United Australia Party
The United Australia Party ( UAP ) was a historic political party in Australia that was active at the federal level from 1931 to 1945. The United Australia Party was the successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia (1916-1931) and predecessor of the Liberal Party of Australia (since 1945).
history
Party formation
The party was founded after Joseph Lyons and James Fenton , two Labor Ministers, along with three other right-wing MPs from the Labor Party, left the Labor Party in 1931 because of their economic policies during the Great Depression. Together with the opposition of the Nationalist Party of Australia , led by John Latham , and three other independent former nationalists (including former Prime Minister Billy Hughes ), the five ex-Labor members founded the new United Australia Party, which was led by Joseph Lyons . The goal was a more effective economic policy than that of the Labor Party in previous years. The party slogan was "All for Australia and the Empire". Through the presence of wealthy ministers as well as representatives of the working class, particularly embodied by party leader Joseph Lyons, the party succeeded in portraying the image of a united Australia without delimitation by any classes.
Top party
In December 1931, the UAP managed to force new elections because the government of James Scullin was no longer trusted to solve the difficult economic situation. In a vote of confidence, the latter then also lost. The elections were a great success for the UAP and Joseph Lyons , who was universally popular with all walks of life in the country, became the new Prime Minister . In 1934 the government majority was lost to the strong performance of Earle Page's Country Party and a coalition was formed. Conservative economic policies were followed by voters, with conservatives benefiting from the general economic recovery.
Leadership dispute
In 1939 there were differences of opinion in the party leadership, as Robert Menzies was considered the designated successor to Joseph Lyons and hoped that this would give way for him from the party leadership . Menzies had a difficult position in the party and was also disliked by the Country Party and its chairman Earle Page . Proposals have repeatedly been made that former Prime Ministers Billy Hughes or Stanley Bruce should lead the UAP. Menzies then resigned, but Lyons died unexpectedly of heart disease just a month later.
In the following years Menzies beat ex-Prime Minister Hughes in the election for party chairman, whereupon Page withdrew his Country Party in April 1939 from the coalition and the UAP now formed a minority government with Robert Menzies as Prime Minister. After Archie Cameron replaced the previous party leader Earle Page as leader of the Country Party in March 1940 , that coalition was brought back to life. The coalition, however, had since declined in popularity and Menzie's government was considered unsatisfactory in the first year of World War II . In 1940, the coalition lost to the Labor Party after a sharp drop in votes and remained in office only thanks to the support of two independent MPs.
Loss of government
In 1941, Menzies was forced to resign. The UAP was so divided that they made Arthur Fadden a member of the Country Party Prime Minister, although that party was much smaller. Menzies, however, kept his ministerial post and party leadership in the UAP. Due to the ongoing leadership crisis and disloyalty in the UAP, the two independents joined the Labor Party in October 1941. Now John Curtin of the Labor Party became premier; UAP and Country Party went together in opposition.
Falling apart
In the coalition of Labor and Country Party, the leadership dispute continued. While Menzies, as UAP chairman, saw himself as an opposition leader, Fadden had the majority of the party behind him. Menzies therefore resigned from all his offices and the now 79-year-old Billy Hughes took over the party leadership. Curtin became a popular prime minister in the following years and was able to calm the people down even after Japan entered the war in December 1941, so that the opposition had little to counter.
In the 1943 federal elections, the UAP was punished for its disagreement and Labor received a clear majority. This enabled Menzies to return as party leader. Menzies was of the opinion that the party had suffered too much image damage and that its organization was structurally ineffective. He therefore considered the establishment of a new collection movement of the bourgeois camp as a counterpoint to the laboratory as necessary. As a result, the Liberal Party of Australia was launched in 1945 under Menzie's leadership as the successor organization to the UAP.
Party leader
- 1931-1939 Joseph Lyons
- 1939–1941 Robert Menzies
- 1941-1943 Billy Hughes
- 1943–1945 Robert Menzies
