Labour Party (UK)

• 1. Origins And Early Formation

  ›

  The Labour Party emerged in 1900 through a national conference sponsored by the Trades Union Congress. Hundreds of thousands of workers had recently gained voting rights following laws passed in 1867 and 1884. The conference created the Labour Representation Committee as a coalition of separate groups with Ramsay MacDonald serving as secretary. A secret deal was struck with the Liberal Party to avoid competing against each other in the 1906 general election. Voters gave the Liberals a landslide victory with 397 seats out of 664 while the new committee won just 29 seats. Keir Hardie narrowly won the role of leader for the Parliamentary Labour Party after the group renamed itself The Labour Party. The party faced internal divisions over support for the war effort during World War I yet saw one of its top leaders Arthur Henderson serve in the powerful war cabinet. In 1918 Clause IV was added to Labour's constitution committing the party to work towards common ownership of the means of production distribution and exchange.

• 2. Wartime Coalitions And Postwar Reforms

  ›

  Labour served in the wartime coalition government under Churchill starting in May 1940 with about a third of the seats. Clement Attlee held the position of Deputy Prime Minister and handled domestic affairs when Churchill was absent. The Beveridge Report of 1942 by economist William Beveridge assumed that full employment would be the aim of post-war governments. Immediately upon release the report sold hundreds of thousands of copies. The 1945 general election gave Labour a landslide victory with 12 million votes representing 50% of the total and 393 seats. The government enacted extensive nationalisation including the Bank of England coal mining steel industry electricity gas and inland transport. It created the National Health Service which provided publicly funded medical treatment for all. The economy remained precarious during the age of austerity as wartime restrictions and rationing continued while bombing damage was slowly rebuilt at great cost. The Treasury depended heavily on American money including a 1946 loan of $3.75 billion at a low 2% interest rate and Marshall Plan funds totaling over $2.6 billion.

• 3. Ideological Shifts And Civil Wars

  ›

  Hugh Gaitskell led Labour to a third consecutive defeat at the 1959 general election despite the party appearing more united than it had been for some time. Internal squabbling focused on nuclear disarmament Britain's entry into the European Economic Community and Clause IV of the Labour Party Constitution. Gaitskell attempted to remove Clause IV from the party constitution but this effort failed. He died suddenly in 1963 clearing the way for Harold Wilson to lead the party. Following 1979 the Labour Party found itself overwhelmed by the Conservative government led by hardliner Margaret Thatcher. The party came under the control of left-wing activists in local constituencies with Michael Foot and Tony Benn leading the left. The 1983 election manifesto entitled The New Hope for Britain called for extensive nationalisation of industry and unilateral nuclear disarmament. Some prominent party centrists dubbed the Gang of Four quit the Labour Party to form the Social Democratic Party. Neil Kinnock replaced Foot after Labour's massive defeat in 1983 and began a process of modernisation and acceptance of many Thatcherite reforms.

• 4. The New Labour Transformation

  ›

  Tony Blair became leader in May 1994 following the sudden death of John Smith. Blair argued that the party was too locked into a base shrinking due to its reliance on trade unions and council housing residents. He claimed the rapidly growing middle class was largely ignored by traditional Labour policies. Blair defeated the union element and ended block voting by leaders of labour unions using the slogan One Member One Vote. The modernisers successfully repealed Clause IV in 1995 as part of a strategy to increase appeal to middle England. New Labour won the 1997 general election in a landslide victory with a parliamentary majority of 179. This was the largest ever Labour majority and at the time the largest swing to a political party achieved since 1945. Over the next decade millions were lifted out of poverty through various tax and benefit reforms. The government established the national minimum wage and devolved power to Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland. A perceived turning point occurred when Blair allied himself with US President George W Bush supporting the Iraq War which caused him to lose much of his political support.

• 5. Corbyn Leadership And Internal Divisions

  ›

  Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader in September 2015 receiving nominations from just 36 MPs one more than the minimum required to stand. Membership continued to climb after his victory reaching over 500,000 within a year making it the largest political party in Western Europe. Tensions developed in the parliamentary party over Corbyn's leadership particularly after the 2016 Brexit referendum. Many members were angered that Corbyn did not campaign strongly against Brexit having been only a lukewarm supporter of remaining in the European Union. Twenty-one members of the Shadow Cabinet resigned after the referendum. Corbyn lost a no-confidence vote among Labour MPs by 172-40 but won decisively with 62% support among Labour party members in the subsequent election. From 2016 the party faced criticism for failing to deal with antisemitism. High-profile party members including Ken Livingstone Peter Willsman and Chris Williamson left or were suspended over antisemitism-related incidents. In 2018 internal divisions emerged over adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. The 2019 general election saw Labour win its lowest number of seats since 1935.

• 6. Return To Power Under Starmer

  ›

  Keir Starmer was elected Leader of the Labour Party on the 4th of April 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. During his tenure as opposition leader he repositioned the party from the left toward the political centre. He emphasised the importance of eliminating antisemitism within the party. In October 2020 he suspended former leader Corbyn over his response to the EHRC report on antisemitism. Starmer set out five missions for his government targeting economic growth health clean energy crime and education. About 100 candidates had not been selected when the election was called so they were chosen by a NEC panel rather than local CLPs. Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory with a majority of 174 and a popular vote share of 33.7% ending fourteen years of Conservative government. He succeeded Rishi Sunak as prime minister on the 5th of July 2024 becoming the first Labour prime minister since Gordon Brown in 2010. One of Starmer's first cabinet appointments was Rachel Reeves as Chancellor making her the first woman to hold the office. The 2024 State Opening of Parliament outlined 39 pieces of legislation including bills to renationalise railways strengthen workers' rights and give areas of England devolution powers.