struggling, and in 1931, the Labour Party withdrew its support in protest at certain economic measures. Following Ward's resignation in May 1930, George Forbes became the leader of the United Party and Prime Minister. The Reform Party reluctantly agreed to support the United Party government, as the depression had raised fears of major gains for Labour if an election were held. United and Reform established a coalition government, with United's Forbes remaining Prime Minister but Reform's Downie Stewart becoming Finance Minister. In coalition, the two parties suffered only minor losses in the 1931 elections; the United-Reform Coalition government won 51 seats while Labour won 24 seats. As the depression failed to dissipate, however, the government became more and more unpopular, and support for the Labour Party soared. Clashes between Gordon Coates (who still led Reform) and Downie Stewart over economic policy eventually prompted Downie Stewart's resignation in January 1933, earning the government a new critic and hurting its popularity still further. In addition, some of the coalition's measures to revive the economy were condemned by some as "socialist" — the Democrat Party, founded to fight this "socialism", cost the coalition a certain amount of support. In the 1935 general election, the coalition to suffered a massive defeat to the Labour Party, winning only 19 seats to Labour's 53. Shortly after losing the 1935 elections, Reform and United resolved to merge completely in 1936, creating a united front against Labour. The new group was named the National Party, and has remained Labour's principal opponent ever since. Parliamentary leaders Key: PM: Prime Minister LO: Leader of the Opposition †: Died in office Electoral results †Total Coalition vote. References Further reading Contemporary sources The N.Z. Labour Party’s land policy: its destructive effect on private ownership: how the "working farmer" would fare under socialism , a lecture given by the chancellor of the University of New Zealand at Victoria University College on 30 June 1910. Defunct political parties in New Zealand Political parties established in 1909 Political parties disestablished in 1935 Conservative parties in New Zealand 1909 establishments in New Zealand