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{{Short description|Australian federal election}}{{Use Australian English|date=April 2024}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

factoids

{{small>3.13%}}Turnout in contested seats}}({{increase}}0.19 pp) The Division of Northern Territory had one seat, but members for the territories did not have full voting rights until 1966 and did not count toward government formation.}} seats of the Australian House of Representatives>House of Representatives 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House 18 (of the 36) seats of the Senate| election_date = 19 December 1931150x150px)| leader1 = Joseph Lyons| leader_since1 = 7 May 1931| party1 = United Australia PartyDivision of Wilmot>Wilmot (Tas.)| last_election1 = New party38{{efn>name=GabbAustralian Labor Party>Labor-turned-Independent politician Member of Parliament#Australia>MP Moses Gabb was endorsed in the Division of Angas (1903–34) by the Emergency Committee of South Australia (formed by the state UAP for this election) who Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1931#South Australia>did not run their own candidate in Angas. Though Gabb is often listed as Emergency Committee of South Australia, he remained an Independent politician>Independent and did not help form or sit with the government and as such has been removed from government tallies, meaning that though six Member of Parliament#Australias are listed elected as Emergency Committee of South Australia>Emergency Committee candidates, there were only five Emergency Committee of South Australia Member of Parliament#Australia>MPs.}}| popular_vote1 = 1,155,809| seat_change1 = {{increase}} 14| percentage1 = 36.4%| swing1 = New party | seats_before1 = 24 seats150x150px)| leader2 = Earle PageNational Party of Australia leadership elections>5 April 1921| party2 = Country Party of Australia (1920)Division of Cowper>Cowper (NSW)| last_election2 = 10 seats| seats2 = 16| popular_vote2 = 388,544| seat_change2 = {{increase}} 6| percentage2 = 12.2%| swing2 = {{increase}}1.9%| seats_before2 = 10 seats 150x150px)| leader4 = James Scullin1928 Australian Labor Party leadership election>26 April 1928| party4 = Australian Labor PartyDivision of Yarra>Yarra (Vic.)| last_election4 = 46 seatsDivision of Northern Territory>NT| popular_vote4 = 860,260| seat_change4 = {{decrease}} 21| percentage4 = 27.1% | swing4 = {{decrease}}21.7%| seats_before4 = 36 seats 150x150px)Jack Lang (Australian politician)>Jack Lang| leader_since5 = 31 July 1923Lang Labor>Australian Labor Party (NSW)| leaders_seat5 = | last_election5 = New party| seats5 = 4| popular_vote5 = 335,309| seat_change5 = {{decrease}} 1| percentage5 = 10.6%| swing5 = New party| seats_before5 = 5 seatsPrime Minister of Australia>Prime Minister| before_election = James Scullin| before_party = Australian Labor Party| posttitle = Subsequent Prime Minister| after_election = Joseph Lyons| after_party = United Australia Party| map_image = 1931_Australian_federal_election.svg| map_size =| map_caption = Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party’s margin of victory.}}File:Smash the Red Wreckers and Save Australia.jpg|thumb|Red-baitingRed-baitingThe 1931 Australian federal election was held on 19 December 1931. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election.The incumbent first-term Australian Labor Party (ALP) government led by Prime Minister James Scullin was defeated in a landslide by the United Australia Party (UAP) led by Joseph Lyons. As of 2024, this is the last time that a sitting government at federal level has been defeated after a single term.The election was held at a time of great social and political upheaval, coming at the peak of the Great Depression in Australia. The UAP had only been formed a few months before the election, when Lyons and a few ALP dissidents joined forces with the Nationalist Party and the Australian Party. Although it was dominated by former Nationalists, Lyons became the merged party’s leader, with Nationalist leader John Latham as his deputy.Scullin’s position eroded further when five left-wing Labor MPs from New South Wales who supported NSW Premier Jack Lang broke away and moved to the crossbenches in protest of Scullin’s economic policy, reducing Scullin to a minority government. Late in 1931, they supported a UAP no-confidence motion and brought down the government. The two Labor factions were decimated; massive vote-splitting left them with only 18 seats between them (14 for the official ALP and four for the Langites).Prior to the election, it was assumed that the Country Party, led by Earle Page, would hold the balance of power, and Page tentatively agreed to support the UAP if that were the case. The two parties campaigned separately and stood candidates against each other in the House of Representatives, but ran joint tickets in Senate. However, the UAP came up four seats short of a majority. The five MPs from the Emergency Committee of South Australia, which contested the election in that state in place of the UAP and Country Party, joined the UAP party room, giving the UAP enough numbers to form a majority government by two seats. Page was still willing to form a coalition with the Country Party, but negotiations broke down and Lyons decided the UAP would govern by itself. As a result, the First Lyons Ministry was composed solely of UAP members.Page, Sir Earle Christmas (1880–1961), Australian Dictionary of BiographyLabor spent the next 10 years in opposition; it did not return to power until 1941.

