United–Reform Coalition

The following year the coalition was formalised by the formation of the modern New Zealand National Party.

The Labour Party refused to join the coalition, as it believed that the only solution to the depression was socialism.

[3] In the subsequent election, the coalition won 54.0% of the popular vote, compared to 34.3% for Labour.

The government was widely seen as heartless, encapsulated by the commonly believed but probably untrue story that Finance Minister Gordon Coates had told a delegation of unemployed men to go and eat grass.

In 1931 only 24 of 53 electorates where Labour stood had only one anti-Labour candidate: e.g. Auckland West had H. R. Mackenzie from United and John Allum from Reform, who together got little more than half the votes of the winner – Mickey Savage.