The Labour Party Facts & Worksheets

Let’s find out more about The Labour Party!

The UK Labour Party was created in the 1900s with the catchphrase ‘a new party for a new century’, challenging the political hegemony of the Liberal and Conservative parties. The Labour Party has enjoyed moments of political success and popularity over the last 120 years, profoundly altering the UK with its programmes. However, the party has also experienced downturns marked by electoral loss and factional strife. The Labour Party, which has a long history of working-class support, advocates for the state to play a more active role in fostering economic development and delivering social services. Since the early 20th century, it has been the main democratic socialist opposition party to the Conservative Party in Britain.

FORMATION AND HISTORY OF THE UK LABOUR PARTY

• The inaugural meeting of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) took place in Memorial Hall in 1900 when the Labour Party was initially established. Leaders of the Trade Union Congress and socialists from the Independent Labour Party (ILP), established in 1893, made up this committee. The members of the LRC were among the original supporters of the Labour Party. They had become disenchanted with traditional politics and sought a group to speak for working-class issues.

TRADE UNION:

An organisation of workers from a particular trade or profession formed to defend its members’ employment rights and to encourage employers to make reforms that will benefit workers’ interests.

• Keir Hardie, a Scottish miner, trade unionist and journalist, was a committee member. Ten years prior, Hardie had run for Parliament as an ILP candidate. Members of the LRC ran for office for the first time in the general election of 1906. The LRC altered its name, and the Labour Party was established with Hardie as its head and 29 MPs in the House of Commons.

THE INTERWAR YEARS

1918

• ‘Labour and The New Social Order’ was the title of the first socialist manifesto that Labour released when the Representation of the People Act expanded voting rights to all men and women over 21 and 30. Incorporating workers’ rights and boosting social services, this document outlined Labour’s commitment to socialism.

  

1923

• The Labour Party gained 191 seats, increasing its vote percentage from 4.8% in 1906 to 33% in 1923.

1924

• They partnered with the Liberal Party and entered government for the first time, led by Ramsay MacDonald.

THE POST-WAR YEARS

• Thanks to Clement Attlee’s leadership, Labour won a 146-seat majority in the 1945 general election. Attlee, elected Labour Party leader in 1935, advocated for reforms in the aftermath of the tragedies of WWII. Attlee’s administration promised to tackle the ‘five evil giants of want, idleness, disease, ignorance, and squalor’. Labour established the welfare state to protect residents ‘from the cradle to the grave’. 
• His administration oversaw the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS), the construction of social housing, the implementation of universal free education, and the expansion of social services. The Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, regained power in the 1964 general election. Wilson’s administration encouraged collaboration with labour unions and stressed this relationship until his government was defeated in the 1970 election.
• Wilson’s Labour Party was re-elected in 1974. Wilson’s cabinet fought for the next two years to maintain control of the party’s feuding sections of socialists and their opponents. Due to a parliamentary majority of only five seats, the administration agreed with the Liberal Party in 1975. Wilson resigned in 1976.
• The following three years, 1976–1979, were devastating for Labour. The party’s relationship with the trade unions was strained under the new leader, James Callaghan. As a result of the Winter of Discontent (1978–1979), key trade unions in the UK chose strike action in protest at working conditions and wages. The strike paralysed the country, and Labour’s popularity plummeted. Callaghan was defeated in the 1979 election by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party.

WINTER OF DISCONTENT:

The Winter of Discontent was a time of unrest in the United Kingdom during the winter of 1978–1979, primarily centred on strikes protesting unfair wage limits, and accompanied by storms.

OPPOSITION YEARS

• In the 1983 general election, Michael Foot, the new leader, countered Thatcher’s message of uncontrolled capitalism with a socialist manifesto. His suggestions included nationalising vital UK sectors as well as unilateral nuclear disarmament.
• Opponents within the party termed it ‘the longest suicide note in history’. The Labour Party lost 60 seats in Parliament and got only 27.6% of the vote, granting Thatcher’s government complete control of the country. Labour suffered its most humiliating defeat in 50 years.
• Following Foot, the Labour Party chose Neil Kinnock (1983–92) and John Smith (1992–94) as leaders. They both advocated for Labour to adopt a ‘Third-Way’ paradigm, moving it away from its socialist roots and towards acceptance of the free-market economic model.

