Liberal Party (1922) facts for kids

John Latham, Liberal Party politician

The Liberal Party, also known as the Liberal Union or the Liberal Union Party, was a political group in Australia. It was mainly active in the states of Victoria and South Australia. This party was around mostly in 1922. It was formed by members of the Nationalist Party of Australia who did not support the leader, who was the Prime Minister Billy Hughes.

The Liberal Party of Australia (1922)

What Was the Liberal Party?

A political party is a group of people who share similar ideas about how a country should be run. They work together to get their members elected to government. The Liberal Party was one such group. It was created because some politicians disagreed with the way the then-Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, was leading the country. They wanted to offer a different path for Australia.

Who Started the Party?

The Liberal Party was started by two men from Victoria: Thomas Ashworth and Charles Merrett. Soon, two federal Members of Parliament (MPs) joined the party. An MP is someone elected by people to represent them in the national government. These MPs were William Watt from Victoria and Richard Foster from South Australia.

In the 1922 federal election, three more MPs were elected as members of the Liberal Party. These new members were John Latham from Victoria, and Malcolm Cameron and Jack Duncan-Hughes from South Australia. This meant the party had a small but growing number of representatives in the Australian Parliament.

How Did the Party End?

At the time, a new political group called the Country Party was also important. They refused to support Prime Minister Billy Hughes. Because of this, Billy Hughes decided to step down from his role as Prime Minister.

After Hughes left, Stanley Bruce became the new Prime Minister. With this change, all five members of the Liberal Party decided to rejoin the Nationalist Party. Even though they officially rejoined, they were still known as Liberals until 1925. This marked the end of the Liberal Party as a separate political group.