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			#REDIRECT ]
	{{Redirect\|New Labour}}
	{{Infobox political party
	\|country = the United Kingdom
	\|name_english = Labour Party
	\|name_native =
	\|logo = ]
	\|leader = ] ] (''Pro Tem. Leader'')
	\|leader1_title = Deputy Leader
	\|leader1_name =
	\|chairman =
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	\|foundation = {{start date\|1900}}
	\|dissolution =
	\|headquarters = ]
	\|ideology = ]
	\|position = ]
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	\|european = ]
	\|europarl = ]
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	\|seats7_title = ]<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/uklocalgov/makeup.htm \|title=Local Council Political Compositions \|author=Keith Edkins \|date=6 May 2010 \|work= \|publisher= \|accessdate=10 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web \|url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/flg05.htm \|title=The 2005 Local Government Elections in Northern Ireland \|author=Nicholas Whyte \|date=6 May 2010 \|work= \|publisher=] \|accessdate=6 May 2010}}</ref>
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	The '''Labour Party''' is a ] political party in the ]. Labour first surpassed the ] in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under ] in ] and from ]. The party was in a ] from 1940 to 1945, after which it formed its first ] under ]. Labour was also in government from ] under ] and from ], first under Wilson and then ].

	The Labour Party was later in government from ] ], under ] and ], beginning with its largest ever majority of 179, which was gradually reduced to 167 in ] and to 66 in ], before it lost its majority in ]. With 258 seats in the ], Labour is currently the ] in a ]. Labour is also currently the leading partner in the ], the main opposition party in the ] and has ] in the ]. The Labour Party is a member of both the ] and the ].

	==Party ideology==
	The party grew out of the ] and ] political parties of the 19th century seeking representation for workers. It describes itself as a "]"<ref name "iqgxtf">{{cite web\|title=Labour Leadership Election 2010\|url=http://www2.labour.org.uk/leadership-2010\|publisher=Labour Party\|accessdate=12 May 2010}}</ref>. However, since the "New Labour" project began, a larger proportion of its support has come from middle-class voters and many perceive this support as key to Labour's electoral success since 1997.<ref name "iqgxtf" />

	Historically the party was broadly in favour of ], as set out in ]<ref>http://www.labourcounts.com/clausefour.htm</ref> of the original party constitution, and advocated socialist policies such as ] of key industries, ] in the economy, ] of wealth, increased rights for workers, the ], publicly-funded healthcare and education. Beginning in the late-1980s under the leadership of ], and subsequently under ] and ], the party moved away from socialist positions and adopted ] policies, leading many observers to describe the Labour Party as ] or ], rather than democratic socialist.<ref>''New Labour and Thatcherism: Political Change in Britain'', Richard Heffernan, 2001</ref><ref>, ], The Guardian, 6 August 2003</ref><ref>, Professor ], Lancaster University</ref><ref>, Jonathon Hopkin and ], British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2006</ref>

	Party electoral manifestos have not contained the term ''socialism'' since 1992, when the original ] was abolished. The new version states:

	"The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few, where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe, and where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect."

	==Party constitution and structure==
	{{Main\|Labour Party Rule Book}}

	The Labour Party is a membership organisation consisting of ], ], ] and the ], with which it has an electoral agreement. Members who are elected to parliamentary positions take part in the ] (PLP) and European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP). The party's decision-making bodies on a national level formally include the ] (NEC), ] and ] (NPF)—although in practice the Parliamentary leadership has the final say on policy. The 2008 ] was the first at which affiliated trade unions and Constituency Labour Parties did not have the right to submit motions on contemporary issues that would previously have been debated.<ref>{{cite news \| title=Anger over 'union debate limit' \| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7002618.stm \| publisher=BBC News \| date=19 September 2007 \| accessdate=13 April 2009}}</ref> Labour Party conferences now include more "keynote" addresses, guest speakers and question-and-answer sessions, while specific discussion of policy now takes place in the ].

	For many years Labour held to a policy of not allowing residents of ] to apply for membership,<ref>{{wayback\|www.labour.org.uk/join/form.html\|Labour Party membership form}}, ca. 1999. via Internet Archive. Accessed 31 March 2007. "Residents of Northern Ireland are not eligible for membership."</ref> instead supporting the ] (SDLP).<ref> by Antony Alcock, Ulster Society Publications, 1997. Chapter II: The Unloved, Unwanted Garrison. Via Conflict Archive on the Internet. Retrieved 31 October 2008.</ref> The 2003 ] accepted legal advice that the party could not continue to prohibit residents of the province joining,<ref>, BBC News. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 31 March 2007.</ref> and whilst the National Executive has established a regional constituency party it has not yet agreed to contest elections there.

