1940 Victorian state election explained
| Election Name: | 1940 Victorian state election |
| Country: | Victoria |
| Flag Year: | 1901 |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1937 Victorian state election |
| Previous Year: | 1937 |
| Next Election: | 1943 Victorian state election |
| Next Year: | 1943 |
| Seats For Election: | 44 (of the 65) seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly |
| Leader2: | Albert Dunstan |
| Leader Since2: | 14 March 1935 |
| Party2: | United Country Party (Australia) |
| Leaders Seat2: | Korong and Eaglehawk |
| Percentage2: | 14.16% |
| Swing2: | 2.81 |
| Last Election2: | 20 seats |
| Seats Before2: | 22 seats |
| Seats2: | 22 seats |
| Seat Change2: | 0 |
| Leader1: | John Cain |
| Leader Since1: | 18 October 1937 |
| Party1: | Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) |
| Leaders Seat1: | Northcote |
| Percentage1: | 33.17% |
| Swing1: | 7.86 |
| Last Election1: | 20 seats |
| Seats Before1: | 21 seats |
| Seats1: | 22 seats |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Leader3: | Sir Stanley Argyle |
| Leader Since3: | 3 September 1930 |
| Party3: | United Australia Party |
| Colour3: | 080CAB |
| Leaders Seat3: | Toorak |
| Percentage3: | 35.41% |
| Swing3: | 4.15 |
| Last Election3: | 21 seats |
| Seats Before3: | 18 seats |
| Seats3: | 16 seats |
| Seat Change3: | 2 |
| Premier |
| Before Election: | Albert Dunstan |
| Before Party: | United Country Party (Australia) |
| After Election: | Albert Dunstan |
| After Party: | United Country Party (Australia) |
The 1940 Victorian state election was held in the Australian state of Victoria on Saturday 16 March 1940 to elect 44 of the 65 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.
Background
Several events had taken place since the previous state election on 2 October 1937, which had changed the breakdown of the parties in the Assembly:
- In November 1937, Ian Macfarlan (the member for Brighton) left the United Australia Party (UAP) and sat as an Independent. Macfarlan gave two reasons for his resignation from the UAP: that the party was sitting in opposition to the Dunstan Country government which he praised; and that it was controlled by a central body outside of the parliament, the members of which were unknown to most party members.[1] Frederick Holden (Grant) also left the UAP and sat on the cross benches.[2] This reduced the UAP's numbers from 21 to 19.
- Ernie Bond (Port Fairy and Glenelg) had been expelled from the Labor Party (ALP) over his support for the "Premiers' Plan" in 1932, and had won several elections as an independent. He was re-admitted to the ALP in on 16 April 1938.[3] This increased the ALP's numbers from 20 to 21.
- On 5 November 1938, the United Country Party (UCP) won a by-election in the seat of Gippsland North, after the death of the sitting member James Weir McLachlan, an independent.[4] This reduced the number of Independents to 3, and increased the numbers for the UCP from 20 to 21.
- In August 1939, Alfred Kirton (Mornington) resigned from the UAP and sat briefly as an independent, before joining the United Country Party on 29 August 1939. This reduced the UAP from 19 seats to 18, and increased the UCP seats from 21 to 22.[5]
- In 1939 Frederick Cook (Benalla) moved from being an Independent to joining the Liberal Country Party, a breakaway group from the Country Party who supported the federal party's participation in a Coalition government.[6]
Results
Legislative Assembly
See also: Results of the 1940 Victorian state election (Legislative Assembly).
|}
See also
Notes and References
- News: DUNSTAN GOVERNMENT PRAISED. . . Vic. . 25 November 1937 . 22 May 2012 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
- News: SIGNIFICANCE OF SEATS. . . Melbourne . 20 October 1937 . 22 May 2012 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
- News: READMITTED TO LABOR PARTY. . . Burnie, Tas. . 19 April 1938 . 22 May 2012 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
- News: BY-ELECTION IN VICTORIA. . . Hobart, Tas. . 9 November 1938 . 22 May 2012 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
- News: U.C.P. RECRUIT. . . Melbourne . 30 August 1939 . 22 May 2012 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
- Web site: Parliament of Victoria . Parliament of Victoria . Cook, Frederick Albert . re-member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851 . Parliament of Victoria . 2001 . 8 December 2015.
