The Commonwealth Liberal Party (CLP, also known as The Fusion, or the Deakinite Liberal Party) was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1917, shortly after Federation. It was the earliest direct ancestor of the Liberal Party of Australia.
The party was formed in response to the Australian Labor Party forming its second government, in 1908. The establishment put considerable pressure on Alfred Deakin, the leader of the Protectionist Party, and Joseph Cook, leader of the Anti-Socialist Party, to join forces in order to counter Labor's growing popularity. In 1909, the Protectionists and Anti-Socialists merged to form the CLP, based on a shared platform of opposing Labor. Deakin was the new party's first leader, with Cook as deputy leader. The merger didn't sit well with several of the more liberal Protectionists, who defected to Labor.
Between them, the Protectionists and Anti-Socialists had a majority in the House of Representatives. As a result, the newly merged party used its numbers to force Prime Minister Andrew Fisher to resign, and Deakin took office as head of Australia's first majority government. However, it was defeated by Labor at its first election, held less than a year later in 1910.
Cook took over the leadership from Deakin shortly before the 1913 election and won government by a single seat. However, only a year later, Cook deliberately introduced a bill abolishing preferential treatment for public-service union members. Cook knew the Labor-controlled Senate would vote it down, giving him an excuse to call a double dissolution election. When the Senate rejected it twice, Cook called the a double dissolution election, the first since Federation. The CLP was soundly defeated, and Labor won control of both chambers.
The CLP remained in opposition until November 1916, when it reached a confidence and supply agreement with Prime Minister Billy Hughes, who had recently been expelled from the ALP for supporting conscription in World War I and organised his followers as the National Labor Party. In February 1917, the CLP and National Labor formally merged to form the Nationalist Party of Australia. Although the merged party was dominated by former Liberals, Hughes became its leader with Cook as his deputy.
The Commonwealth Liberal Party is often referred to by the retronym the Deakinite Liberal Party in order to distinguish it from the Liberal Party of Australia.
Read more about Commonwealth Liberal Party: Leaders
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