1913 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

April 2022 Australian Labor Partyleadership spill, 1913 Australia ALP logo, pre-1980s.png presidential Caucus no 1907 Australian Labor Party leadership election 1907 1915 Australian Labor Party leadership election 1915 8 July 1913 First Ballot Second Ballot Third Ballot 150x150px Andrew Fisher DC241F 36–42 150x150px William Higgs DC241F 18–21 150x150px Billy Hughes? DC241F 1? Leader Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher The Australian Labor Party held a leadership spill on 8 July 1913, following the party's defeat at the May 1913 federal election. Andrew Fisher was re-elected to the leadership, defeating William Higgs. It was the first occasion on which a sitting leader had faced a challenge. Background Fisher had been elected to the party leadership in 1907, in place of Chris Watson. After a brief period of governing in minority from 1908 to 1909, he led Labor to majority government for the first time at the 1910 election. However, his government was defeated by Joseph Cook's Liberal Party at the 1913 election. The party's loss of power after only a single term brought leadership tensions to the forefront, with James Catts one of the leading agitators. Those opposed to Fisher rallied behind William Higgs, a fellow Queenslander who had been a backbencher throughout the duration of the recent government.Ross McMullin The Light on the Hill: The Australian Labor Party 1891–1991 1991 Oxford University Press 89 Ross McMullin As expected, Fisher won an absolute majority on the first ballot. In his official history of the Labor Party, Ross McMullin states that caucus minutes recorded the result as 42 votes for Fisher, 18 for Higgs, and one for Billy Hughes (who did not actually nominate for the position). David Day, one of Fisher's biographers, also gives those figures.Andrew Fisher: Prime Minister of Australia David Day HarperCollins 2008 978-0-7322-7610-2 283 David Day (historian) However, contemporary newspapers reported that only 57 members of the caucus were in attendance, and that Higgs had won 21 votes; Hughes was not mentioned as a candidate.https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15436216 LABOUR RIFT The Sydney Morning Herald 17 July 1913https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229680274 LABOR LEADERSHIP The Sun 22 July 1913 The party's official announcement of the caucus proceedings made no mention of any challenge to Fisher, and the exact results did not become known to the general public until the following week, when they were leaked to the press by Labor MPs.https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/7249306 Melbourne Argus 17 July 1913 FEDERAL LABOUR CAUCUS References Category:Australian Labor Party leadership spills Category:July 1913 in Australia Category:1913 elections in Australia Australian Labor Party leadership spill