	The party had 198,026 members on 31 December 2005 according to accounts filed with the ], which was down on the previous year. In that year it had an income of about £35 million (£3.7 million from membership fees) and expenditure of about £50 million, high due to that year's ].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/files/dms/LabourSOA31-12-2005_22475-16688__E__N__S__W__.PDF\|title=The Labour Party—Financial Statements for 2005\|format=PDF}}</ref>

	As a party founded by the unions to represent the interests of working-class people, Labour's link with the unions has always been a defining characteristic of the party. In recent years this link has come under increasing strain, with the ] being expelled from the party in 2004 for allowing its branches in Scotland to affiliate to the left-wing ].<ref> BBC News, 27 January 2004</ref> Other unions have also faced calls from members to reduce financial support for the Party<ref> BBC News, 16 June 2004</ref> and seek more effective political representation for their views on privatisation, cuts and the anti-trade union laws.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.congressvoices.org/2009/84-political-representation-of-members/ \|title=CWU resolution to TUC Congress 2009 \|publisher=TUC Congress Voices\|date= \|accessdate=13 April 2010}}</ref> Unison and ] have both threatened to withdraw funding from constituency MPs and Dave Prentis of ] has warned that the union will write "no more blank cheques" and is dissatisfied with "feeding the hand that bites us".<ref>{{cite web\|last=Dunton \|first=Jim \|url=http://www.lgcplus.com/policy-and-politics/latest-policy-and-politics-news/unison-no-more-blank-cheques-for-labour/5002935.article \|title=Unison: "no more blank cheques' for Labour\|publisher=Local Government Chronicle \|date=17 June 2009\|accessdate=13 April 2010}}</ref>

	Internationally, the Labour Party is a member of the ] and the ], while the party's ] sit in the ] group.

	==History==
	{{Main\|History of the British Labour Party\|History of socialism in Great Britain}}
	], founded in 1893]]

	===Founding of the party===
	The Labour Party's origins lie in the late 19th century, around which time it became apparent that there was a need for a new political party to represent the interests and needs of the urban proletariat, a demographic which had increased in number and had recently been given ].<ref>See, for instance, the 1899 ] judgement, which limited certain types of picketing</ref> Some members of the trades union movement became interested in moving into the political field, and after further extensions of the voting franchise in 1867 and 1885, the ] endorsed some trade-union sponsored candidates. In addition, several small socialist groups had formed around this time, with the intention of linking the movement to political policies. Among these were the ], the intellectual and largely middle-class ], the ] and the ].

	In the ], the Independent Labour Party put up 28 candidates but won only 44,325 votes. ], the leader of the party, believed that to obtain success in parliamentary elections, it would be necessary to join with other left-wing groups. Hardie's roots as a Methodist lay preacher contributed to an ethos in the party which led to the comment by 1950's General Secretary Morgan Phillips that "Socialism in Britain owed more to Methodism than Marx"<ref>p.131 The Foundations of the British Labour Party by Matthew Worley ISBN 9780754667315</ref>.

	===Labour Representation Committee===
	], one of the Labour Party's founders and its first leader]]

	In 1899, a ] member of the ], Thomas R. Steels, proposed in his union branch that the ] call a special conference to bring together all left-wing organisations and form them into a single body that would sponsor Parliamentary candidates. The motion was passed at all stages by the TUC, and the proposed conference was held at the Memorial Hall on Farringdon Street on 26 and 27 February 1900. The meeting was attended by a broad spectrum of working-class and left-wing organisations — trades unions represented about one third of the membership of the TUC delegates.<ref> Jim Mortimer, 2000; Jim Mortimer was a General Secretary of the Labour Party in the 1980s</ref>

	After a debate, the 129 delegates passed Hardie's motion to establish "a distinct Labour group in Parliament, who shall have their own whips, and agree upon their policy, which must embrace a readiness to cooperate with any party which for the time being may be engaged in promoting legislation in the direct interests of labour." This created an association called the '''Labour Representation Committee''' (LRC), meant to coordinate attempts to support MPs sponsored by trade unions and represent the working-class population.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.labour.org.uk/history_of_the_labour_party \|title=History of the Labour Party \|publisher=Labour Party \|date=27 February 2010\|accessdate=13 April 2010}}</ref> It had no single leader, and in the absence of one, the Independent Labour Party nominee ] was elected as Secretary. He had the difficult task of keeping the various strands of opinions in the LRC united. The ] "Khaki election" came too soon for the new party to campaign effectively; total expenses for the election only came to £33.<ref>Wright T. & Carter M, (1997) ''"The People's Party"'' Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0-500-27956-x</ref> Only 15 candidatures were sponsored, but two were successful; ] in ] and ] in ].<ref name="A History Of The British Labour Party">Thorpe, Andrew (2001) ''A History Of The British Labour Party'', Palgrave, ISBN 0-333-92908-x</ref>

	Support for the LRC was boosted by the 1901 ], a dispute between strikers and a railway company that ended with the union being ordered to pay £23,000 damages for a strike. The judgement effectively made strikes illegal since employers could recoup the cost of lost business from the unions. The apparent acquiescence of the Conservative Government of ] to industrial and business interests (traditionally the allies of the ] in opposition to the Conservative's landed interests) intensified support for the LRC against a government that appeared to have little concern for the industrial proletariat and its problems.<ref name="A History Of The British Labour Party"/>

	]

	In the ], the LRC won 29 seats—helped by a ] between ] and ] ] ] that aimed to avoid splitting the opposition vote between Labour and Liberal candidates in the interest of removing the Conservatives from office.<ref name="A History Of The British Labour Party"/>

