Political activity

Born in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1870, Withy arrived in New Zealand in 1884. He was a journalist and prominent single-taxer (i.e. a land tax) and follower of Henry George

Henry George

Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...

. He was Secretary of the New Zealand Land Values League.

Arthur Withy was a Liberal Party (UK)

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 candidate for South Herefordshire

South Herefordshire

South Herefordshire was one of nine local government districts of the English county of Hereford and Worcester from 1974 to 1998.South Herefordshire District was formed on 1 April 1974 as part of a general reorganisation of local administration in England and Wales under the Local Government Act 1972...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in 1895 and a candidate for the New Zealand Liberal Party

New Zealand Liberal Party

The New Zealand Liberal Party is generally regarded as having been the first real political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. Out of office, the Liberals gradually found themselves pressed between the conservative Reform Party and the growing Labour Party...

 for the Parnell

Parnell (New Zealand electorate)

Parnell was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Auckland, New Zealand, from 1861 to 1954.The electorate was represented by ten Members of Parliament:* Reader Wood 1861–65 & 1870–78* Robert James Creighton 1865–66* Frederick Whitaker 1866–67...

 electorate in 1896. He was a member of the United Labour Party

United Labour Party (New Zealand)

The United Labour Party of New Zealand was an early left-wing political party. Founded in 1912, it represented the more moderate wing of the labour movement. In 1916 it joined with other political groups to establish the modern Labour Party.- Origins :...

 National Executive 1912-13 and an Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 Labour

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

 candidate for Auckland East

Auckland East

Auckland East was a New Zealand electorate, situated in the east of Auckland.-History:The Auckland East electorate was established for the 1860-1861 elections, when the Auckland electorate was split in half. It consisted of most of modern Auckland's central business district...

 in 1911.

Arthur Withy died in 1943.

Withy's father Edward Withy

Edward Withy

Edward Withy was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand.He represented the Auckland electorate of Newton from 1887 to 1890, when he retired....

 had been a shipbuilder in Bristol, England until he emigrated to New Zealand in 1884. He represented Newton

Newton (New Zealand electorate)

Newton was a 19th century parliamentary electorate in Auckland, New Zealand.-History:Newton existed from 1861 to 1893. It was created for the 3rd New Zealand Parliament and ran to the end of the 11th Parliament, and was represented by seven MPs:...

 in the New Zealand Parliament from 1887 to 1890.

Further reading

Labour's Path to Political Independence: the Origins and Establishment of the NZLP 1900-19 by Barry Gustafson

Barry Gustafson

Barry Gustafson is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as Professor of Political Studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Director of the New Zealand Asia Institute from 2004 to 2006.-Politics and...

(1980, Oxford University Press, Auckland)