The Protestant Labour Party, alternatively spelt Protestant Labor, was a minor Australian

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

that operated mainly in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in the 1920s and 1930s. It was formed by

Walter Skelton Walter Peden Joyce Skelton MBE (28 March 1883 – 21 May 1979) was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. Skelton was born in Boggabri, New South Wales, ninth child of a railway fettler, e ...

in July 1923 as the Protestant Independent Labour Party. who had stood for the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

district of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

at the 1922 election, campaigning as a Protestant

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Labour candidate, in which he was elected first of five members, receiving 25.19% of the vote. In 1925 he was re-elected to the Assembly under the Protestant Labour label, as the second of five members, receiving 17.70% of the vote. The party stood candidates in 12 of the 24 districts however Skelton was the only one elected, with the next highest candidate receiving 5.10% of the district vote. In 1924,

was elected President of the

division of the party, in

Hamilton, New South Wales Hamilton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. The main commercial centre is located around Beaumont Street and boasts a vibrant multicultural atmosphere providing an array o ...

, which was the main faction of the party. When single-member constituencies were re-introduced in 1927 Skelton stood for the seat of

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...

but was defeated by the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate, receiving 42.19% of the vote. Skelton stood again for the 1928 Hamilton by-election but was again defeated by the Labor candidate, receiving 48.78% of the vote after the distribution of preferences. At the 1927 South Australian election, Thomas Thompson was elected under the Protestant Labor Party banner to the two-member seat of

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

, increasing his margin in a by-election following a challenge to his election. In 1930 he stood for the Legislative Council but was unsuccessful, as were the two Protestant Labor candidates for his former seat of Port Adelaide. In 1938 the party elected George Morris to the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

as the member for Kelvin Grove, but the party was soon moribund and he sat out his term as an independent. The party was formed in an attempt to counter the perceived

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dominance within the ALP. Aside from the

sectarian Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...

issue, its policies were broadly in agreement with the ALP.

References

{{Defunct Australian political parties 1923 establishments in Australia Australian Labor Party breakaway groups Defunct political parties in Australia Labour parties Political parties established in 1923 Protestant political parties

See also

References