Australian federal election, 1940

Australian federal election, 1940

21 September 1940
All 74 seats of the Australian House of Representatives 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House 19 (of the 36) seats of the Australian Senate
First party Second party Third party   x200px Leader Robert Menzies John Curtin Jack Lang Party UAP/Country coalition Labor Lang Labor Leader since 26 April 1939 1 October 1935 1940 Leader's seat Kooyong Fremantle Did not run Last election 44 seats 29 seats new party Seats won 36 seats 32 seats 4 Seat change 8 3 4 Percentage 49.70% 50.30% 5.23% Swing 0.90 0.90 5.23
Prime Minister before election Robert Menzies UAP/Country coalition Resulting Prime Minister Robert Menzies UAP/Country coalition

Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 September 1940. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Coalition, consisting of the United Australia Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies and the Country Party led by Archie Cameron, defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by John Curtin. The Coalition won 36 seats, two short of a majority, but formed a government on 28 October 1940 with the support of two independent MPs, Alex Wilson and Arthur Coles.

A year later in October 1941 the two independents switched their support to Labor, bringing Curtin to power.

Results

House of Reps (IRV) — 1940–43—Turnout 94.82% (CV) — Informal 2.56%

	Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Australian Labor Party	1,556,941	40.16	−3.02	32	+3
	United Australia Party	1,171,788	30.22	−3.48	23	-5
	Country Party	531,397	13.71	−1.84	13	-3
	Australian Labor Party (Non-Communist)	202,721	5.23	*	4	+4
	State Labor Party	101,191	2.61	*	0	0
	Independents	312,948	8.07	+3.89	2	+1
	Total	3,876,986			74
	UAP/Country coalition		49.70	−0.90	36	−8
	Australian Labor Party		50.30	+0.90	32	+3

Independents: Arthur Coles (Henty, Vic), Alexander Wilson (Wimmera, Vic)

Note that the Victorian Country Party at this election was split into two factions, the United Country Party, which was loyal to the state party, and the Liberal Country Party, loyal to the federal party and formed following John McEwen's expulsion from the UCP. The UCP elected one member and the LCP two.

Popular Vote
Labor			40.16%
United Australia			30.22%
Country			13.71%
ALP (Non-Communist)			5.23%
State Labor			2.61%
Independent			8.07%

Two Party Preferred Vote
Labor			50.30%
Coalition			49.70%

Parliament Seats
Coalition			48.64%
Labor			43.24%
ALP (Non-Communist)			5.41%
Independent			2.70%

Senate (P BV) — 1940–43—Turnout 94.75% (CV) — Informal 9.56%

	Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held	Change
	UAP/Country (Joint Ticket)	1,587,541	43.70	+15.02	10
	Australian Labor Party	1,363,072	37.52	−10.96	3	17	+1
	Non-Communist Labor Party	274,861	7.57	*	0	0	0
	United Australia Party	243,597	6.71	−9.42	6	15	−1
	Country Party	*	*	−1.90	0	4	0
	Independents	71,760	1.98	−1.41	0	0	0
	Other	91,986	2.53		0	0	0
	Total	4,097,326			19	36

Background

Until the 1940 Canberra air disaster on 13 August, Menzies was not planning an election so early, as it was not due until December 1940 or even as late as January 1941. However, the loss of three Cabinet ministers meant that three by-elections would have been required, followed within a few short months by a general election. Bringing the general election on earlier than planned was the preferred solution.

Both the Coalition and Labor supported Australia's ongoing participation in World War II. The Coalition's advertisements asked Australians to "Cast Your Vote for Unity and an All-in War Effort / Back the Government that's Backing Churchill", with a large picture of the British Prime Minister. Labor promised "A New Deal / for the Soldier / for the Soldier's wife / Widows, the Aged and Infirm / the Taxpayer / the Working Man / the Primary Producer".

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1940				Swing	Post-1940
	Party		Member	Margin		Margin	Member	Party
Barton, NSW		United Australia	Albert Lane	1.8	13.9	12.1	H.V. Evatt	Labor
Calare, NSW		Country	Harold Thorby	2.2	5.6	3.4	John Breen	Labor
Cook, NSW		Labor	Tom Sheehan	N/A	33.9	13.6	Tom Sheehan	Labor (N-C)
Dalley, NSW		Labor	Sol Rosevear	N/A	14.9	7.2	Sol Rosevear	Labor (N-C)
Denison, Tas		Labor	Gerald Mahoney	3.9	5.0	1.1	Arthur Beck	United Australia
Henty, Vic		United Australia	Henry Gullett	N/A	3.2	13.5	Arthur Coles	Independent
Lang, NSW		Labor	Dan Mulcahy	N/A	13.4	16.0	Dan Mulcahy	Labor (N-C)
Macquarie, NSW		United Australia	John Lawson	2.1	10.2	8.1	Ben Chifley	Labor
Maranoa, Qld		Country	James Hunter	4.3	5.9	1.6	Frank Baker	Labor
Riverina, NSW		Country	Horace Nock	7.2	8.8	1.6	Joe Langtry	Labor
Wakefield, SA		Labor	Sydney McHugh	6.7	10.0	3.4	Jack Duncan-Hughes	United Australia
Wannon, Vic		United Australia	Thomas Scholfield	1.3	5.0	3.7	Don McLeod	Labor
Warringah, NSW		Independent	Percy Spender	1.9	23.6	25.5	Percy Spender	United Australia
Watson, NSW		United Australia	John Jennings	3.8	5.8	2.0	Max Falstein	Labor
West Sydney, NSW		Labor	Jack Beasley	100.0	64.3	14.3	Jack Beasley	Labor (N-C)
Wilmot, Tas		Labor	Lancelot Spurr	0.2	5.2	5.0	Allan Guy	United Australia

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

See also

• Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1940
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1940–1943
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1941–1944

References

• University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
• Two-party-preferred vote since 1937