Richard Seddon - Premiership

Premiership

In 1892, Ballance fell seriously ill and made Seddon acting leader of the House. After Ballance's death in 1893, the Governor David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow automatically asked Seddon to form a ministry. Despite the refusal of William Pember Reeves and Thomas Mackenzie to accept his leadership, Seddon managed to secure the backing of his Liberal Party colleagues as interim leader, with an understanding being reached that a full vote would occur when Parliament resumed sitting. Seddon's most prominent challenger was Robert Stout, who – like Ballance – had a strong belief in liberal principles. Ballance himself had preferred Stout as his successor, but had died before being able to secure this aim. Despite Seddon's promise, however, there was no vote – by convincing his party colleagues that a leadership contest would split the party in two, or at least leave deep divisions, Seddon managed to secure a permanent hold on the leadership. Stout continued to be one of his strongest critics.