Issues

The election was dominated by the Great Depression in Australia, which was at its height. As the Labor government had come to office two days before the Wall Street Crash of 1929, it was seen as being responsible for many of the economic and social problems Australia faced, which sparked the historic Australian Labor Party split of 1931 in which Lyons and four other Labor dissidents crossed the floor to the opposition, ultimately merging into the UAP. Although the UAP was seen as an upper- and middle-class conservative party, the presence of ex-Labor MPs allowed the party to project an image of national unity.By the time the writs were issued, official Labor and Lang Labor were in open warfare, making a UAP victory all but certain. Due to the massive vote splitting brought on by a large number of three-cornered contests, Labor tallied its lowest primary vote since Federation, while the two Labor factions, official Labor and Lang Labor, won only 18 seats between them, with official Labor losing a record 32 seats on a massive 15.2% swing to the UAP.The two Labor factions did not reunite until 1936.

Results

House of Representatives

{{see also|Results of the Australian federal election, 1931 (House of Representatives)}} {| class=“wikitable sortable tpl-blanktable” style="text-align:right; margin-bottom:0”Instant-runoff voting>IRV) – Turnout: 95.04% (CV) (File:1931 Australian House.svg)! colspan=“3” rowspan=“2” style="width:200px” | Party! colspan=“3” | Primary vote! colspan=“2” | Seats! style="width:70px;” | Votes! style="width:40px;” | %! style="width:40px;” | Swing ({{abbr|pp|percentage points}})! style="width:40px;” | Seats! style="width:40px;” | Change United Australia Party| UAP| 1,155,809 | 36.4 +36.4}}name=Gabb}}| {{increase}} 15 Country| CP| 388,544 | 12.2 | +1.93| 16| {{increase}} 6 Labor| ALP| 860,260| 27.1–21.74}}Including Northern Territory}}| {{decrease}} 22 Emergency Committee| ECSA| 174,288 | 5.5| +5.5 name=Gabb}}| {{increase}} 6 Labor (NSW)| L (NSW)| 335,309| 10.6| +10.6| 4| {{decrease}} 1 Communist| CPA| 8,511 | 0.3 | +0.3| 0 | {{steady}} 0 Independent| 260,786| 6| –0.02| 3| {{decrease}} 1 style="font-weight:bold” Total| 3,287,992| 100.00| {{N/A}}| 76| {{N/A}} Valid votes| 3,173,515| 96.52| rowspan=4 {{N/A}}| rowspan=4 {{N/A}}| rowspan=4 {{N/A}} Informal ballots| 114,477| 3.5 Turnout| 3,287,992| 90 Registered voters| 3,652,196| {{N/A}} {{bar box| title=Popular vote| titlebar=#ddd| width=600px| barwidth=410px| bars= {{bar percent|United Australia|#00008B|36.4}}{{bar percent|Labor|{{party color|Australian Labor Party}}|27.1}}{{bar percent|Country|{{party color|National Party of Australia}}|12.2}}{{bar percent|Labor (NSW)|#E2725B|10.6}}{{bar percent|Independent|{{party color|Independent (politician)}}|6.0}}{{bar percent|Emergency Committee|#00008B|5.5}}{{bar percent|Communist|#AA0000|0.3}}}}{{bar box| title=Parliament seats| titlebar=#ddd| width=600px| barwidth=410px| bars= {{bar percent|United Australia|#00008B|43.4}}{{bar percent|Country|{{party color|National Party of Australia}}|21.1}}{{bar percent|Labor|{{party color|Australian Labor Party}}|19.7}}{{bar percent|Emergency Committee|#00008B|6.6}}{{bar percent|Labor (NSW)|#E2725B|5.3}}{{bar percent|Independent|{{party color|Independent (politician)}}|3.9}}}}

