1955 Australian federal election

none April 2024 June 2023 1955 Australian federal election Australia parliamentary no 1954 Australian federal election 1954 1958 Australian federal election 1958 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1954–1955 Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1955–1958 5,172,443 1.49% 4,525,774 (95.00%)Turnout in contested seats(1.09 pp) All 124The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory each had one seat, but members for the territories did not have full voting rights until 1966 and did not count toward government formation. seats of the House of Representatives 62 seats were needed for a majority in the House 30 (of the 60) seats of the Senate 10 December 1955 File:Robert Menzies headshot (cropped).jpg 190x190px Robert Menzies 23 September 1943 Liberal Party of Australia LiberalCountry Kooyong (Vic.) 64 seats 75 11 2,093,430 47.67% 0.10 54.20% 4.90 Image:Herbert V. Evatt.jpg H. V. Evatt 13 June 1951 Australian Labor Party Barton (NSW) 57 seats 47 + NT + ACT 10 1,961,359 44.65% 5.42 45.80% 4.90 TPP TPP swing 1955 Australian federal election.svg 350px Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory. Prime Minister Robert Menzies Liberal/Country coalition Subsequent Prime Minister Robert Menzies Liberal/Country coalition Primary A federal election was held in Australia on 10 December 1955. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives and 30 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election. An early election was called to bring the House and Senate elections back in line; the previous election in 1954 had been House-only. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies increased its majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by H. V. Evatt. Future Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and future opposition leader Billy Snedden both entered parliament at this election. Results House of Representatives Results of the 1955 Australian federal election (House of Representatives) thumb|#F00011 Labor: 47 seats #00008B Liberal: 56 seats #008000 Country: 18 seats + House of Reps (IRV) — 1955–58—Turnout 95.00% (CV) — Informal 2.88%alt=|center|300x300px Party First preference votes % Swing Seats Change   Liberal–Country coalition 2,093,430 47.67 +0.10 75 +11  Liberal100px 1,745,985 39.75 +0.75 57 +10  Country100px 347,445 7.91 –0.66 18 +1   Labor 1,961,359 44.65 –5.42 49Including Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory –10   Anti-Communist Labor 227,083 5.17 +5.17 0 0   Communist 51,001 1.16 –0.09 0 0   Independents 60,042 1.37 +0.26 0 0  Total 4,392,915     122 +1 Two-party-preferred (estimated)   Liberal–Country coalition Win 54.20 +4.90 75 +11   Labor 45.80 −4.90 49 −10 Ten members were elected unopposed – five Liberal and five Country. This would be the last federal election where any seat attracted only one candidate. First preference vote var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Labor Australian Labor Party 44.65 Liberal Liberal Party of Australia 39.75 Country National Party of Australia 7.91 ALP AC #008080 5.17 Independent #777777 1.37 Communist #AA0000 1.16 Two-party-preferred vote var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Coalition Coalition (Australia) 54.20 Labor Australian Labor Party 45.80 Parliament seats var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Coalition Coalition (Australia) 61.48 Labor Australian Labor Party 38.52 Senate + Senate (STV) — 1955–58—Turnout 95.01% (CV) — Informal 9.63%alt=|center|300x300px Party First preference votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Change   Liberal–Country coalition 2,161,460 48.68 +4.25 17 30 –1   Liberal–Country joint ticket 1,748,878 39.38 +12.93 8 N/A N/A   Liberal 384,732 8.66 –9.32 8 24 –2   Country 27,850 0.63 +0.63 1 6 +1   Labor 1,803,335 40.61 –10.00 12 28 –1   Anti-Communist Labor 271,067 6.10 +6.10 1 2 +2   Communist 161,869 3.64 +0.59 0 0 0   Henry George Justice 3,366 0.08 –0.22 0 0 0   Independents 39,928 0.90 +0.36 0 0 0   Total 4,441,025     30 60 Seats changing hands Seat Pre-1955 Swing Post-1955 Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Ballaarat, Vic  Labor Bob Joshua* 2.6 10.7 7.9 Dudley Erwin Liberal  Hume, NSW  Labor Arthur Fuller 2,2 3.5 2.2 Charles Anderson Country  Maribyrnong, Vic  Labor Arthur Drakeford 16.1 7.5 0.1 Philip Stokes Liberal  Perth, WA  Labor Tom Burke 2.3 3.8 1.5 Fred Chaney Liberal  Philip, NSW  Labor Joe Fitzgerald 8.9 5.7 1.1 William Aston Liberal  St George, NSW  Labor Nelson Lemmon 2.7 5.8 3.4 Bill Graham Liberal  Bob Joshua contested his seat as a candidate for the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist). See also Candidates of the 1955 Australian federal election Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1955–1958 Members of the Australian Senate, 1956–1959 Notes References University of WA https://web.archive.org/web/20150118085343/http://elections.uwa.edu.au/ 18 January 2015 election results in Australia since 1890 AEC 2PP vote Adam Carr's Election Archive - Senate 1955 Prior to 1984 the AEC did not undertake a full distribution of preferences for statistical purposes. The stored ballot papers for the 1983 election were put through this process prior to their destruction. Therefore, the figures from 1983 onwards show the actual result based on full distribution of preferences. Category:Federal elections in Australia Category:1955 elections in Australia Category:December 1955 in Australia