United Australia Party

This article is about the defunct major party. For the modern-day party founded by Clive Palmer, see United Australia Party (2013). For other parties with similar names, see United Australia Party (disambiguation).

United Australia Party
AbbreviationUAP
Leader
Deputy Leader
FoundedApril–May 1931
Dissolved31 August 1945; 79 years ago (31 August 1945)
Merger of
Preceded byNationalist[a]
Succeeded byLiberal
Headquarters30 Ash Street, Sydney, New South Wales[b]
Membership (1940s)Increase22,500[c]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right to right-wing[10]
National affiliationCoalition (1934–1939; 1940–1943)
Colours  Blue
House of Representatives
34 / 76
(1931–1934)
Senate
26 / 36
(1935–1938)

The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prime ministers: Joseph Lyons (1932–1939) and Robert Menzies (1939–1941).

The UAP was created in the aftermath of the 1931 split in the Australian Labor Party. Six fiscally conservative Labor MPs left the party to protest the Scullin government's financial policies during the Great Depression. Led by Joseph Lyons, a former Premier of Tasmania, the defectors initially sat as independents, but then agreed to merge with the Nationalist Party and form a united opposition. Lyons was chosen as the new party's leader due to his popularity among the general public, with former Nationalist leader John Latham becoming his deputy. He led the UAP to a landslide victory at the 1931 federal election, where the party secured an outright majority in the House of Representatives and was able to form government in its own right.

After the 1934 election, the UAP entered into a coalition with the Country Party; it retained government at the 1937 election. After Lyons' death in April 1939, the UAP elected Robert Menzies as its new leader. This resulted in the Country Party leaving the coalition, but a new coalition agreement was reached in March 1940. The 1940 election resulted in a hung parliament and the formation of a minority government with support from two independents. In August 1941, Menzies was forced to resign as prime minister in favour of Arthur Fadden, the Country Party leader; he in turn survived only 40 days before losing a confidence motion and making way for a Labor government under John Curtin. Fadden continued on as Leader of the Opposition, with Billy Hughes replacing Menzies as UAP leader. Hughes resigned after the 1943 election, and Menzies subsequently returned as UAP leader and Leader of the Opposition. The UAP ceased to exist as a parliamentary party in February 1945, when its members joined the new Liberal Party of Australia. The contemporary United Australia Party has no connection or relationship with the former party.

  1. ^ Tiver 1973, p. 46.
  2. ^ Lloyd 1984, pp. 245–246.
  3. ^ Lloyd 1984; Williams 1967, pp. 7–27; Tiver 1973, pp. 29–49.
  4. ^ Lloyd 1984; Williams 1967, pp. 7–27; Tiver 1973, pp. 45–48.
  5. ^ Tiver 1973, pp. 42–49.
  6. ^ Winterton, George (1992). "The Significance of the Communist Party Case". Melbourne University Law Review.
  7. ^ The Ideals of United Australia (Election poster advertisement). United Australia Party via The Bulletin. 9 December 1931.
  8. ^ Smash the Red Wreckers and Save Australia (Election poster advertisement). United Australia Party via The Sun. 17 December 1931.
  9. ^ Tiver 1973, pp. 95–99.
  10. ^ Marchant, Sylvia (1998). Things Fall Apart: The End of the United Australia Party, 1939 to 1943 (PDF) (Thesis). Australian National University.


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