95%

The Dominion Party won the seat of Lakeville, after winning 29.87% of the vote. They held the seat and saw their share of the vote increase by 1.08%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 3.20%.

Results in Madison, Westmoreland

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	20,476	29.71%	23,837	34.58%	-4.88%
Country	18,677	27.10%	17,388	25.23%	1.87%
Dominion	16,115	23.38%	12,288	17.83%	5.55%
Socialist	13,663	19.82%	15,416	22.37%	-2.54%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Madison, after winning 29.71% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.88%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 2.61%.

Results in Port Henry, Westmoreland

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	41,431	32.18%	48,225	37.46%	-5.28%
Country	37,043	28.77%	34,632	26.90%	1.87%
Dominion	30,079	23.36%	22,986	17.86%	5.51%
Socialist	20,191	15.68%	22,890	17.78%	-2.10%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Port Henry, after winning 32.18% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 5.28%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 3.41%.

Results in Stanton, Westmoreland

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	22,545	28.21%	26,404	33.04%	-4.83%
Dominion	22,050	27.59%	16,870	21.11%	6.48%
Country	17,731	22.19%	16,745	20.96%	1.23%
Socialist	17,582	22.00%	19,886	24.89%	-2.88%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Stanton, after winning 28.21% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 4.83%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 0.62%.

Results in Upper Coast, Westmoreland

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	38,571	32.29%	44,816	37.53%	-5.24%
Country	35,204	29.47%	32,869	27.52%	1.95%
Dominion	27,182	22.76%	20,569	17.22%	5.53%
Socialist	18,480	15.47%	21,162	17.72%	-2.25%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Upper Coast, after winning 32.29% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 5.24%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 2.82%.

Results in Westgate Centre, Westmoreland

Party	Votes	Percent	Previous Votes	Previous Percent	Percent Change
Conservative*	37,906	29.71%	42,056	32.96%	-3.25%
Country	32,757	25.67%	29,688	23.27%	2.41%
Dominion	31,729	24.87%	28,823	22.59%	2.28%
Socialist	25,201	19.75%	27,029	21.18%	-1.43%

The Conservative Party won the seat of Westgate Centre, after winning 29.71% of the vote. They held the seat despite a fall in their share of the vote by 3.25%. The seat now sits on a raw margin of 4.04%.