He became a Labor Member of the House of Representatives in 1901, where he served for over 50 years. He was Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia (1915–23), and represented Labor until it split in 1916. In 1917 he helped to form the Nationalist Party, which he led until 1923, when the Country Party, now in coalition with the Nationalists, refused to serve with him. In 1929, he gave his support to the Labor Party over a matter of industrial relations and the Nationalists expelled him. The United Australia Party, which he led from 1941 until 1943, was transformed by Menzies into the Liberal Party in 1944 and Hughes became a back-bench member.