1923, Forke moved an amendment to W.S. Fielding's budget, called for dramatic reductions in tariff rates. This was defeated, although two backbench Liberals voted with the Progressives. One year later, Forke refused to support a similar motion from J.S. Woodsworth which could have brought the government down. Forke served as Progressive Party leader at a time when the party, which never had a strong central organization to begin with, was fragmenting into a series of smaller factions. Several Members of Parliament left the Progressive caucus between 1922 and 1925, including the radical "Ginger Group" on the left and tacit Liberal Party supporters on the right. Forke attempted to maintain party unity, although the party's internal contradictions may have ultimately made this task impossible. For the 1925 federal election, Forke issued a party manifesto which described both of the "old parties" as ineffective, and opposed formal alignment with the Liberals. Forke himself only campaigned in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and the Progressive effort as a whole was weaker than in 1921. The party fell to 24 seats, all of which located west of Ontario. Forke was personally re-elected in Brandon, though by a greatly reduced margin. The Conservative Party emerged as the largest parliamentary group in the election but did not win a majority of seats, leaving the Progressives in a kingmaker position. After a series of negotiations, and with Forke's personal encouragement, the Progressive caucus agreed to support the Liberals under Mackenzie King. Forke favoured cabinet representation for his party, but this was rejected by the Alberta wing. Forke was retained as Progressive house leader at a meeting in early 1926, although Alberta representative Henry Elvins Spencer was chosen as the new party secretary. Morton speculates that Forke and the Manitoba Progressive MPs were reconciled to a Liberal-Progressive fusion by this time, and argues that it was only the Customs Scandal which prevented this from happening in the 1925-26 parliament. Forke resigned as Progressive house leader on June 30, 1926, one day after Mackenzie King resigned as Prime Minister. Conservative leader Arthur Meighen was nominated by the Governor-General to replace King as Prime Minister, but Meighen's government soon fell on a confidence measure when the Progressive refused to support him. The Progressive Party did not fight the 1926 election as a united force, and instead fragmented into a series of provincial organizations which followed different strategies. The Manitoba Progressives forged an