Results by electorate{| class“wikitable” style@text-align:center; font-size: 0.9em;”

! rowspan=“3” |Constituency! rowspan=“3” |Totalseats! colspan=“8” |Seats won! class=“unsortable” style="width:50px;” |UAP! class=“unsortable” style="width:50px;” |CP! class=“unsortable” style="width:50px;” |ALP ! class=“unsortable” style="width:50px;” |ECSA! class=“unsortable” style="width:50px;” |L (NSW) ! class=“unsortable” style="width:50px;” |Independent! style="background:{{party color|United Australia Party}};” |! style="background:{{party color|National Party of Australia}};” |! style="background:{{party color|Australian Labor Party}};” |! style="background: #01008c;” |! style="background:{{Australian politics/party colours|Lang Labor}};” |! style="background:{{Australian politics/party colours|Independent}};” |! style="text-align: left;” |New South Wales!28|13|8|3|0|4|0! style="text-align: left;” |Victoria!20|12|4|4|0|0|0! style="text-align: left;” |Queensland!10|2|2|5|0|0|1! style="text-align: left;” |South Australia!7 |0|0|1|5|0|1! style="text-align: left;” |Western Australia!5|1|2|1|0|0|1! style="text-align: left;” |Tasmania!5|5 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 ! style="text-align: left;” |Northern Territory!1|0|0 |1|0 |0 |0 !Total!76!33!16!15!5!4!3

Senate {| class“wikitable”Ranked voting systems>P BV) — 1931–34—Turnout 95.02% (CV) — Informal 9.60%(File:1931 Australian Senate.svg|alt|center|300x300px)

! colspan=2 style="width:180px” | Party! style="width:70px“| Votes! style="width:40px“| %! style="width:40px“| Swing! style="width:40px“| Seats won! style="width:40px“| Seats held! style="width:40px“| ChangeUAP}}| | UAP/Country (Joint Ticket) 945,741 30.16 * 6Labor}} |  | Australian Labor Party 917,218 29.25 −19.70 3 10 +3UAP}} |  | United Australia Party 791,870 25.26 −14.02 9 21 −3Labor (NSW)}} |  | Australian Labor Party (NSW) 379,870 12.12 * 0 0 0Communist}} |  | Communist Party of Australia 29,443 0.94 * 0 0 0Country}} |  National Country Party>Country Party * * −11.18 0 5 0Independent}} |  Independent (politician)>Independents 71,181 2.27 +1.68 0 0 0|  | Total 3,135,323     18 36

Results by electorate{| class“wikitable” style@text-align:center; font-size: 0.9em;”

! rowspan=“3” |Constituency! rowspan=“3” |Totalseats! colspan=“8” |Seats won! class=“unsortable” style="width:50px;” |UAP! class=“unsortable” style="width:50px;” |CP! class=“unsortable” style="width:50px;” |ALP ! style="background:{{party color|United Australia Party}};” |! style="background:{{party color|National Party of Australia}};” |! style="background:{{party color|Australian Labor Party}};” | ! style="text-align: left;” |New South Wales!3|2 |1 |0! style="text-align: left;” |Victoria!3|3|0|0! style="text-align: left;” |Queensland!3|0|0|3! style="text-align: left;” |South Australia!3|2|1|0! style="text-align: left;” |Western Australia!3|2|1|0! style="text-align: left;” |Tasmania!3|3|0|0!Total!18!12!3!3

Seats changing hands {|class“wikitable”