	In their first meeting after the election the group's Members of Parliament decided to adopt the name "The Labour Party" formally (15 February 1906). Keir Hardie, who had taken a leading role in getting the party established, was elected as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party (in effect, the Leader), although only by one vote over ] after several ballots. In the party's early years the ] (ILP) provided much of its activist base as the party did not have individual membership until 1918 but operated as a conglomerate of affiliated bodies. The ] provided much of the intellectual stimulus for the party. One of the first acts of the new Liberal Government was to reverse the Taff Vale judgement.<ref name="A History Of The British Labour Party"/>

	===Early years and the rise of the Labour Party===
	The ] saw 42 Labour MPs elected to the House of Commons, a significant victory since, a year before the election, the House of Lords had passed the ] ruling that Trades Unions in the United Kingdom could no longer donate money to fund the election campaigns and wages of Labour MPs. The governing Liberals were unwilling to repeal this judicial decision with primary legislation. The height of Liberal compromise was to introduce a wage for Members of Parliament to remove the need to involve the Trade Unions. By 1913, faced with the opposition of the largest Trades Unions, the Liberal government passed the Trade Disputes Act to allow Trade Unions to fund Labour MPs once more.

	During the ] the Labour Party split between supporters and opponents of the conflict but opposition to the war grew within the party as time went on. ], a notable anti-war campaigner, resigned as leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party and ] became the main figure of authority within the party. He was soon accepted into ]'s war cabinet, becoming the first Labour Party member to serve in government.

	Despite mainstream Labour Party's support for the coalition the ] was instrumental in opposing conscription through organisations such as the Non-Conscription Fellowship while a Labour Party affiliate, the ], organised a number of unofficial strikes.

	] resigned from the Cabinet in 1917 amid calls for party unity to be replaced by ]. The growth in Labour's local activist base and organisation was reflected in the elections following the war, the ] movement now providing its own resources to the ] after the armistice. The Co-operative Party later reached an electoral agreement with the Labour Party. The ] was refused affiliation between 1921 and 1923.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/redclyde/redcly140.htm \|title=Red Clydeside: The Communist Party and the Labour government [booklet cover] / Communist Party of Great Britain, 1924 \|publisher=Glasgow Digital Library\|date= \|accessdate=13 April 2010}}</ref>
	Meanwhile the ] declined rapidly and the party suffered a catastrophic split that allowed the Labour Party to co-opt much of the Liberals' support.

	With the Liberals in disarray Labour won 142 seats in ], making it the second largest political group in the House of Commons and the ] to the Conservative government. After the election the now-rehabilitated Ramsay MacDonald was voted the first official ].

	===First Labour government (1924)===
	]: First Labour Prime Minister, 1924 and 1929–31]]
	The ] was fought on the Conservatives' ] proposals but, although they got the most votes and remained the largest party, they lost their majority in parliament, necessitating the formation of a government supporting ]. Thus, with the acquiescence of Asquith's Liberals, ] became the first ever Labour Prime Minister in January 1924, forming the first Labour government, despite Labour only having 191 MPs (less than a third of the House of Commons).

	Because the government had to rely on the support of the Liberals it was unable to get any socialist legislation passed by the House of Commons. The only significant measure was the ], which began a building programme of 500,000 homes for rental to working-class families.

	The government collapsed after only nine months when the Liberals voted for a Select Committee inquiry into the ], a vote which MacDonald had declared to be a vote of confidence. The ensuing ] saw the publication, four days before polling day, of the notorious ], which implicated Labour in a plot for a Communist revolution in Britain. The Conservatives were returned to power although Labour increased its vote from 30.7% to a third of the popular vote, most Conservative gains being at the expense of the Liberals. The Zinoviev letter is now known to have been a forgery.<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1819658.ece\|title=The truth about Churchill's spy chief and the Zinoviev Letter\|publisher=] \| location=London \| first=Francis \| last=Elliott \| date=8 October 2006 \| accessdate=7 May 2010}}</ref>

	In opposition Ramsay MacDonald continued his policy of presenting the Labour Party as a moderate force. During the ] he opposed strike action, arguing that the best way to achieve social reforms was through the ballot box.

	===Second Labour government (1929–1931)===
	]
	In the ], the Labour Party became the largest in the House of Commons for the first time, with 287 seats and 37.1% of the popular vote. However MacDonald was still reliant on Liberal support to form a minority government. MacDonald went on to appoint Britain's first female cabinet minister, ], who was appointed ].

	The government, however, soon found itself engulfed in crisis: the ] and eventual ] occurred soon after the government came to power, and the crisis hit Britain hard. By the end of 1930 unemployment had doubled to over two and a half million.<ref name="To Build A New Jerusalem">Davies, A.J. (1996) ''To Build A New Jerusalem: The British Labour Party from Keir Hardie to Tony Blair'', Abacus, ISBN</ref> The government had no effective answers to the crisis. By the summer of 1931 a dispute over whether or not to reduce public spending had split the government. As the economic situation worsened MacDonald agreed to form a "]" with the ] and the ].

	On 24 August 1931 MacDonald submitted the resignation of his ministers and led a small number of his senior colleagues in forming the National Government together with the other parties. This caused great anger among those within the Labour Party who felt betrayed by MacDonald's actions: he and his supporters were promptly expelled from the Labour Party but went on to form a separate ], the remaining Labour Party (again led by ]) and a few Liberals going into opposition. The ] resulted in overwhelming victory for the National Government and disaster for the Labour Party which won only 52 seats, 225 fewer than in 1929.

