February 1880 Victorian colonial election
28 February 1880
All 86 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
  First party Second party
 
Leader James Service Graham Berry
Party Constitutionalist Liberal (Protectionist)
Leader's seat Maldon Geelong
Seats won 49 34
Percentage 50.29 45.66
Premier before election

Graham Berry
Liberal

 Elected Premier

James Service
Constitutionalist

The February 1880 Victorian colonial election was held on 28 February 1880 to elect the 10th Parliament of Victoria. All 86 seats in 55 electorates in the Legislative Assembly were up for election, though two seats were uncontested.[1]

There were 31 single-member, 20 two-member and 5 three-member electorates.[1]

The liberal (or protectionist) government of Graham Berry was narrowly defeated by the Constitutionalist (moderate liberal) opposition led by James Service, who formed a new government on March 5.[1][2]

Results

Legislative Assembly (FPTP)[1]
Party Votes  % Swing Seats Change
  Constitutionalist 111,395 50.29 49
  Liberal (Protectionist) 101,146 45.66 34
  Independent 8,984 4.06 3
 Totals 221,525 86

Aftermath

Although James Service won the February 1880 election with a workable majority, he remained Premier for only six months after an unsuccessful attempt to reform the Legislative Council. The Service Reform Bill provided for a wider Legislative Council franchise and a double dissolution if the Council twice rejected a bill passed by the Assembly in two consecutive sessions (followed by a joint sitting of the Houses).[3] In June 1880 a motion for the second reading of the reform bill in the Legislative Assembly was lost by two votes, after which Service was granted a dissolution in the full confidence he would win the subsequent election.[4][2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Tenth Parliament Elected 28 February 1880". Psephos: Adam Carr's Electoral Archive.
  2. 1 2 Geoffrey Serle (1976), James Service (1823–1899), Australian Dictionary of Biography website, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 11 December 2023.
  3. ↑ The Case for the Service Reform Bill, The Argus (Melbourne), 9 July 1880, page 7.
  4. ↑ Editorial, The Ballarat Courier, 26 June 1880, page 2.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.