About the UK Labour Party

The Labour Party in the United Kingdon is currently the nation's ruling party. In addition to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Labour currently enjoys a majority status in the House of Commons and the Welsh Assembly Government, is the main opposition party in the Scottish Parliament and is represented in the European Parliament.

History

The Labour Party was founded in the early 20th century as an outgrowth of the British trade union and socialist movements. It describes itself as a democratic-socialist party and tends to represent the lower and working classes of the U.K. It was originally called the Independent Labour Party and first surfaced in the election of 1895. Though unsuccessful in that election, in 1906 its first 29 representatives were elected to the House of Commons. The party solidified its power and successfully defeated the Conservative Party in the 1923 elections, paving the way for the first Labour government in 1924, under Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald.

Politics & Ideology

The Labour Party tends to espouse a more socialistic distribution of power and wealth than its more conservative competitors, supporting public ownership of key industries, and active participation by the government in directing the economy. Labour has pushed nationalized health care and has traditionally supported worker's rights and education.
In recent years, Labour has inched to the center, backing more free-market and neoliberal ideology than it had previously.

Structure

The Labour Party is comprised of a coalition between Constituency Labour Parties, various trade unions, a number of socialist organizations and the Co-operative Party. By maintaining these coalitions with such divergent groups, Labour has managed to remain a viable political force in the U.K. since its inception.

Opposition

In addition to issues of factional disagreement within the party, Labour has experienced a number of significant challenges in the past century. In 1979, for instance, it was soundly defeated by the Conservative Party and has suffered defeats at the hands of spin-off parties such as the Social Democratic Party.

The New Labour Movement

The Labour Party moved further away from its socialist past under Prime Minister Tony Blair in the 1990s. This official move to the center/center-right was first documented in a manifesto published in 1996. New Labour is distinctly neoliberal, with a preference for free-market economics at the expense of its traditional base of the working class, trade unions and organizations further to the left of the political spectrum.

Resources

• U.K. Labour Party