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Hughes and the Nationalists governed on their own until the elections of 1922, when the newly emerged Country Party gained the Balance Of Power in the House Of Representatives . Country Party leader Earle Page demanded Hughes' resignation as party leader in return for their support. The Nationalists duly dumped Hughes, elected Stanley Bruce as leader, and formed a coalition government with the Country Party. The Bruce-Page government continued in office until 1929 , when the embittered Hughes led a group of backbenchers to Cross The Floor on a vote on Bruce's plans to reform the industrial arbitration system. In the subsequent election, Bruce lost his own seat and the Nationalist Party ceased to exist as a real force in Australian politics.

In 1931 , following negotiations with a group of Labor Party defectors led by Joseph Lyons , the Nationalist Party was absorbed into the new United Australia Party , with Lyons as leader. The UAP replaced the Nationalists as the main conservative anti-Labor Party.


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