While struggling to balance an uneasy alliance of trade unionists and progressive social reformers during the 1890s, the political labor movement in Victoria underwent several changes of name.

They stood as part of the United Labor and Liberal Party, formed in 1894 to replace the Progressive Political League, which won 18 of the 95 seats.

Prendergast resigned the leadership because of ill-health in 1913, to be succeeded by George Elmslie, who had been elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1902 and became deputy leader in 1912.

The acting Governor, John Madden, surprised the Liberals by sending for Elmslie, who on 9 December formed Victoria's first Labor government.

In 1921, the VFU voted with Labor against the Nationalist government when it abolished the compulsory wheat pool operating in the state, leading to a dissolution of Parliament and the 1921 election, which maintained the same balance of power.

In April 1924, the VFU, now called the Country Party, again withdrew its support from the Nationalist government when it tried to legislate a reduction in the rural over-representation.

Immediate action was taken to provide shelter for unemployed Victorians, while the government set up royal commissions into the causes of a major police strike in 1923, the prices of bread and flour, and the soldier settlement scheme.

His main drawback was his close association with the Melbourne horse-racing, boxing and gambling identity John Wren, who was widely suspected of corruption.

But this alliance broke down in 1928 in the face a prolonged and violent industrial dispute on the Melbourne waterfront, and in November he was defeated in a confidence vote and resigned, being succeeded by the Nationalist William McPherson with the support of the Country Party.

In 1929 the Country Party withdrew its support from the McPherson government, resulting in the 1929 election, fought just as the Great Depression was breaking over Australia.

The Great Depression in Australia had a devastating effect on Victoria's economy and society, since the state was heavily dependent on agricultural exports, mainly wheat and wool, for its income, and these industries collapsed almost completely as demand in Britain dried up.

Even if the Labor government was minded to attempt radical solutions, it was dependent on Country Progressive support in the Assembly, and had only six members in the Legislative Council.

On the advice of Sir Otto Niemeyer, a senior official of the Bank of England (which controlled most of Victoria's access to credit in the City of London), they agreed to radical cuts to government spending and borrowing.

A second conference in June 1931 produced the Premiers' Plan, which entailed further cuts in government spending, accompanied by increases in taxation on the wealthy.

Cain's government was hampered by the hostility of the Legislative Council (which until 1950 had been elected on a restricted property-based franchise and so always had a conservative majority), and also by tensions within his own party.

Major reforms were carried out in the areas of workers' compensation, tenancy law, long service leave, hospitals, public transport, housing, charities and the Crimes Act.

The government had also reformed wage determination procedures and public service administration, while constructive initiatives were carried out in adult education and soil conservation.

[9] Even some reforms to the electoral system were carried through the Council, where Labor and Liberal members united to reduce the malapportionment which had given the Country Party disproportionate representation since the 1920s.

Santamaria exercised strong influence in the Cain government through "Movement" linked ministers such as Bill Barry and Frank Scully.

In December 1953 the Lands Minister, Robert Holt, resigned rather than introduce a Santamaria-influenced bill which would have promoted the settlement of Italian immigrants as small farmers in Gippsland.

As a result, federal leader Gough Whitlam refused to campaign for Labor in Victoria, and Holding was forced to repudiate his own policy.

[citation needed] The surge in support for federal Labor which saw Whitlam elected Prime Minister in 1972 was not reflected in Victorian state politics.

At the 1979 state election, Labor under Wilkes gained eleven seats, the party's best showing for many years,[10] though not sufficient to form government.

The party hoped that the elevation of a popular woman as its new leader would improve its position, but Kirner never succeeded in gaining control of the crisis into which the state had plunged.

The conservative-leaning Melbourne newspaper, the Herald Sun, reacted unfavourably to a premier from the Socialist Left, dubbing her "Mother Russia".

The Coalition's "Guilty Party" campaign did much to stoke this anger, targeting many ministers in the Kirner Government and providing examples of concerns in their portfolios.

To everyone's surprise, Bracks won the September 1999 election,[14] which produced a hung parliament and the independents agreed to support the minority Labor government.

On 14 June 2020, The Age and Nine Network released covert recordings purporting to show state minister Adem Somyurek organising branch stacking within Victorian Labor.

Shortly following the revelation, Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and Victorian Ombudsman (VO) announced a joint collaboration and investigation into branch stacking activities known as "Operation Watts".

Subject to national executive oversight powers, local branches choose candidates for public office, in a process called preselection.