	===In opposition during the 1930s===
	], elected in 1931 to succeed MacDonald, lost his seat in the ]. The only former Labour cabinet member who had retained his seat, the pacifist ], accordingly became party leader.

	The party experienced another split in 1932 when the ], which for some years had been increasingly at odds with the Labour leadership, opted to disaffiliate from the Labour Party and embarked on a long, drawn-out decline.

	Lansbury resigned as leader in 1935 after public disagreements over foreign policy. He was promptly replaced as leader by his deputy, ], who would lead the party for two decades. The party experienced a revival in the ], winning 154 seats and 38% of the popular vote, the highest that Labour had achieved.

	As the threat from ] increased in the 1930s the Labour Party gradually abandoned its earlier pacifist stance and supported re-armament, largely due to the efforts of ] and ] who by 1937 had also persuaded the party to oppose ]'s policy of ].<ref name="To Build A New Jerusalem"/>

	===Wartime coalition (1940-1945)===
	The party returned to government in 1940 as part of the ]. When ] resigned in the spring of 1940, incoming-] ] decided to bring the other main parties into a coalition similar to that of the ]. Clement Attlee was appointed ] and a member of the war cabinet, eventually becoming the United Kingdom's first ].

	A number of other senior Labour figures also took up senior positions; the trade union leader ], as ], directed Britain's wartime economy and allocation of manpower, the veteran Labour statesman ] became ], ] was ] and later ], while ] resumed the role he had held in the previous Labour Government as ].

	===Post-war victory under Attlee===
	]: Labour Prime Minister, 1945–51]]
	At the end of the war in Europe, in May 1945, Labour resolved not to repeat the Liberals' error of 1918 but promptly withdrew from government to contest the ] in opposition to Churchill's Conservatives. Surprising many observers,<ref name=BBCreport>{{cite news\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/26/newsid_3572000/3572175.stm\|title=1945: Churchill loses general election\|publisher=BBC News\|date=26 July 1945\|accessdate=22 February 2009}}</ref> Labour won a formidable victory, winning just under 50% of the vote with a majority of 145 seats.

	Clement Attlee's proved one of the most radical British governments of the 20th century, presiding over a policy of nationalising major industries and utilities including the ], coal mining, the steel industry, electricity, gas, telephones and inland transport including railways, road haulage and canals. It developed and implemented the "cradle to grave" ] conceived by the economist ]. To this day the party considers the 1948 creation of Britain's publicly funded ] under health minister ] its proudest achievement.<ref> Labour Party, Retrieved 15 March 2010</ref> Attlee's government also began the process of dismantling the ] when it granted independence to India and Pakistan in 1947, followed by Burma (Myanmar) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) the following year. At a secret meeting in January 1947, Attlee and six cabinet ministers, including Foreign Secretary ], decided to proceed with the development of Britain's ],<ref name="To Build A New Jerusalem"/> in opposition to the pacifist and anti-nuclear stances of a large element inside the Labour Party.

	Labour went on to win the ] but with a much reduced majority of five seats. Soon afterwards defence became a divisive issues within the party, especially defence spending (which reached a peak of 14% of GDP in 1951 during the ]),<ref>Clark, Sir George, ''Illustrated History Of Great Britain'', (1987) Octupus Books</ref> straining public finances and forcing savings elsewhere. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, ], introduced charges for NHS prescription drugs causing Bevan, along with ] (then President of the Board of Trade), to resign over the dilution of the principle of free treatment on which the NHS had been established.

	In the ], Labour narrowly lost to the Conservatives despite receiving the larger share of the popular vote, its highest ever vote numerically. Most of the changes introduced by the 1945–51 Labour government were accepted by the Conservatives and became part of the "post war consensus" that lasted until the late 1970s.

	===Opposition during the 1950s===
	Following the defeat of 1951 the party underwent a long period of thirteen years in opposition. The party suffered an ideological split during the 1950s while the postwar economic recovery, given the social effects of Attlee's reforms, made the public broadly content with the Conservative governments of the time. Attlee remained as leader until his retirement in 1955.

	His replacement ], a man associated with the right-wing of the party, struggled to deal with internal divisions in the late 1950s and early 1960s and Labour lost the ]. In 1963 Gaitskell's sudden death from a heart-attack made way for ] to lead the party.

	===Labour in government under Wilson (1964–1970)===
	A down-turn in the economy along with a series of scandals in the early 1960s (the most notorious being the ]) engulfed the Conservative government by 1963. The Labour Party returned to government with a 4-seat majority under Wilson in the ] but increased its majority to 96 in the ].

	]: Labour Prime Minister, 1964–1970 and 1974-1976]]
	Wilson's government was responsible for a number of sweeping social and educational reforms such as the legalisation of abortion and homosexuality (initially only for men aged 21 or over). The 1960s Labour government also expanded ] and created the ]. But Wilson's government had inherited a large trade deficit that led to a currency crisis and an ultimately doomed attempt to stave off devaluation of the pound. Labour went on to lose the ] to the Conservatives under ].

