# 1956 Queensland state election

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 19 May 1956 to elect the 75 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government was seeking its ninth continuous term in office since the 1932 election; it would be Vince Gair's second election as Premier.
Labor would not win another election in the state until 1989.

## Key dates

| Date | Event |
| 17 April 1956 | The Parliament was dissolved. |
| 17 April 1956 | Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. |
| 27 April 1956 | Close of nominations. |
| 19 May 1956 | Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
| 26 May 1956 | Polling day in the seat of Warrego, delayed due to absence of the presiding officer. |
| 28 May 1956 | The Gair Ministry was re-sworn in. |
| 2 June 1956 | Polling day in the seat of Tablelands, delayed due to floods. |
| 30 June 1956 | The writ was returned and the results formally declared. |
| 31 July 1956 | Parliament resumed for business. |

## Results

Queensland state election, 19 May 1956 Legislative Assembly
<< 1953–1957 >> :
| Enrolled voters | Enrolled voters | 712,508 | | | | |
| Votes cast | Votes cast | 662,680 | | Turnout | 93.01 | –0.79 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | 8,006 | | Informal | 1.21 | –0.07 |
| Summary of votes by party |||||||
| Party | Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | 335,311 | 51.22 | –1.99 | 49 | – 1 |
| | Liberal | 164,116 | 25.07 | +3.77 | 8 | ± 0 |
| | Country | 126,183 | 19.27 | +0.53 | 16 | + 1 |
| | NQ Labor | 8,625 | 1.32 | +0.22 | 1 | ± 0 |
| | Communist | 1,332 | 0.20 | –0.45 | 0 | ± 0 |
| | Independent Labor | 414 | 0.06 | –0.08 | 0 | ± 0 |
| | Independent | 18,693 | 2.86 | –0.26 | 1 | ± 0 |
| Total | Total | 654,674 | | | 75 | |
Popular vote
Labor
51.22%
Liberal
25.07%
Country
19.27%
NQ Labor
1.32%
Communist
0.20%
Independents
2.92% :
Seats
Labor
65.33%
Country
21.33%
Liberal
10.67%
NQ Labor
1.33%
Independents
1.33% :
    $^1$ 775,258 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 6 seats representing 62,750 enrolled voters were unopposed: three Country seats (28,062 voters), two Liberal seats (23,119 voters) and one Labor seat (11,569 voters).

## Seats changing party representation

This table lists changes in party representation at the 1956 election.
Party :
| Mackenzie | Paddy Whyte | Labor | Nev Hewitt | Country |

## Aftermath

This was to be Labor's last successful election until the 1989 election. On 18 April 1957, the Queensland Central Executive of the Labor Party passed a vote of no confidence in Premier Gair, and on 24 April, despite having gained a unanimous vote of support from the Cabinet, he was expelled from the Labor Party. On 26 April, Gair convened a meeting of 25 MLAs, including all of the Cabinet except Deputy Premier John Duggan and two ex-Labor Independents, and formed the Queensland Labor Party (QLP) with those present, while the Labor Party moved to the opposition benches. All these were also expelled from the party. The resulting government was denied supply in parliament, and an election was called for 3 August, at which the QLP government and the Labor Party were defeated by the Country-Liberal coalition led by Frank Nicklin.