1914 Victorian state election

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1914 Victorian state election

← 1911 26 November 1914 (1914-11-26) 1917 →

49 (of the 65) seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
  First party Second party
 
Leader Alexander Peacock
George Elmslie
Party Democratic Liberal
Labor
Leader since June 1914 September 1913
Leader's seat Allandale Albert Park
Last election 43 seats 20 seats
Seats won 43 seats 22 seats
Seat change Steady 0 Increase 2
Percentage 56.89% 39.29%
Swing Increase 4.86 Decrease 3.48

Premier before election

Alexander Peacock
Democratic Liberal

Elected Premier

Alexander Peacock
Democratic Liberal

The 1914 Victorian state election was held in the

Victoria on Thursday, 26 November 1914 to elect 49 of the 65 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.[1]

Background

Politics in the state of Victoria in the previous decade had been a 3-way contest between the Conservative, Liberal and Labor parties. Following the example of the federal party, the Conservative and Liberal factions in Victoria united to form the

Liberal Party. This new party dominated politics in the state, forming government with a majority of 43 of 65 seats in the previous election
, although a new divide formed between city and rural based MPs.

This divide resulted in a

George Elmslie
to government, although it was impossible to retain its position due to its minority in numbers, and that the law at the time stated that new ministers had to recontest their seats at by-elections.

Watt returned as Premier on 22 December 1913, and remained until he resigned in June 1914 to enter Federal politics. He was replaced by former Premier Alexander Peacock. A month later, World War I broke out. Peacock's administration enthusiastically contributed to the war, and was seeking reelection on this basis.

Results

Legislative Assembly

Victorian state election, 26 November 1914[2]
Legislative Assembly
<< 19111917 >>

Enrolled voters 810,026
Votes cast 319,950 Turnout 39.50 –15.90
Informal votes 7,294 Informal 2.27 +0.91
Summary of votes by party
Party Primary votes % Swing Seats Change
  Liberal 167,112 53.44 +6.83 42 – 2
  Labor 121,562 38.88 –4.18 21 + 2
  Independent 24,022 7.68 –2.65 2 ± 0
Total 312,696     65  

Notes:

See also

References