	===In opposition (1970-1974)===
	After losing the 1970 general election, Labour returned to opposition, but retained Harold Wilson as Leader. Heath's government soon ran into trouble over ] and a dispute with miners in 1973 which led to the "]". The 1970s proved a difficult time to be in government for both the Conservatives and Labour due to the ] which caused high inflation and a global recession. The Labour Party was returned to power again under Wilson a few weeks after the ], forming a minority government with the support of the ]s. The Conservatives were unable to form a government as they had fewer seats despite receiving more votes numerically. It was the first general election since 1924 in which both main parties had received less than 40% of the popular vote and the first of six successive general elections in which Labour failed to reach 40% of the popular vote. In a bid to gain a proper majority, a second election was soon called for ] in which Labour, still with Harold Wilson as leader, managed a majority of three, gaining just 18 seats and taking its total to 319.

	===Return to government (1974-1979)===
	]: Labour Prime Minister, 1976-1979]]
	For much of its time in office the Labour government struggled with serious economic problems and a precarious majority in the Commons, while the party's internal dissent over Britain's membership of the ] (EEC), which Britain had entered under Edward Heath in 1972, led in 1975 to a ] on the issue in which two thirds of the public supported continued membership.

	Harold Wilson's personal popularity remained reasonably high but he unexpectedly resigned as Prime Minister in 1976, citing health reasons and was replaced by ]. The Wilson and Callaghan governments of the 1970s tried to control inflation (which reached 26.9% in 1975) by a policy of wage restraint. This was fairly successful, reducing inflation to 7.4% by 1978.<ref name="A History Of The British Labour Party"/> However it led to increasingly strained relations between the government and the trade unions.

	Fear of advances by the nationalist parties, particularly in Scotland, led to the suppression of a ] that suggested that an independent Scotland would be 'chronically in surplus'<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.snpyouth.org/ysi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=24 \|title=Young Scots For Independence - Revealed: True oil wealth hidden to stop independence \|publisher=SNP Youth\|date=12 September 2005 \|accessdate=13 April 2010}}</ref>. By 1977 by-election losses and defections to the breakaway ] left Callaghan heading a minority government, forced to trade with smaller parties in order to govern. An arrangement negotiated in 1977 with ] leader ], known as the ], ended after one year. After this deals were forged with various small parties including the ] and the Welsh nationalist ], prolonging the life of the government slightly.

	The nationalist parties, in turn, demanded ] to their respective constituent countries in return for their supporting the government. When referenda for Scottish and Welsh devolution were held in March 1979 ] was rejected outright while the ] returned a narrow majority in favour without reaching the required threshold of 40% support. When the Labour government duly refused to push ahead with setting up the proposed Scottish Assembly, the SNP withdrew its support for the government: this finally brought the government down as it triggered a vote of confidence in Callaghan's government that was lost by a single vote on 28 March 1979, necessitating a general election.

	Callaghan had been widely expected to call a general election in the autumn of 1978 when most opinion polls showed Labour to have a narrow lead.<ref name="A History Of The British Labour Party"/> However he decided to extend his wage restraint policy for another year hoping that the economy would be in a better shape for a 1979 election. But during the winter of 1978-79 there were widespread strikes among lorry drivers, railway workers, car workers and local government and hospital workers in favour of higher pay-rises that caused significant disruption to everyday life. These events came to be dubbed the "]".

	In the ] Labour suffered electoral defeat by the ], now led by ]. The number of people voting Labour hardly changed between February 1974 and 1979 but in 1979 the Conservative Party achieved big increases in support in the Midlands and South of England, benefiting from both a surge in turnout and votes lost by the ailing Liberals.

	===The "Wilderness Years" (1979–1997)===
	] and ] Labour Party in Otley, West Yorkshire.]]
	After its defeat in the 1979 election the Labour Party underwent a period of internal rivalry between the left-wing, represented by ] and ], and the right-wing represented by ]. The election of Michael Foot as leader in 1980 led in 1981 to four former cabinet ministers from the right of the Labour Party (], ], ] and ]) forming the ].

	The Labour Party was defeated heavily in the ], winning only 27.6% of the vote, its lowest share since ], and receiving only half a million votes more than the ] who leader Michael Foot condemned for "siphoning" Labour support and enabling the Conservatives to win more seats.<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/9/newsid_2500000/2500847.stm \|title=1983: Thatcher wins landslide victory \|publisher=BBC News \|date=9 June 1983 \|accessdate=13 April 2010}}</ref>

	]

	Michael Foot resigned and was replaced as leader by ] who was elected on 2 October 1983 and progressively moved the party towards the centre. Labour improved its performance in ], gaining 20 seats and so reducing the Conservative majority from 143 to 102. They were now firmly established as the second political party in Britain as the Alliance had once again failed to make a breakthrough with seats and it subsequently collapsed, prompting a merger of the SDP and Liberals to form the ].

	Following the 1987 election, Kinnock began expelling ] members from the party. They would later form the ] and the ] although a remnant of Militant continues to operate within the Labour Party through the newspaper '']''.<ref> Socialist Appeal, 12 May 2003</ref>

	In November 1990, Margaret Thatcher resigned as prime minister and was succeeded by ]. Most opinion polls had shown Labour comfortably ahead of the Tories for more than a year before Mrs Thatcher's resignation, with the fall in Tory support blamed largely on the introduction of the unpopular ], combined with the fact that the economy was ] at the time. One of the reasons Mrs Thatcher gave for her resignation was that she felt the Tories would stand a better chance of re-election with a new leader at the helm.

