1938 South Australian state election

none April 2022 1938 South Australian state election South Australia parliamentary no 1933 South Australian state election 1933 1941 South Australian state election 1941 All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly 20 seats were needed for a majority yes 1938 03 19 150x150px Richard L. Butler 7 December 1925 Liberal and Country League Wooroora 33.44% 1.18 29 seats 15 seats 14 150x150px Andrew Lacey 22 April 1933 Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) Port Pirie 26.16% 1.61 6 seats 9 seats 3 Premier Richard L. Butler Liberal and Country League Richard L. Butler Liberal and Country League State elections were held in South Australia on 19 March 1938. All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal and Country League government led by Premier of South Australia Richard L. Butler defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Andrew Lacey. Background This election was the start of the electoral malapportionment which became known as the Playmander. It consisted of rural districts enjoying a 2-to-1 advantage in the state parliament, even though they contained less than half of the population, as well as a change from multi-member to single-member electorates, and the number of MPs in the lower house was reduced from 46 to 39. Labor remained out of power until the 1965 election. Tom Stott was one of 14 of 39 lower house MPs to be elected as an independent, which as a grouping won 40 percent of the primary vote, more than either of the major parties. Stott was the de facto leader of the independent caucus within parliament. The incumbent Butler LCL minority government only won 15 of 39 seats, which led to uncertainty over which party, if any, could form government. This confusion led Stott, as the most experienced and well known of the independent MPs, to believe that he could become Premier of South Australia. He failed to gain the support of sufficient independents and LCL members to achieve this but, as the de facto leader of the independent caucus within parliament, the LCL government were often forced to rely on his support. Results thumb|400px|right|Arrangement of the House of Assembly after the 1938 state election. South Australian state election, 19 March 1938Summary of 1938 Election http://elections.uwa.edu.au/elecdetail.lasso?keyvalue=822 University of Western Australia 7 July 2015 House of Assembly South Australian state election 1933 1941 364,884 233,136 63.31% +3.86% 14,811 2.16% -2.71% yes LCL 72,998 33.44% –1.18% 15 – 14 Labor SA 57,124 26.16% –1.61% 9 + 3 Single Tax League 1,451 0.66% –2.46% 1 ± 0 Independent 74,412 34.08% +20.67% 12 + 9 Independent Labor SA 12,340 5.65% * 2 + 2 218,325 39 |} See also Results of the South Australian state election, 1938 (House of Assembly) Candidates of the South Australian state election, 1938 Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1938-1941 Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1938–1941 Playmander References History of South Australian elections 1857-2006, volume 1: ECSA State and federal election results https://web.archive.org/web/20150118085343/http://elections.uwa.edu.au/ 18 January 2015 in Australia since 1890 Category:Elections in South Australia Category:1938 elections in Australia Category:1930s in South Australia Category:March 1938 in Australia