page_title: United Party (South Africa)
section_title: Decline
hierarchical_section_title: United Party (South Africa) / Decline
caption_attribution_description: English: Harry Schwarz in the Progressive Reform Party photo in 1976.
context_page_description: The United Party was a political party in South Africa. It was the country's ruling political party between 1934 and 1948.
context_section_description: Smuts and the United Party lost the 1948 election to the National Party. It never held power again. J. G. N. Strauss succeeded Smuts in 1950, and was in turn replaced by Sir de Villiers Graaff in 1956 until 1977. Attrition characterised his leadership years, as the party slowly declined because of electoral gerrymandering, changes to South Africa's voting laws, including the removal of the 'Coloureds' –  South Africans of mixed ancestry, who had been staunch United Party supporters – from the electoral rolls, and defections to other parties such as the Progressive Party, which was formed in 1959 by liberal former UP members that sought a stronger opposition to apartheid. Despite this, the party remained relatively stable until the 1970s.
caption: Harry Schwarz Leader of the anti-apartheid "Young Turks"
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