	The change of leader in the Tory government saw a turnaround in support for the Tories, who regularly topped the opinion polls throughout 1991 although Labour regained the lead more than once. The "yo yo" in the opinion polls continued into 1992, though after November 1990 any Labour lead in the polls was rarely sufficient for a majority. The election on 9 April 1992 was widely tipped to result in a hung parliament, but in the event the Conservatives were returned to power, though with a much reduced majority of 21 in ].<ref> BBC News, 5 April 2005</ref> Despite the increased number of seats and votes, it was still an incredibly disappointing result for members and supporters of the Labour party, and for the first time in over 30 years there was serious doubt among the public and the media as to whether Labour could ever return to government.

	Kinnock then resigned as leader and was replaced by ].

	Smith's sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994 saw ] elected to lead the party.

	==="New Labour" - in government (1997-2010)=== <!-- ] is a redirect to this section. -->
	{{Main\|Blair-Brown government\|Premiership of Tony Blair\|Premiership of Gordon Brown}}
	Tony Blair continued to move the party further to the centre, abandoning the largely symbolic ] at the 1995 mini-conference in a strategy to increase the party's appeal to "]". More than a simple re-branding, however, the project would draw upon a new political ], particularly informed by the thought of the British sociologist ].

	"New Labour" was first termed as an alternative branding for the Labour Party, dating from a conference slogan first used by the Labour Party in 1994, which was later seen in a draft manifesto published by the party in 1996, called '']''. It was a continuation of the trend that had begun under the leadership of ]. "New Labour" as a name has no official status, but remains in common use to distinguish modernisers from those holding to more traditional positions, normally referred to as "Old Labour".

	]: Labour Prime Minister, 1997-2007]]
	]: Labour Prime Minister, 2007-2010]]

	'New Labour is a party of ideas and ideals but not of outdated ideology. What counts is what works. The objectives are radical. The means will be modern.'<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1997/1997-labour-manifesto.shtml\|title=new Labour because Britain deserves better\|publisher=Labour-Party.org.uk}}</ref>

	The Labour Party won the ] with a landslide majority of 179; it was the largest Labour majority ever, and the largest swing to a political party achieved since ].

	Among the early acts of Tony Blair's government were the establishment of the ], the ] of power to ], ] and ], and the re-creation of a city-wide government body for London, the ], with its own elected-]. Combined with a Conservative opposition that had yet to organise effectively under ], and the continuing popularity of Blair, Labour went on to win the ] with a similar majority, dubbed the "quiet landslide" by the media.<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/6873367/QI-Our-Quite-Interesting-Quiz-of-the-Decade-compiled-by-the-elves-from-the-TV-show.html\|title=QI: Our Quite Interesting Quiz of the Decade, compiled by the elves from the TV show\|publisher=''The Daily Telegraph''\|date=26 December 2009\|accessdate=14 May 2010\| first1=John \| last1=Mitchinson \| first2=Justin \| last2=Pollard \| first3=Molly \| last3=Oldfield \| first4=Andy \| last4=Murray}}</ref>

	A perceived turning point was when Tony Blair controversially allied himself with ] ] in supporting the ], which caused him to lose much of his political support.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,745536,00.html \|title=European Opposition To Iraq War Grows \| Current Affairs \|publisher=Deutsche Welle \|date=13 January 2003 \|accessdate=13 April 2010}}</ref> The ], among many, considered the war illegal.<ref>{{dead link\|date=April 2010}}</ref> The Iraq War was deeply unpopular in most western countries, with Western governments divided in their support<ref>{{cite web\|last=Bennhold \|first=Katrin \|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/08/28/sochi_ed3_.php \|title=Unlikely alliance built on opposition to Iraq war now raises questions - NYTimes.com \|publisher=International Herald Tribune \|date=28 August 2004 \|accessdate=13 April 2010}}</ref> and under pressure from ]. At the ], Labour was re-elected for a third term, but with a reduced majority of 66. The decisions that led up to the Iraq war and its subsequent conduct are currently the subject of ] ].

	]

	Tony Blair announced in September 2006 that he would quit as leader within the year, though he had been under pressure to quit earlier than May 2007 in order to get a new leader in place before the May elections which were expected to be disastrous for Labour.<ref> BBC News, 7 September 2007</ref> In the event, the party did lose power in Scotland to a minority ] government at the ] and, shortly after this, Tony Blair resigned as Prime Minister and was replaced by his ], ]. Although the party experienced a brief rise in the polls after this, its popularity soon slumped to its lowest level since the days of ]. During May 2008, Labour suffered heavy defeats in the ], ] and the loss in the ], culminating in the party registering its worst ever opinion poll result since records began in 1943, of 23%, with many citing Brown's leadership as a key factor.<ref>{{cite news \|first=Jeremy \|last=Lovell \|authorlink= \|author= \|coauthors= \|title=Brown hit by worst party rating \|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUKL2944559620080530 \|publisher=Reuters \|date=30 May 2008\|accessdate=28 June 2008}}</ref>

