1941 Estmerish general election

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1941 Estmerish general election

← 1938 21 October 1941 1945 →

All 600 seats in the Chamber of Commons
301 seats needed for a majority
Registered32,167,604
Turnout27,239,134 (84.68%; Increase 5.3 pp)
  First party Second party Third party
  Ernest Bevin MP.jpg Leopold Amery.png 1st Earl of Halifax 1947.jpg
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 Increase93 Decrease56 Decrease4
Constituency vote 13,077,508 6,417,540 4,129,453
% and swing 48.04% Increase11.73% 23.58% Decrease10.43% 15.17% Decrease0.07%
Party vote 12,547,418 5,065,285 3,626,720
% and swing 46.10% Increase13.12% 18.61% Decrease10.79% 13.32% Decrease0.89%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
  Aneurin Bevan (1943).jpg Churchill HU 90973.jpg Clement Davies.jpg
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 Increase14 Increase3 Increase1
Constituency vote 844,413 1,334,718 335,041
% and swing 3.10% Decrease1.62% 4.90% Increase0.78% 1.23% Steady
Party vote 2,017,468 1,419,442 951,576
% and swing 7.41% Decrease1.22% 5.21% Increase0.58% 3.50% Increase0.86%

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", accusing Holmes himself of being a "diehard communist". These attacks backfired, instead painting the centre-right parties as extremist.

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.

Estmere 1941 Election Parliament.svg
PartyConstituencyPartySeats+/–
Votes%Votes%
Social Democratic and Co-operative Party13,077,50848.0412,547,41846.10326Increase93
Sotirian People's Party6,417,54023.585,065,28518.61126Decrease56
National Democratic Party4,129,45315.173,626,72013.3279Decrease4
Estmerish Section of the Workers' International844,4133.102,017,4687.4137Decrease14
United Liberal Party1,334,7184.901,419,4425.2116Decrease3
Radical Liberals335,0411.23951,5763.504Increase1
Rally of the Republic264,2200.97667,9182.453Decrease14
Independent Socialists275,1151.01260,7370.963Decrease1
Independent Liberals253,3240.93273,3741.002Decrease2
Independent Conservatives179,7780.66189,9280.702Steady
Party of the Swathish49,0300.18115,7680.432Steady
All other parties59,9260.2282,8670.30
Total27,220,066100.0027,218,501100.00600600
Valid votes27,220,06699.9327,218,50199.92
Invalid/blank votes19,0680.0720,6330.08
Total votes27,239,134100.0027,239,134100.00
Registered voters/turnout32,167,60484.6832,167,60484.68
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%