1943 United Australia Party leadership election

April 2022 none United Australia Partyleadership election, 1943 Alternate United Australia Party logo.svg presidential Caucus no 1941 United Australia Party leadership election 1941 1966 Liberal Party of Australia leadership election 1966(Lib.) 22 September 1943 First Ballot Second Ballot Seat 150x150px Robert Menzies 00008B 13? 14? Kooyong (VIC) 150x150px Thomas White 00008B Uncertain 7? Balaclava (VIC) 150x150px Allan McDonald 00008B Uncertain 5? Corangamite (VIC) 150x150px Percy Spender 00008B Uncertain Eliminated Warringah (NSW) Leader Billy Hughes Robert Menzies The United Australia Party (UAP) held a leadership election on 22 September 1943, following the resignation of Billy Hughes. Robert Menzies, the party's leader from 1939 to 1941, was elected as his replacement, defeating three other candidates – Thomas White, Allan McDonald, and Percy Spender. Background Hughes had been elected party leader in 1941, following the defeat of the Coalition government led by Arthur Fadden, the leader of the Country Party. The UAP simultaneously voted to form a "joint opposition" with the Country Party, under Fadden as Leader of the Opposition. Hughes, who had his 80th birthday in 1942, was viewed as a figurehead more than anything else, and the party virtually ceased to exist as a separate entity under his leadership; at one point there were no partyroom meetings for more than a year.Fitzhardinge Laurence Laurie Fitzhardinge 1979 William Morris Hughes: A Political Biography / Vol. 2: The Little Digger, 1914–1952 Angus & Robertson 661 0207132453 At a meeting on 25 March 1943, a spill motion was put forward and defeated 24–15; it had been expected that the vote would be much closer.UAP LEADER, The West Australian, 27 March 1943. The following month, Menzies and his supporters formed a ginger group within the UAP, known as the National Service Group, to push for "new and vigorous leadership". They would remain in the party, but no longer attend its meetings, only those of the joint opposition. Hughes denounced them as "a reactionary clique". Election and aftermath A federal election took place on 21 August 1943, at which the Coalition was defeated in a landslide. Hughes announced his resignation on 22 September, and four candidates stood as his replacement – Menzies, Thomas White, Allan McDonald, and Percy Spender. Spender was eliminated on the first ballot, where Menzies reportedly failed to secure a majority by only a single vote. He won an absolute majority on the second ballot. The exact figures were not announced, but it was reported that Menzies obtained 14 votes out of 26 on the second ballot and that White and McDonald shared the remainder "nearly equally".MENZIES TO LEAD OPPOSITION, The Courier-Mail, 23 September 1943. An election was also held for the deputy leadership, which had been vacant since 1939. White, McDonald, Spender, Harold Holt, and William Hutchinson all nominated, but withdrew when Hughes announced he wished to be a candidate, allowing him to be returned unanimously. At the same meeting, the UAP voted to end the joint opposition arrangement with the Country Party. As a result, Menzies replaced Fadden as Leader of the Opposition.MR. MENZIES TO LEAD U.A.P. & OPPOSITION, The Age, 23 September 1943. See also 1943 Australian federal election References Category:United Australia Party Category:September 1943 in Australia Category:1943 elections in Australia Category:Robert Menzies Category:Australian leadership spills United Australia Party leadership election