In 1903, Queensland's long-running Continuous Ministry fell and was replaced by a coalition of liberals and Labor.
[4] Kidston demanded greater loyalty to himself but the 1907 party convention reaffirmed the socialist objective, resulting in a split.
[2]: 173 [5] All but fourteen members of the Labor parliamentary party rallied to Kidston's banner, and in the 1907 state election, the Kidstonites won twenty-four seats.
Because neither they nor Labor nor Robert Philp's Conservative group had a majority, a three-party system operated in the state over the next two years, with no party able to govern alone.
[7] Not all Kidstonite parliamentarians accepted the merger, and a group called the "Independent Opposition" emerged, headed by former Attorney General James Blair, which included former Labor leaders Peter Airey and George Kerr.