Liberal Party (1922)

The Liberal Party, Liberal Union or the Liberal Union Party, was a political party in Australia. It was based in Victoria and South Australia. Active mainly in 1922, the party was formed by members of the Nationalist Party of Australia who did not support the leader, Prime Minister Billy Hughes.

John Latham, Liberal Party politician

The party was begun by two Victorian men, Thomas Ashworth and Charles Merrett. Two federal Nationalist MPs, Victorian William Watt and South Australian Richard Foster, joined the Liberal Party. In the 1922 federal election three more MPs (John Latham from Victoria, and Malcolm Cameron and Jack Duncan-Hughes from South Australia) were elected.

When the new Country Party refused to support Hughes, he decided to retire and leave the Prime Ministership to Stanley Bruce. All five Liberals rejoined the Nationalist Party, although they remained officially Liberals until 1925.^[1]

References

1. "Historical Information on the Australian Parliament". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2007-12-25. Retrieved 2008-06-14.