 The party, commonly referred to as "The Nationals," has generally been the junior partner in a centre-right Coalition with the NSW branch of the Liberal Party of Australia.Since 1927, the Nationals have been in Coalition with the Liberals and their predecessors, the Nationalist Party of Australia (1927–1931), the United Australia Party (1931–1943), and the Democratic Party (1943–1945).New South Wales is the only state where the Coalition has never been broken, and yet has not merged into a unified non-Labor party.