THIRD WAY:

The Third Way is a centrist political viewpoint that advocates a changing synthesis of centre-right economic policies and centre-left social policies to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics.

THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

• Tony Blair’s Labour Party earned a 179-seat majority in the 1997 general election. Blair, as a member of the New Labour movement, transformed the party through policies that delegated authority to regions and nations within the United Kingdom and continued Thatcher’s agenda of privatising companies. In the 2001 election, Labour’s majority decreased to 167, but this was still the largest-ever majority for an administration in its second term.
• Blair was chastised for his backing of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Despite this, Blair’s government won its third consecutive general election in 2005, a first in Labour Party history. Tony Blair resigned in 2007 and was succeeded as Prime Minister by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. Brown led the country through the 2008 financial crisis before failing to win a majority in the general election in 2010. Brown resigned in May of the same year.

  

• With trade union backing, Ed Miliband took control of the Labour Party in 2010. Miliband resigned as party leader because the 2015 election results were severely disappointing, despite a good performance in the 2012 general election. Jeremy Corbyn, a senior left-wing MP, was elected leader the same year after an unparalleled grassroots effort. Corbyn led the party to electoral wins in 2017, but the 2019 general election was the worst for the party since 1935. Sir Keir Starmer was elected Labour Party leader in April 2020, succeeding Jeremy Corbyn.

BELIEFS OF THE UK LABOUR PARTY

Democratic Socialism

• Democratic socialism maintains that it is the responsibility of the state to direct the economy in ways that benefit citizens, such as through intervention or welfare policies. The Labour Party started as a socialist organisation. Clause 4 was abolished from the Labour Party constitution during Blair’s tenure as Prime Minister. This clause established the party’s desire to pursue socialist goals and eliminate capitalism. Labour has shifted away from an utterly socialist character to appeal to more moderate voters by embracing the designation of the Democratic Socialist Party.

Social Justice

• The Labour Party has consistently positioned itself as the party of social justice, striving to bridge the gaps created by class and income inequalities. Throughout history, the government has imposed high taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations, dispersing these resources through services that help society’s poorest members. The New Labour administration has recently advocated for social justice by increasing access to higher and technical education.

Decentralisation

• The internal party structure reflects the Labour Party’s belief in decentralised power. The Labour Party is organised into three sections: Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs), Parliamentary Labour Parties (PLPs), and trade union-associated groupings. These groups meet during the party’s conference to consider policy and the party’s future. In addition, the party has embraced e-democracy by encouraging members to engage in its National Policy Forum Consultation (NPF) before conferences. Until 2008, trade unions had the ability to veto policies proposed by the CLP and PLP.

LABOUR PARTY POLICIES

• Devolution, nationalisation of vital industries, and a transition to a green and digital future are among the essential Labour Party policies.

DEVOLUTION

• Blair championed devolution during his three terms in office, and it was recognised as one of Labour’s significant triumphs during the New Labour years. Following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended the Northern Ireland Troubles, Blair’s government oversaw the formation of the Northern Irish Assembly and the Northern Irish Executive. In 1999, New Labour also devolved power from Westminster by establishing the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly (later the Welsh Parliament).

NATIONALISATION OF KEY INDUSTRIES

• Nationalisation has been at the core of the Labour Party’s historic economic policy since its formation, even though not all of its leaders or governments have accepted it. The nationalisation approach of bringing key industries under state control to ensure they serve the interests of citizens laid the groundwork for the NHS and the welfare state in the post-war years. However, in 2002, New Labour advocated privatising Royal Mail, a 500-year-old state-owned institution.

GREEN AND DIGITAL FUTURE

• In 2020, the Labour Party proposed addressing the need for carbon neutrality through economic measures. The party has emphasised the dangers of the ‘carbon delay’ and the government’s inaction. Previous Labour manifestos have outlined how, if elected, the party will use ‘low carbon and the digital economy’ to phase out industries with the most significant environmental impact.