Election Results
| Election | Seats won | ± | Total votes | % | Position | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 12 / 90 |  | 239,610 | 18.91% | Opposition | Reginald Weaver |
The Democratic Party was a short-lived, urban, conservative political party which was active in New South Wales, Australia between November 1943 and 1945. The Democratic Party was formed in November 1943 by the union of the United Australia Party (UAP) in New South Wales and the Commonwealth Party. [1] It was one of the main conservative parties in New South Wales and contested the 1944 state election as a coalition with Country Party.
It was not related to the Democratic Party, a Catholic party which contested the 1922 state election.
After the 1943 federal election, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), New South Wales United Australia Party (UAP) and Commonwealth Party began discussions on a merger to form a new party, proposed to be also named Liberal Democratic Party. The LDP and Commonwealth Party were new parties formed a few months prior in April and May 1943 respectively. By November 1943, discussions were almost completed and unity was likely. [2] The County Party refused to join in the merger but expressed they would co-operate with the new party. [3] However, during the unity conference on 24 November 1943, the LDP walked out of the conference as they were not willing to support retaining the secretary of the UAP, H.W. Horsfield, as the secretary of the new party, as well as retaining members of his staff. [4] Instead, during the same conference, the Commonwealth Party and the New South Wales UAP proceeded to merge without the LDP to form the Democratic Party. [1] As such, LDP remained a separate party to the Democratic Party.
The initial leader of the Democratic Party was the former premier Alexander Mair, [5] but he resigned on 2 February 1944 was replaced by Reginald Weaver on 10 February. [6] [7] Weaver led the party to the 1944 state election where it won 19% of the vote and 12 of the 90 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
Horsfield, the secretary of the Democratic Party, resigned on 26 July 1944, paving the way for a LDP-Democratic merger again. [7] In August 1944, the LDP initially agreed to merge with the Democratic Party and the new party to be known as the United Democratic Party. [8] However, two days after federal UAP leader Robert Menzies announced that he was planning to set up a new "political movement with a Liberal policy" at an October conference, negotiations between LDP and Democratic Party broke down and the party merger did not take place. [7]
With the formation of the Liberal Party of Australia by Menzies, the Democratic Party joined the Liberal Party in April 1945 and was replaced by the Liberal Party’s NSW division. [9]
| Election | Seats won | ± | Total votes | % | Position | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 12 / 90 | | 239,610 | 18.91% | Opposition | Reginald Weaver |
The Liberal Party of Australia is a major centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party (ALP). It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Australia Party (UAP).
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 of Australia – Joseph Lyons (1932–1939) and Robert Menzies (1939–1941).
The Nationalist Party was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the latter formed by Prime Minister Billy Hughes and his supporters after the 1916 Labor Party split over World War I conscription. The Nationalist Party was in government until electoral defeat in 1929. From that time it was the main opposition to the Labor Party until it merged with pro-Joseph Lyons Labor defectors to form the United Australia Party (UAP) in 1931. The party was a direct ancestor of the Liberal Party of Australia, the main centre-right party in Australia.
The Liberal Party of Australia , commonly known as the New South Wales Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in New South Wales. The party currently governs in New South Wales in coalition with the National Party of Australia (NSW). The party is part of the federal Liberal Party which governs nationally in Coalition with the National Party of Australia.
Alexander Mair was an Australian politician and served as the Premier of New South Wales from 5 August 1939 to 16 May 1941. Born in Melbourne, Mair worked in various businesses there before moving to Albury, New South Wales where he went on to be a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for fourteen years. In 1932, Mair was elected to the seat of Albury and was re-elected a further four times. He rose quickly through the cabinet of Bertram Stevens' United Australia Party government, becoming an Assistant Minister in April 1938, Minister for Labour and Industry in June and Colonial Treasurer in October.
Sir Percy Claude Spender, was an Australian politician, diplomat and judge. He served in the House of Representatives from 1937 to 1951, including as a cabinet minister under Robert Menzies and Arthur Fadden. He was later Ambassador to the United States (1951–1958) and a member of the International Court of Justice (1958–1967), including as president of the court from 1964 to 1967.
Reginald Walter Darcy Weaver was an Australian conservative parliamentarian who served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 28 years. Serving from 1917 in the backbenches, he entered the cabinet of Thomas Bavin in 1929 as Secretary for Mines and Minister for Forests until he returned to opposition in 1930. Following the success of the United Australia Party in the 1932 election, Weaver returned as the Secretary for Public Works and Minister for Health in the Stevens ministry.
The 1943 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 21 August 1943. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Prime Minister John Curtin, defeated the opposition Country–UAP coalition in a landslide led by Arthur Fadden.
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Michael Frederick Bruxner was an Australian politician and soldier, serving for many years as leader of the Country Party in New South Wales. Born in the north of the state, Bruxner was educated at The Armidale School and started studies at University of Sydney but later dropped out to take up employment as a grazier and station agent in Tenterfield. After serving in the Citizen Military Forces from 1911, Bruxner enlisted into the Australian Light Horse upon the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Serving with distinction in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was an Australian breakaway political party of the United Australia Party that contested the 1943 federal election and the 1944 New South Wales state election. Formed in 1943, it was replaced by the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party of Australia in January 1945.
Sir William Henry Spooner, was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1950 to 1965, representing the Liberal Party. He was a senior minister in the Menzies Government, serving as Minister for Social Services from 1949 to 1951 and then Minister for National Development from 1951 to 1964. He was Leader of the Government in the Senate from 1958 to 1964.
This is a list of members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1941 to 1944, as elected at the 1941 state election.
Sir Vernon Haddon Treatt was an Australian lawyer, soldier, Rhodes Scholar and politician. Born in Singleton, New South Wales and educated at Shore School, Treatt interrupted his studies at the University of Sydney to enlist at the outbreak of the First World War. Serving in the Royal Australian Artillery, Treatt served in France and was awarded the Military Medal. Upon returning to Australia he was awarded a Rhodes scholarship and further educated at New College, Oxford.
The 1941 New South Wales state election was held on 10 May 1941. This election was for all of the 90 seats in the 33rd New South Wales Legislative Assembly and was conducted in single-member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting.
George Charles Gollan was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1932 until 1953. He was variously a member of the United Australia Party (UAP), Democratic Party and Liberal Party. He held numerous ministerial positions between 1937 and 1941 and was the United Australia Party whip between 1935 and 1937.
The Commonwealth Party was a short-lived, urban, conservative political party in New South Wales between May 1943 and January 1944.
Donald Peter Macdonald was an Australian politician and clergyman. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1941 and 1947 and an Independent member of parliament.
The 1944 New South Wales state election was held on 27 May 1944. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1940 redistribution. The election was for all of the 90 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Albury on Saturday, 9 November 1946.
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Neutral Bay on Saturday, 15 December 1945.
