1922 Australian Labor Party leadership election

The Australian Labor Party held a leadership election on 16 May 1922, following the death of Frank Tudor. The party elected Matthew Charlton as its new leader.

1922 Australian Labor Party
leadership election
16 May 1922
 
Candidate Matthew Charlton Albert Gardiner
Caucus vote 22 2
Percentage 91.66% 8.34%
Leader before election

Frank Tudor†

 Elected Leader

Matthew Charlton

Background

Tudor died on 10 January 1922, after a long period of ill health. He had been the party's leader since November 1916, following the expulsion of Billy Hughes and his supporters during the split over conscription. His deputy and assumed successor, T. J. Ryan, had died a few months earlier on 1 August 1921.[1] Matthew Charlton, who had already acted as deputy leader on several occasions,[2] was formally chosen as Ryan's replacement on 29 September.[3] He served as acting leader on a number of occasions when Tudor's health forced his absence.[1]

On 25 January, following Tudor's state funeral, Charlton was chosen unanimously as leader of the Labor Party in the House of Representatives. He thus became Leader of the Opposition.[4][5] The overall leadership of the party was left vacant until parliament resumed, but Charlton was the de facto party leader. On 16 May, the party formally elected Charlton as its leader.[6] Albert Gardiner, the party's sole senator, was the only other candidate, attracting only 2 votes to Charlton's 22.[7] He was subsequently elected unopposed as the party's deputy leader, while Frank Anstey was chosen as the deputy leader in the House of Representatives. James Scullin was also nominated for the latter post, despite only having recently returned to parliament, but he declined the nomination.[8]

Results

The following table gives the ballot results:

Name Votes Percentage
Matthew Charlton 22 91.66
Albert Gardiner 2 8.34

See also

References
  1. Murray Perks (1979). "Charlton, Matthew (1866–1948)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  2. "FEDERAL LABOUR PARTY". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 August 1921.
  3. "LABOR LEADERSHIP". The Age. 30 September 1921.
  4. "MR. CHARLTON LEADER IN THE HOUSE". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 January 1922.
  5. "NEW LABOR LEADER". The Age. 26 January 1922.
  6. "FEDERAL LABOUR PARTY". The Melbourne Argus. 17 May 1922.
  7. "Leadership spills: nothing new to history". Museum of Australian Democracy. 15 September 2015.
  8. Ross McMullin (1991). The Light on the Hill: The Australian Labor Party 1891–1991. Oxford University Press. pp. 123–124.
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