1959 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

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1959 Australian Labor Party
Leadership spill
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
  1956 16 February 1959 1960  
  Herbert V. Evatt.jpg Eddie Ward 1956.jpg
Candidate H. V. Evatt Eddie Ward
Caucus vote4632
Percentage58.9741.03

Leader before election

H. V. Evatt

Elected Leader

H. V. Evatt

A leadership spill of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), then the opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 16 February 1959.

Contents

Background

Senior Labor left-winger Eddie Ward unsuccessfully challenged ALP leader H. V. Evatt following Evatt's third defeat at the polls in the 1958 election. Evatt was re-elected by a lower than expected margin of only 14 votes. [1] The closeness of the ballot further highlighted the dissatisfaction with Evatt's leadership.

At the same caucus, Arthur Calwell was re-elected as deputy leader unopposed.

Results

The following table gives the ballot results:

NameVotesPercentage
H. V. Evatt 4658.97
Eddie Ward 3241.03

See also

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References

  1. "Dr. Evatt Back as Party Leader". The Canberra Times . 17 February 1959. p. 1.