The Premier of South Australia is the head of the South Australian government. They are the leaders of the political party which has a majority of the seats in the Legislative Assembly. Before the 1890s when there was no formal party system in South Australia, politicians usually held liberal or conservative beliefs. The liberals dominated government from 1893 to 1905 with Labor support, with the conservatives mostly in opposition. Labor took government with the support of eight liberals in 1905 when Labor gained more seats than the liberals. The rise of Labor meant the other groups began to become anti-labor parties. The conservatives merged with the Liberal and Democratic Union (formed in 1906) to become the Liberal Union in 1910. No "country" or rural conservative parties have lasted in South Australian state politics. 