	Finance proved a major problem for the Labour Party during this period; a "]" scandal under Tony Blair resulted in the drying up of many major sources of donations. Declining party membership, partially due to the reduction of activists' influence upon policy-making under the reforms of Neil Kinnock and Tony Blair, also contributed to financial problems. Between January and March 2008, the Labour Party received just over £3 million in donations and were £17 million in debt; compared to the Conservatives' £6 million in donations and £12 million in debt.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/news-and-media/news-releases/electoral-commission-media-centre/news-releases-donations/new-figures-published-showing-political-partiesrsquo-donations-and-borrowing\|title=New figures published showing political parties’ donations and borrowing\|date=22 May 2008\|publisher=]\|accessdate=2 July 2008}}</ref>

	In the ], Labour with 29.0% of the vote won the second largest number of seats (258). The Conservatives with 36.5% of the vote won the largest number of seats (307), but ].<ref> The Guardian, 7 May 2010</ref> On 10 May 2010, Gordon Brown announced his intention to stand down as Leader before the ] but a day later resigned as both ] and party leader.<ref>{{citeweb\|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gordon-brown-to-resign-as-labour-leader-1970273.html\|title=Gordon Brown to resign as Labour leader\|date=\|work=The Independent\|accessdate=}}</ref>

	===In opposition (2010-present)===
	] became the ] and the Leader of the Labour Party following the resignation of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, pending a ].<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8676333.stm</ref>

	==Electoral performance==
	]
	{\| class="sortable wikitable"
	\|-
	\| align=center\|'''Election'''
	\| '''Number of votes for Labour'''
	\| '''Share of votes'''
	\| '''Seats'''
	\| align=center\|'''Outcome of election'''
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|62,698
	\| align=center\|1.8%
	\| align=center\|2
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|321,663
	\| align=center\|5.7%
	\| align=center\|29
	\| align=left\|Liberal Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|505,657
	\| align=center\|7.6%
	\| align=center\|40
	\| align=left\|Hung parliament (Liberal minority government)
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|371,802
	\| align=center\|7.1%
	\| align=center\|42
	\| align=left\|Hung parliament (Liberal minority government)
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]<sup>†</sup>
	\| align=center\|2,245,777
	\| align=center\|21.5%
	\| align=center\|57
	\| align=left\|Coalition Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|4,076,665
	\| align=center\|29.7%
	\| align=center\|142
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|4,267,831
	\| align=center\|30.7%
	\| align=center\|191
	\| align=left\|Hung parliament ('''Labour minority government''')
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|5,281,626
	\| align=center\|33.3%
	\| align=center\|151
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]<sup>‡</sup>
	\| align=center\|8,048,968
	\| align=center\|37.1%
	\| align=center\|287
	\| align=left\|Hung parliament ('''Labour minority government''')
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|6,339,306
	\| align=center\|30.8%
	\| align=center\|52
	\| align=left\|National Government Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|7,984,988
	\| align=center\|38.0%
	\| align=center\|154
	\| align=left\|National Government Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|11,967,746
	\| align=center\|49.7%
	\| align=center\|393
	\| align=left\|'''Labour Victory'''
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|13,266,176
	\| align=center\|46.1%
	\| align=center\|315
	\| align=left\|'''Labour Victory'''
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|13,948,883
	\| align=center\|48.8%
	\| align=center\|295
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|12,405,254
	\| align=center\|46.4%
	\| align=center\|277
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|12,216,172
	\| align=center\|43.8%
	\| align=center\|258
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|12,205,808
	\| align=center\|44.1%
	\| align=center\|317
	\| align=left\|'''Labour Victory'''
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|13,096,629
	\| align=center\|48.0%
	\| align=center\|364
	\| align=left\|'''Labour Victory'''
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|12,208,758
	\| align=center\|43.1%
	\| align=center\|288
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|11,645,616
	\| align=center\|37.2%
	\| align=center\|301
	\| align=left\|Hung parliament ('''Labour minority government''')
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|11,457,079
	\| align=center\|39.2%
	\| align=center\|319
	\| align=left\|'''Labour Victory'''
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|11,532,218
	\| align=center\|36.9%
	\| align=center\|269
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|8,456,934
	\| align=center\|27.6%
	\| align=center\|209
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|10,029,807
	\| align=center\|30.8%
	\| align=center\|229
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|11,560,484
	\| align=center\|34.4%
	\| align=center\|271
	\| align=left\|Conservative Victory
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|13,518,167
	\| align=center\|43.2%
	\| align=center\|419
	\| align=left\|'''Labour Victory'''
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|10,724,953
	\| align=center\|40.7%
	\| align=center\|413
	\| align=left\|'''Labour Victory'''
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|9,562,122
	\| align=center\|35.3%
	\| align=center\|356
	\| align=left\|'''Labour Victory'''
	\|-
	\| align=center\|]
	\| align=center\|8,601,441
	\| align=center\|29.1%
	\| align=center\|258
	\| align=left\| Hung parliament (Conservative/Lib Dem coalition)
	\|}
	<sup>†</sup>''The first election held under the ] in which all men over 21, and most women over the age of 30 could vote, and therefore a much larger electorate''

	<sup>‡</sup>''The first election under ] in which all women aged over 21 could vote''

