Rhodesia Party
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Rhodesia Party
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|---|---|
| Abbreviation | RGA |
| First Leader | Charles Coghlan |
| Founded | 1917 |
| Dissolved | 1934 |
| Merged into | United Party |
| Headquarters | Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia |
| Ideology |
Liberalism Anti-Unionism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| International affiliation | None |
The Responsible Government Association (RGA), called the Rhodesia Party from 1923, was a political party in Southern Rhodesia. Founded in 1917, it initially advocated responsible government for Southern Rhodesia within the British Empire, as opposed to incorporation into the Union of South Africa. When responsible government was achieved in 1923, the party became the governing Rhodesia Party. It endured until 1934, when it merged with the right wing of the Reform Party to create the United Party, which remained in power for 28 years afterwards, and was itself defunct by 1965.
Led by Sir Charles Coghlan, a Bulawayo lawyer originally from South Africa, the RGA was formed in 1917, and fought the 1920 election to the colony's Legislative Council. The party's main platform was one in favour of responsible government for Southern Rhodesia within the British Empire, and against incorporation into the Union of South Africa, which had been formed in 1910 by the British South Africa Act, 1909. In this campaign the RGA was allied to the Labour Party, whilst its main opponents were the Unionists, who advocated integration into South Africa. A government referendum was organised in 1922, and responsible government won the day. Southern Rhodesia was duly made self-governing and semi-independent within the Empire in October 1923.
Coghlan became the first Premier of Southern Rhodesia, and the party continued as the Rhodesia Party, which had a broader base of support, including a number of former unionists in its cabinet. It remained in power until September 1933, when the party narrowly topped the popular vote, but lost the election, winning only nine of the 30 seats compared to the Reform Party's 16. Although the Reform Party was left-wing in name, many of its leading members, including the new prime minister Dr Godfrey Huggins, were politically conservative; the Rhodesia Party merged with the Reform Party's more rightist members in 1934 to form the United Party.
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