1941 Estmerish general election

1941 Estmerish general election

21 October 1941
All 600 seats in the Chamber of Commons 301 seats needed for a majority
Registered	32,167,604
Turnout	27,239,134 (84.68%; 5.3 pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Vincent Holmes Josue Godfray Hugo Gilbert Party SDCP SPP NDP Leader's seat North Peaks Bouley Barrowside Milfield Parks Last election 233 182 83 Seats won 326 126 79 Seat change 93 56 4 Constituency vote 13,077,508 6,417,540 4,129,453 % and swing 48.04% 11.73% 23.58% 10.43% 15.17% 0.07% Party vote 12,547,418 5,065,285 3,626,720 % and swing 46.10% 13.12% 18.61% 10.79% 13.32% 0.89%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Herbert Davies Austen Molyneux David Haig Party ESWI ULP Radical Liberals Leader's seat Hartham Dockside (defeated) Longwood Shoreham (defeated) Last election 51 19 3 Seats won 37 16 4 Seat change 14 3 1 Constituency vote 844,413 1,334,718 335,041 % and swing 3.10% 1.62% 4.90% 0.78% 1.23% Party vote 2,017,468 1,419,442 951,576 % and swing 7.41% 1.22% 5.21% 0.58% 3.50% 0.86%
Prime Minister before election Hugo Gilbert NDP Prime Minister after election Vincent Holmes SDCP

The 1941 Estmerish general election was a snap election held on 21 October 1941. It followed the collapse of the centre-right government of the Hugo Gilbert, who had succeeded Lawrence Montgomerie as Prime Minister after his sudden death in 1939. All 600 seats of the Chamber of Commons were up for election.

The leadership of the parties was seen as a key factor influencing swing voters. Vincent Holmes was seen as a capable, experienced leader who had served in the wartime government-in-exile. With his thick Ricardian accent he was also seen as naturally in touch with the common people. This was contrasted with Gilbert, who was seen as divisive, lacked the charisma or skill of Montgomerie, and whose aristocratic background impaired him greatly. The new Sotirian People's Party leader Josue Godfray also attacked Gilbert's record, giving the governing coalition an image of disunity.

The SDCP led a two-pronged campaign; they pushed the ethical and economic case for socialism, advocating for widespead social reform across the country. The party promised a massive housebuilding campaign, the creation of an extensive welfare state and an aim for full employment. This mannifesto appealed both to their working class base, and to the socially-minded middle classes who feared a return to the deprivation and unemployment of the Great Collapse. The SPP campaign focused on Sotirian values, on maintaining Estmere's place in the world, and on the legacy of Montgomerie. The NDP also focused on international issues, and tried to promote the few successes of Gilbert's administration. Both centre-right parties also attacked the SDCP plans as the "road to councilism", painting Holmes himself as a "diehard communist". These attacks backfired, and painted the centre-right as extreme.

The Social Democratic and Co-operative Party made major advances on its 1938 vote, winning an overall majority in an electoral system where this was uncommon. Turnout increased massively across the country, benefiting the SDCP. President Godfredson called on Holmes to assemble Estmere's first post-war majority government.

Results

There were 27,220,066 valid ballots cast. Turnout was 84.68%, which is to date the highest recorded turnout for an Estmerish general election held under universal suffrage. This represented a 5.3% increase on the votes cast in the 1938 election, with 27,239,134 voters taking part in the election.

Party		Constituency		Party		Seats	+/–
		Votes	%	Votes	%
	Social Democratic and Co-operative Party	13,077,508	48.04	12,547,418	46.10	326	93
	Sotirian People's Party	6,417,540	23.58	5,065,285	18.61	126	56
	National Democratic Party	4,129,453	15.17	3,626,720	13.32	79	4
	Estmerish Section of the Workers' International	844,413	3.10	2,017,468	7.41	37	14
	United Liberal Party	1,334,718	4.90	1,419,442	5.21	16	3
	Radical Liberals	335,041	1.23	951,576	3.50	4	1
	Rally of the Republic	264,220	0.97	667,918	2.45	3	14
	Independent Socialists	275,115	1.01	260,737	0.96	3	1
	Independent Liberals	253,324	0.93	273,374	1.00	2	2
	Independent Conservatives	179,778	0.66	189,928	0.70	2
	Party of the Swathish	49,030	0.18	115,768	0.43	2
	All other parties	59,926	0.22	82,867	0.30	–	–
Total		27,220,066	100.00	27,218,501	100.00	600	600
Valid votes		27,220,066	99.93	27,218,501	99.92
Invalid/blank votes		19,067	0.07	20,633	0.08
Total votes		27,239,133	100.00	27,239,134	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		32,167,604	84.68
Source: EBS News Archive

Popular party vote
SDCP			46.10%
SPP			18.61%
NDP			13.32%
ESWI			7.41%
ULP			5.21%
RL			3.50%
RR			2.45%
Others			3.40%

Parliament seats
SDCP			54.33%
SPP			21.00%
NDP			13.17%
ESWI			6.17%
ULP			2.67%
RL			0.67%
RR			0.50%
Others			1.50%