Editing Frank Forde (section)

==Opposition (1932–1941)==
[[File:Frank Forde and John Curtin.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Forde and John Curtin at a meeting of the Advisory War Council in 1940]]
One of the MPs defeated at the 1931 election was Treasurer [[Ted Theodore]], the ALP's deputy leader. A ballot for the party's leadership positions was held on 16 February 1932, at which Scullin was re-elected unopposed as leader and Forde was elected as his deputy. He thus became [[Leader of the Opposition (Australia)|Deputy Leader of the Opposition]]. With Scullin suffering frequent bouts of ill health, Forde was Acting Leader of the Opposition on a number occasions. Notably, after the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italian invasion of Abyssinia]] in 1935 he announced that the ALP would pursue a policy of non-participation, as "the control of Abyssinia is not worth the loss of a single Australian life".<ref name=naa-before/>

When Scullin retired in 1935, Forde contested the leadership ballot but [[1935 Australian Labor Party leadership election|was defeated by one vote]] by [[John Curtin]], eleven votes to ten. ''[[The Age]]'' called it "one of the greatest surprises in federal political circles during recent years". It has been suggested that some MPs viewed Forde as too closely linked with the activities of the Scullin government.<ref name=naa-before/>

In 1940, Forde was one of three Labor MPs elected to the bipartisan [[Advisory War Council]], along with Curtin and [[Norman Makin]].{{sfn|Brown|2000|p=242}}