Progressive Party of New South Wales | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1920 |
| Dissolved | 1927 |
| Succeeded by | Country Party (NSW branch) |
TheProgressive Party of New South Wales was aNew South Wales political party that operated between 1920 and 1927, achieving representation in theLegislative Assembly due toproportional representation. It was not a direct successor to the earlierProgressive Party that had operated in the state between 1901 and 1907, but did include members of the former party includingGeorge Briner andWalter Bennett.
The party attracted support from conservative voters in both rural and urban NSW. As a result, its policies were socially conservative but had elements ofagrarian socialism.[citation needed] At the1920 election it won 15 seats.[1]
In December 1921, the party split over the question of support for thefirst government ofNationalist Party politicianGeorge Fuller.[2] An urban wing, led byThomas Ley andWalter Wearne, agreed to enter Fuller's coalition, but a rural wing ("The True Blues"), led byMichael Bruxner andErnest Buttenshaw, offered Fuller only conditional support. The urban members of the party were absorbed into the Nationalist Party at that time.[citation needed] The Progressive Party was reduced to nine rural members at the1922 election and was a coalition partner in Fuller'ssecond government.[3]
The rural wing contested the1925 election and maintained its nine seats,[4] but in 1927, it reorganised as the NSW branch of theCountry Party, of which the Progressive Party was essentially a fore-runner.[citation needed]
This table provides the details of the 1921 split, covering members of the Legislative Assembly.
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