to resign from his Secretariat position with SAWPA; but he retained his role with the AWF. He also helped found the Primary Producers Council of Australia (the antecedent of the National Farmers' Federation) in 1934 and continued to play a leading role within that organisation. This influence within these important primary industry bodies allowed Stott to build a power base for himself that assisted with his continued re-election over the next three decades. In addition to his parliamentary work on rural issues, such as successfully introducing legislation to secure a (high) stable price for wheat and to enable bulk handling of grain, Stott also proved himself to be adept at championing prickly social issues, including introducing a successful Private Member's Bill to reduce the period a divorce could be granted in the case of desertion from five to three years. This success led the government to approach Stott to introduce other controversial social issue legislation that the LCL supported but did not want to introduce. The public recognised this, and many people who approached Stott for assistance were not in his electorate. Stott was comfortably re-elected at the 1938 South Australian election in the newly formed Electoral district of Ridley (following the division of Albert into two single electoral districts). He was one of 14 independents in the chamber. The independents as a grouping won 40 percent of the primary vote, more than either of the major parties. Stott was the de facto leader of the independent caucus within parliament. The incumbent LCL government only held 15 of 39 seats, which led to uncertainty over which party, if any, could form government. This confusion led Stott, as the most experienced and famous of the Independent MPs, to believe that he could become Premier of South Australia himself. He failed to gain the support of sufficient independents and LCL members to achieve this; but the LCL government was forced to rely on his support far more than its members would have liked. The commencement of World War II led Stott to argue that the forthcoming 1941 election should be cancelled and an LCL/ALP/Independent coalition government instigated (perhaps with himself in a prominent position) to concentrate on fighting the war. He failed to gain support for this plan, and the election went ahead, with Stott easily retaining his seat. So great a reputation did he have as the friend of primary industry,