1976 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

Australian Labor Party
Deputy Leadership spill, 1976
← 1975 May 1977 →
Deputy Leader before election; Frank Crean;	Deputy Leader after election ; Tom Uren;

A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of opposition in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 27 January 1976, the date of the first Caucus meeting following the 1975 election.

Dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was comfortably re-elected leader of the ALP ahead of senior MPs Lionel Bowen and Frank Crean on the first ballot. A much more extensive series of ballots was required to fill the deputy leadership with eight contenders narrowed down to a final ballot seeing Tom Uren narrowly defeat Paul Keating 33 votes to 30.^[1]

To date, this is the last Australian Labor Party leadership spill at the federal level to be contested by more than two candidates.

Candidates[]

Lionel Bowen, former Minister for Manufacturing Industry, Member for Kingsford Smith
Frank Crean, incumbent Deputy Leader, former Minister for Overseas Trade, Member for Melbourne Ports
Gough Whitlam, incumbent Leader, Member for Werriwa

Withdrawn candidates[]

Gordon Bryant, former Minister for the Capital Territory, Member for Wills^[2]

Potential candidates who declined to run[]

Bill Hayden, former Treasurer, Member for Oxley

Results[]

Leader[]

The following table gives the ballot results:

	Votes	Percentage
Gough Whitlam	36	57.14
Lionel Bowen	14	22.22
Frank Crean	13	20.63

Deputy leader[]

The following table gives the ballot results:^[3]

	1st ballot	2nd ballot	3rd ballot
Tom Uren	15	26	33
Paul Keating	13	21	30
Mick Young	13	16	Eliminated
Kim Beazley	6	Eliminated
Gordon Bryant	5	Eliminated
Gordon Scholes	4	Eliminated
Moss Cass	4	Eliminated
Les Johnson	3	Eliminated

References[]

^ "Clear win to Whitlam". The Canberra Times. 28 January 1976. p. 1.
^ "Whitlam to stay as leader: supporters". The Canberra Times. 22 December 1975. p. 3. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
^ "Voting for Party Leaders". The Canberra Times. 28 January 1976. p. 9.

[1] "Clear win to Whitlam". The Canberra Times. 28 January 1976. p. 1.

[2] "Whitlam to stay as leader: supporters". The Canberra Times. 22 December 1975. p. 3. Retrieved 21 December 2021.

[3] "Voting for Party Leaders". The Canberra Times. 28 January 1976. p. 9.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t Australian Labor Party
Leaders	Chris Watson Andrew Fisher Billy Hughes Frank Tudor Matthew Charlton James Scullin John Curtin Ben Chifley H. V. Evatt Arthur Calwell Gough Whitlam Bill Hayden Bob Hawke Paul Keating Kim Beazley Simon Crean Mark Latham Kim Beazley Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard Kevin Rudd Bill Shorten Anthony Albanese
Deputy leaders	Gregor McGregor Billy Hughes George Pearce Albert Gardiner James Scullin Arthur Blakeley Ted Theodore Frank Forde H. V. Evatt Arthur Calwell Gough Whitlam Lance Barnard Jim Cairns Frank Crean Tom Uren Lionel Bowen Paul Keating Brian Howe Kim Beazley Gareth Evans Simon Crean Jenny Macklin Julia Gillard Wayne Swan Anthony Albanese Tanya Plibersek Richard Marles
Governments	Watson Curtin Chifley Whitlam Hawke Keating Rudd I Gillard Rudd II
Ministries	Watson Fisher 1 2 3 Hughes Scullin Curtin 1 2 Forde Chifley 1 2 Whitlam 1 2 3 Hawke 1 2 3 4 Keating 1 2 Rudd 1 Gillard 1 2 Rudd 2
Shadow cabinets	Crean Latham Beazley (2005–06) Rudd Shorten Albanese
State branches	Australian Capital Territory New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia
Party institutions	National Conference National Executive Australian Young Labor Australian Fabian Society Australian Labor Party Caucus Chifley Research Centre John Curtin House
Factions	Labor Right Labor Left Historical Ferguson Left Lang Labor
History	History of the Australian Labor Party 1916 split 1931 split 1955 split 1975 Australian constitutional crisis Faceless men Federal Labor (NSW) Gang of Four Industrial Groups The light on the hill Tree of Knowledge
Leadership votes	1907 1913 1922 1928 1931 1935 1945 1951 1954 1956 1959 1960 1966 1967 1968 1976 1977 (May) 1977 (Dec) 1982 1983 1991 (Jun) 1991 (Dec) 1996 2001 2003 (Jun) 2003 (Dec) 2005 2006 2010 2012 2013 (Mar) 2013 (Jun) 2013 (Oct) 2019