What is the Liberal Party?
Q: What is the Liberal Party?
A: The Liberal Party was a political party in Australia based in Victoria and South Australia.
Q: When was the party active?
A: The party was mainly active in 1922.
Q: Who formed the Liberal Party?
A: The Liberal Party was formed by members of the Nationalist Party of Australia who did not support the leader, Prime Minister Billy Hughes. It was begun by two Victorian men, Thomas Ashworth and Charles Merrett.
Q: Who joined the Liberal Party?
A: Two federal Nationalist MPs, Victorian William Watt and South Australian Richard Foster, joined the Liberal Party. In the 1922 federal election, three more MPs (John Latham from Victoria, and Malcolm Cameron and Jack Duncan-Hughes from South Australia) were elected.
Q: What led to Hughes retirement?
A: When the new Country Party refused to support Hughes, he decided to retire and leave the Prime Ministership to Stanley Bruce.
Q: Did the Liberals rejoin the Nationalist Party?
A: Yes, all five Liberals rejoined the Nationalist Party, although they remained officially Liberals until 1925.
Q: Where was the Liberal Party active?
A: The Liberal Party was based in Victoria and South Australia.
