Victorian state election, 1914

Victorian state election, 1914

26 November 1914 (1914-11-26)

49 (of the 65) seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly   First party Second party   Leader Alexander Peacock George Elmslie Party 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 0 2 Percentage 56.89% 39.29% Swing 4.86 3.48

Premier before election Alexander Peacock Commonwealth Liberal Elected Premier Alexander Peacock Commonwealth Liberal

The 1914 Victorian state election was held in the Australian state of 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 no confidence motion being passed to the government of William Watt, when the rural based Liberal MPs and the opposition Labor MPs defeated the government in December 1913. To much surprise, Governor John Madden appointed the opposition Labor party under 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

Notes:

• Sixteen seats were uncontested at this election, and were retained by the incumbent parties:
  • Liberal (7): Allandale, Borung, Dandenong, Gippsland South, Gippsland West, Gunbower, Lowan,
  • Labor (9): Abbotsford, Albert Park, Carlton, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Flemington, Geelong, Port Melbourne, Williamstown

See also

• Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, 1914–1917

References

Elections and referendums in Victoria
General elections	1856 1859 1861 1864 1866 1868 1871 1874 1877 1880 (Feb) 1880 (Jul) 1883 1886 1889 1892 1894 1897 1900 1902 1904 1907 1908 1911 1914 1917 1920 1921 1924 1927 1929 1932 1935 1937 1940 1943 1945 1947 1950 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1992 1996 1999 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 by-elections
Upper house elections	1851 1856 1858 1860 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1889 1890 1892 1894 1895 1896 1898 1900 1901 1902 1904 1907 1910 1913 1916 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958
Referendums	1898 1899