(which reduced wages and pensions), and when Scullin accepted it he resigned his position as Assistant Minister for Industry, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, in June 1931. The government fell at the end of the year, forcing an early election. With Labor's support dwindling, Holloway knew his chances of holding Flinders were slim. Not only was he a trade unionist holding a naturally upper-class seat, but Bruce was priming for a rematch. Instead, Holloway transferred to the safe Labor seat of Melbourne Ports, whose incumbent Labor MP, James Mathews, was retiring. Holloway's guess proved right. While Flinders reverted to form with Bruce winning it on an 18.5 percent swing, Holloway retained Melbourne Ports for Labor without serious difficulty as the two Labor factions were cut down to only 18 seats between them. In opposition, Holloway was determined that Labor would never again adopt what he saw as anti-working-class policies. When Scullin retired as Labor leader in 1935, Holloway opposed Frank Forde's candidacy to succeed him on the grounds that Forde supported the Premiers' Plan five years earlier. He threw the support of left-wing members of caucus to John Curtin, who won the leadership ballot by just a single vote. Holloway thus became one of Curtin's most powerful supporters. Government minister When Labor came to power in October 1941, Curtin appointed Holloway Minister for Social Services and Minister for Health. In 1943, when Labor won large majorities in both houses of the Parliament, Holloway became Minister for Labour and National Service. Under wartime regulations, this gave him almost unlimited power over the labour force and the allocation of manpower. When Curtin died in 1945 Holloway again opposed Forde's leadership bid, helping to ensure that Ben Chifley, like himself an ex-trade unionist, was elected leader. In April and May 1949, Holloway served as acting prime minister for 17 days while Chifley and Labor deputy leader (de facto Deputy Prime Minister) H. V. Evatt were out of the country. Holloway retained his Labour portfolio under Chifley, and played a leading role in defeating the 1949 strike in the coal industry, which had been fomented by the Communist Party of Australia as a challenge to the Labor Party. This caused the rupture of some of his lifelong friendships in the left-wing of the union movement. When the Chifley government was defeated in 1949, Holloway, by now 74, retired to the backbench. Frank Crean