! rowspan=“2“| Seat! colspan=“4“| Pre-1931! rowspan=“2“| Swing! colspan=“4“| Post-1931! colspan=“2“| Party! Member! Margin! Margin! Member! colspan=“2“| PartyDivision of Adelaide>Adelaide, SALabor}}| | Labor| George Edwin Yates 11.4 21.0 9.6| Fred Stacey| Emergency CommitteeEmergency Committee}}| Division of Angas (1903-34)>Angas, SALabor}}| | Labor| Moses Gabb 4.7 31.5 26.8| Moses Gabb name=Gabb}}Independent}}| Division of Ballarat>Ballaarat, VicLabor}}| | LaborCharles McGrath (politician)>Charles McGrath 7.4 20.7 13.3Charles McGrath (politician)>Charles McGrath| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Barton>Barton, NSWLabor}}| | LaborJames Tully (Australian politician)>James Tully 17.6 20.8 3.2Albert Lane (Australian politician)>Albert Lane| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Bass>Bass, TasLabor}}| | Labor| Allan Guy 10.4 24.9 14.5| Allan Guy| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Batman>Batman, VicLabor}}| | LaborFrank Brennan (Australian politician)>Frank Brennan 25.8 26.6 0.8Samuel Dennis (Australian politician)>Samuel Dennis| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Bendigo>Bendigo, VicLabor}}| | Labor| Richard Keane 5.1 14.6 9.5Eric Harrison (Australian soldier)>Eric Harrison| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Boothby>Boothby, SALabor}}| | LaborJohn Price (South Australian politician)>John Price 5.6 29.6 24.0John Price (South Australian politician)>John Price| Emergency CommitteeEmergency Committee}}| Division of Brisbane>Brisbane, QldUAP}}| | United AustraliaDonald Charles Cameron (Australian politician)>Donald Charles Cameron 2.4 3.1 0.7George Lawson (Australian politician)>George Lawson| LaborLabor}}| Division of Calare>Calare, NSWLabor}}| | Labor| George Gibbons 1.6 11.7 10.1| Harold Thorby| CountryNationals}}| Division of Corangamite>Corangamite, VicLabor}}| | Labor| Richard Crouch 2.1 15.0 12.9William Gibson (Australian politician)>William Gibson| CountryNationals}}| Division of Corio>Corio, VicLabor}}| | LaborArthur Lewis (Australian politician)>Arthur Lewis 6.0 16.6 10.6Richard Casey, Baron Casey>Richard Casey| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Dalley>Dalley, NSWLabor}}| | Labor| Ted Theodore N/A 8.9 14.0| Sol Rosevear| Labor (NSW)Lang Labor}}| Division of Darling Downs>Darling Downs, QldUAP}}| | United AustraliaArthur Morgan (Australian politician)>Arthur Morgan N/A 17.7 9.8| Littleton Groom| IndependentIndependent}}| Division of Denison>Denison, TasLabor}}| | Labor| Charles Culley 9.2 14.2 5.0| Arthur Hutchin| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of East Sydney>East Sydney, NSWLang Labor}}| | Labor (NSW)| Eddie Ward 5.7 11.7 1.7| John Clasby| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Eden-Monaro>Eden-Monaro, NSWLabor}}| | LaborJohn Cusack (Australian politician)>John Cusack 0.1 13.7 13.6John Perkins (Australian politician)>John Perkins| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Fawkner>Fawkner, VicIndependent Nationalist}}| | Independent NationalistGeorge Maxwell (Australian politician)>George Maxwell N/A 21.7 20.3George Maxwell (Australian politician)>George Maxwell| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Flinders>Flinders, VicLabor}}| | Labor| Jack Holloway 0.2 18.5 18.3| Stanley Bruce| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Franklin>Franklin, TasLabor}}| | LaborCharles Frost (politician)>Charles Frost 1.9 13.0 17.9| Archibald Blacklow| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Fremantle>Fremantle, WALabor}}| | Labor| John Curtin 7.0 13.5 5.5William Watson (Australian politician)>William Watson| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Grey>Grey, SALabor}}| | Labor| Andrew Lacey 9.6 17.1 7.5| Philip McBride| Emergency CommitteeEmergency Committee}}| Division of Gwydir>Gwydir, NSWLabor}}| | Labor| Lou Cunningham 3.7 13.5 9.8| Aubrey Abbott| CountryNationals}}| Division of Hume>Hume, NSWLabor}}| | Labor| Parker Moloney 6.6 14.1 7.5Thomas Collins (Australian politician)>Thomas Collins| CountryNationals}}| Division of Hunter>Hunter, NSWLabor}}| | Labor| Rowley James 100.0 57.2 7.2| Rowley James| Labor (NSW)Lang Labor}}| Division of Indi>Indi, VicLabor}}| | LaborPaul Jones (Australian politician)>Paul Jones 1.4 14.4 13.0William Hutchinson (Australian politician)>William Hutchinson| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Lang>Lang, NSWLabor}}| | LaborWilliam Long (Australian politician)>William Long 16.2 20.4 4.2| Dick Dein| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Macquarie>Macquarie, NSWLabor}}| | Labor| Ben Chifley 15.6 16.2 0.6John Lawson (Australian politician)>John Lawson| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Maribyrnong>Maribyrnong, VicLabor}}| | LaborJames Fenton (Australian politician)>James Fenton 23.2 23.6 0.4James Fenton (Australian politician)>James Fenton| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Martin>Martin, NSWLabor}}| | LaborJohn Eldridge (politician)>John Eldridge 6.4 22.7 16.3| William Holman| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of North Sydney>North Sydney, NSWIndependent Nationalist}}| | Independent Nationalist| Billy Hughes 16.1 23.6 7.5| Billy Hughes| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Oxley (1901-34)>Oxley, QldUAP}}| | United AustraliaJames Bayley (Australian politician)>James Bayley 0.1 5.9 5.8Francis Matthew John Baker>Francis Baker| LaborLabor}}| Division of Parramatta>Parramatta, NSWLabor}}| | LaborAlbert Rowe (politician)>Albert Rowe 3.3 19.5 16.2Frederick Stewart (Australian politician)>Frederick Stewart| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Reid>Reid, NSWLabor}}| | Labor| Percy Coleman N/A 55.3 5.3| Joe Gander| Labor (NSW)Lang Labor}}| Division of South Sydney>South Sydney, NSWLabor}}| | LaborEdward Riley (Australian politician)>Edward Riley 16.3 21.4 5.1John Jennings (Australian politician)>John Jennings| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Wannon>Wannon, VicLabor}}| | LaborJohn McNeill (Australian politician)>John McNeill 2.0 14.3 12.3| Thomas Scholfield| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Wentworth>Wentworth, NSWIndependent Nationalist}}| | Independent NationalistWalter Marks (politician)>Walter Marks 8.3 58.3 15.8| Eric Harrison| United AustraliaUAP}}| Division of Werriwa>Werriwa, NSWLabor}}| | Labor| Bert Lazzarini 15.4 17.1 1.7| Walter McNicoll| CountryNationals}}| Division of West Sydney>West Sydney, NSWLabor}}| | Labor| Jack Beasley 36.5 11.4 15.1| Jack Beasley| Labor (NSW)Lang Labor}}| Division of Wimmera>Wimmera, VicCountry Progressive}}| | Country Progressive| Percy Stewart N/A 21.8 11.8Hugh McClelland (politician)>Hugh McClelland| CountryNationals}}| Division of Wilmot>Wilmot, TasLabor}}| | Labor| Joseph Lyons 2.9 25.0 22.1| Joseph Lyons| United AustraliaUAP}}| 

• Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

See also

• Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1931
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1931–1934
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1932–1935

Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

• University of WA {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118085343elections.uwa.edu.au/ |date=18 January 2015 }} election results in Australia since 1890
• Two-party-preferred vote since 1919

Further reading

• Cook, Peter. “Labor and the Premiers’ Plan.” Labour History (1969): 97–110. in JSTOR
• Denning, Warren, and Alan Douglas Reid. Caucus crisis: the rise & fall of the Scullin government (Hale & Iremonger, 1982)
• Head, Brian. “Economic crisis and political legitimacy: the 1931 federal election.” Journal of Australian Studies (1978) 23 pp: 14-29. online
• Richardson, Nick. “The 1931 Australian Federal Election—Radio Makes History.” Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television (2010) 303 pp: 377-389. DOI:10.1080/01439685.2010.505037
• Roberts, Stephen H. “The Crisis in Australia: September, 1930-January, 1932.” Pacific Affairs (1932) 54 pp: 319-332. in JSTOR
• Robinson, Geoff. “The Australian class structure and Australian politics 1931-40.” APSA 2008: Australasian Political Science Association 2008 Conference. Australasian Political Science Association, 2008. online
• Robertson, J. R. “Scullin as Prime Minister: seven critical decisions.” Labour History (1969): 27–36. in JSTOR
• Robertson, John. J.H. Scullin: A political biography (University of Western Australia Press, 1974)

{{Australian elections}}