 In September 1923, Harry Lawson formed a composite ministry, Victoria's first conservative coalition, and bringing the VFU into government, with five members, with John Allan as Deputy Premier.The VFU, however, refused to support the coalition and voted it down at its annual conference in March 1924, forcing Lawson to dismiss the Country ministers and form a Nationalist cabinet.In 1925, the VFU suffered a major setback when John Hall (the party's candidate in the Flinders by-election), and its former core support base of Mallee wheat farmers, split from the VFU and formed a new organisation, the Primary Producers' Union (PPU).