Reform Party (Southern Rhodesia)

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The Reform Party was a political party that was formed in Southern Rhodesia in 1932, which went on to form the government under Godfrey Huggins in 1933, before splitting in 1934 and disappearing by the end of the decade. The party had support from disenchanted Rhodesian settlers including "railway men, civil servants, artisans without a job and farmers in economic distress." Its initial program proposed the creation of a central bank to regulate the colony's currency and credit and other measures to provide economic support for white workers and farmers facing competition from low paid African workers and manufacturers facing competition from cheaper South African imports. [1]

Southern Rhodesia self-governing British colony from 1923 to 1980

The Colony of Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa. It was the predecessor state of what is now Zimbabwe.

Godfrey Huggins Rhodesian Prime Minister

Godfrey Martin Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern was a Rhodesian politician and physician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1933 to 1953 and remained in office as the first Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland until 1956, becoming the longest serving prime minister in British Commonwealth history.

Central bank public institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates

A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is the institution that manages the currency, money supply, and interest rates of a state or formal monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the monetary base in the state, and also generally controls the printing/coining of the national currency, which serves as the state's legal tender. A central bank also acts as a lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of financial crisis. Most central banks also have supervisory and regulatory powers to ensure the solvency of member institutions, to prevent bank runs, and to discourage reckless or fraudulent behavior by member banks.

The party won the 1933 general election, winning 16 out of 30 seats in the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly and formed the government with party leader Godfrey Huggins becoming Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. However, the party failed to implement its promise of establishing a central bank or regulating the monetary system. [1]

Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly

The Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly was the legislature of Southern Rhodesia from 1924 to 1970.

The Reform Party was believed by many in Rhodesia to be a left-wing party but Huggins presented a cautiously conservative Cabinet after winning power in 1933. In particular, Finance Minister Jacob Smit was a strong believer in conventional economics and opponent of Keynesianism. The course of government led eventually to a confrontration in August 1934 with the left-wing of the party over reform to the Rhodesian railways. Huggins decided to approach Sir Percy Fynn, leader of the Rhodesia Party, who pledged support for a National Government under Huggins.

A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.

However, the Acting Governor refused a dissolution on the grounds that the Assembly had many years left, and the government had not been defeated. Huggins persuaded the majority of the Executive of the Reform Party to suspend the party's constitution to allow a National Government on 17 September, and then formed the United Party with Fynn, asking a second time for a dissolution on the basis of a changed party alignment. This time the Acting Governor acceded.

The name United Rhodesia Party and the acronym, URP, refer to two political parties in Southern Rhodesia.

The November 1934 election resulted in a landslide for Huggins' United Party, which won 24 out of 30 seats, while the Reform Party returned only one seat in the new legislature. Huggins himself switched electoral districts and ran and defeated Reform Party MP Thomas Nangle who had been one of the Reform Party's founders.

Reverend Thomas Matthew Mary Nangle was a Newfoundland cleric, military chaplain of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War I, diplomat and later a Rhodesian politician and farmer.

The Reform Party contested the next election in November 1939, receiving 12% of the popular vote and losing its remaining seat in parliament and disappeared with some of its supporters moving to the Opposition Rhodesia Labour Party.

Rhodesia Labour Party

The Rhodesia Labour Party was a political party which existed in Southern Rhodesia from 1923 until the 1950s. Originally formed on the model of the British Labour Party from trade unions and being especially dominated by railway workers, it formed the main opposition party from 1934 to 1946. The party suffered a catastrophic split during the Second World War and lost all its seats, and a further split over the attitude to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland ended its involvement in Rhodesian politics.

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References

  1. 1 2 Chia Yin Hsu, Thomas M. Luckett, Erika Vause (2015). The Cultural History of Money and Credit: A Global Perspective. Lexington Books. pp. 136–137. ISBN   1498505937 . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
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