May 1977 Australian Labor Party leadership spill
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox election
|election_name = May 1977 Australian Labor Party
Leadership spill
|country = Australia
|type = presidential
|vote_type = Caucus
|ongoing = no
|previous_election = 1976 Australian Labor Party leadership spill
|previous_year = 1976
|next_election = December 1977 Australian Labor Party leadership election
|next_year = December 1977
|election_date = 31 May 1977
|image1 = 140x140px
|candidate1 = Gough Whitlam
|colour1 = DC241F
|popular_vote1 = 32 (51.6%)
|image2 = 140x140px
|candidate2 = Bill Hayden
|colour2 = DC241F
|popular_vote2 = 30 (48.4%)
|title = Leader
|before_election = Gough Whitlam
|after_election = Gough Whitlam
}}
A leadership spill of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), then the opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 31 May 1977. Former Treasurer Bill Hayden unsuccessfully challenged Labor leader Gough Whitlam. Whitlam was narrowly re-elected by 32 votes to 30 (the smallest possible majority) leading him to later refer to many in his caucus as 'out of touch'.{{cite news|title=Many Labor MPs 'out of touch' |author=Davidson, Gay |work=The Canberra Times |date=1 June 1977 |page=1 }}
Background
After his party's heavy defeat at the 1975 election Gough Whitlam was comfortably re-elected leader of the ALP. However over the following year his support began to fall away and many MPs lobbied his former Treasurer Bill Hayden to stand against him. In March 1977 Hayden announced his candidacy.{{cite web |author1=Gay Davidson |title=Hayden to run as leader of ALP |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110728107 |publisher=The Canberra Times |access-date=20 December 2021 |date=12 March 1977 |page=1}}{{cite web |author1=Gay Davidson |title=THE LABOR LEADERSHIP The factions gear up for the numbers games |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110728496 |publisher=The Canberra Times |access-date=20 December 2021 |date=15 March 1977 |page=2}}{{cite web |title=Leadership vote: HAYDEN TO CHALLENGE WHITLAM |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/250482625 |publisher=The Canberra Times |access-date=20 December 2021 |date=31 May 1977}}
Candidates
- Bill Hayden, Shadow Minister for Economic Management, Member for Oxley
- Gough Whitlam, incumbent Leader, Member for Werriwa
Potential candidates who declined to run
Results
{{Infobox election
|election_name = Australian Labor Party
Deputy Leadership spill, May 1977
|flag_image = Australian-Labor-Party-stub.svg
|type = presidential
|vote_type = Caucus
|ongoing = no
|previous_election = 1976 Australian Labor Party leadership spill
|previous_year = 1976
|next_election = December 1977 Australian Labor Party leadership election
|next_year = December 1977
|election_date =
|1blank = First ballot
|2blank = {{nowrap|Second ballot}}
|image1 = 140x140px
|candidate1 = Tom Uren
|colour1 = DC241F
|1data1 = 28 (45.2%)
|2data1 = 34 (54.8%)
|image2 = 140x140px
|candidate2 = Paul Keating
|colour2 = DC241F
|1data2 = 22 (35.5%)
|2data2 = 28 (45.3%)
|image3 = 140x140px
|candidate3 = Chris Hurford
|colour3 = DC241F
|1data3 = 12 (19.4%)
|2data3 = Eliminated
|title = Deputy Leader
|pretitle = Deputy Leader before election
|posttitle = Deputy Leader after election
|before_election = Tom Uren
|after_election = Tom Uren
}}
=Leadership ballot=
The following tables gives the ballot results:{{cite web |title=Gough stays as ALP boss |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/250482759 |publisher=The Canberra Times |access-date=1 December 2021 |date=1 June 1977}}
| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" | Name ! Votes ! Percentage |
| style="background:#DC241F"|
| 32 | 51.62 |
| style="background:#DC241F"|
| 30 | 48.38 |
=Deputy leadership ballot=
| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" | Candidate ! 1st ballot ! 2nd ballot |
| style="background:#DC241F"|
| Tom Uren | 28 | 34 |
| style="background:#DC241F"|
| 22 | 28 |
| style="background:#DC241F"|
| 12 | {{N/A|Eliminated}} |
Aftermath
Despite surviving the vote the ALP only gained a handful of seats at the 1977 election, which prompted Whitlam to resign as leader with Hayden elected as his replacement.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Australian Labor Party}}
{{Leadership spills in Australia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1977 05 Australian Labor Party leadership spill}}
Category:Australian Labor Party leadership spills
Australian Labor Party leadership spill