	==Leaders of the Labour Party since 1906== <!-- Several articles link to this section -->
	{{main\|Leader of the Labour Party (UK)}}
	*], 1906–1908
	*], 1908–1910
	*], 1910–1911
	*], 1911–1914
	*], 1914–1917
	*], 1917–1921
	*], 1921–1922
	*], 1922–1931
	*], 1931–1932
	*], 1932–1935
	*], 1935–1955
	*], 1955–1963
	*], 1963 <sup>†</sup>
	*], 1963–1976
	*], 1976–1980
	*], 1980–1983
	*], 1983–1992
	*], 1992–1994
	*], 1994 <sup>†</sup>
	*], 1994–2007
	*], 2007–2010
	*], 2010–present <sup>†</sup>

	<sup>†</sup>''Although these were technically leaders of the Labour Party, they only assumed this role because of the death or resignation of the incumbent and were not elected to the post. They were in effect acting temporary leaders. ] was deputy leader when leader ] unexpectedly died, and she automatically became leader as a result of his death. Similarly, ], who became leader after the death of ], had been deputy leader at the time of Gaitskell's death. ] was deputy leader when ] resigned the leadership in the wake of his May 2010 election defeat, and she too became leader automatically and will remain leader while the Labour Party goes through the process of electing a new leader.''<ref>{{Cite document\|url=http://www.savethelabourparty.org/labourpartyrulebook2008.pdf\|title=Labour Party Rule Book 2008\|publisher=The Labour Party\|quote="When the party is in opposition and the party leader, for whatever reason, becomes permanently unavailable, the deputy leader shall automatically become party leader on a pro-tem basis."\|accessdate=2010-05-12\|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref>

	==Deputy Leaders of the Labour Party since 1922==
	{{main\|Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK)}}
	*], 1922–1932
	*], 1931–1932
	*], 1932–1935
	*], 1935–1945
	*], 1945–1955
	*], 1955–1959
	*], 1959–1960
	*], 1960–1970
	*], 1970–1972
	*], 1972–1976
	*], 1976–1980
	*], 1980–1983
	*], 1983–1992
	*], 1992–1994
	*], 1994–2007
	*], 2007–present

	==Leaders of the Labour Party in the House of Lords since 1924==
	*], 1924–1928
	*], 1928–1931
	*], 1931–1935
	*], 1935–1940
	*], 1940–1952
	*], 1952–1955
	*], 1955–1964
	*], 1964–1968
	*], 1968–1974
	*], 1974–1976
	*], 1976–1982
	*], 1982–1992
	*], 1992–1998
	*], 1998–2001
	*], 2001–2003
	*], 2003–2007
	*], 2007–2008
	*], 2008–present

	==Labour Prime Ministers==
	{\| class="sortable wikitable"
	\|-
	! ]
	! ]
	! ]
	! ]
	\|-
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]; ]-]
	\|-
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]–]; ]-]
	\|-
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]-]; ]-]; ]; ]-]
	\|-
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]-]
	\|-
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]-]; ]-]; ]-]
	\|-
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]
	\| ]-]
	\|}

	==International linkages==
	The party was a member of the ] between 1923 and 1940.<ref>Kowalski, Werner. '''' Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985</ref> It is currently, and since 1951, member of the ], which was founded thanks to the efforts of the Clement Attlee leadership.

	==See also==
	{\|width=100%
	\|- valign=top
	\|width=33%\|
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	\|width=33%\|
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	*]
	\|}

	==References==
	{{reflist\|2}}

	==Further reading==
	{{refbegin\|2}}
	* Davies, A.J, ''To Build A New Jerusalem'' (1996) ISBN
	* Stephen Driver and Luke Martell, ''New Labour: Politics after Thatcherism'', Polity Press, 1998 and 2006
	* Geoffrey Foote, ''The Labour Party's Political Thought: A History'', Macmillan, 1997 ed.
	* Martin Francis, ''Ideas and Policies under Labour 1945–51'', ], 1997. ISBN
	* ], '']'', 10 May 2004,
	* David Howell, ''British Social Democracy'', Croom Helm, 1976
	* David Howell, ''MacDonald's Party'', Oxford University Press, 2002
	* Ralph Miliband, ''Parliamentary Socialism'', Merlin, 1960, 1972, ISBN
	* Kenneth O. Morgan, ''Labour in Power, 1945-51'', ], 1984
	* Kenneth O. Morgan, ''Labour People: Leaders and Lieutenants, Hardie to Kinnock'' ], 1992, ISBN
	*Henry Pelling and Alastair J. Reid, ''A Short History of the Labour Party'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2005 ed. ISBN
	* ], ''Labour and the Left in the 1930s'', ], 1977.
	* Raymond Plant, Matt Beech and Kevin Hickson (2004), ''The Struggle for Labour's Soul: understanding Labour's political thought since 1945'', Routledge, ISBN
	* ], ''Breach of Promise, 1964-70'', Penguin, 1990, ISBN
	* Greg Rosen, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography''. ], 2001, ISBN
	* Greg Rosen, ''Old Labour to New'', ], 2005, ISBN
	*Eric Shaw, ''The Labour Party since 1979: Crisis and Transformation'', Routledge, 1994
	*Andrew Thorpe, ''A History of the British Labour Party'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, ISBN
	* Phillip Whitehead, ''The Writing on the Wall'', ], 1985
	* Patrick Wintour and Colin Hughes, ''Labour Rebuilt'', ], 1990
	* ], ], Bantam Press, 2006, ISBN
	{{refend}}

	==External links==
	{{Commonscat\|Labour Party (UK)}}
	===Official party sites===
	*
	*
	*
	*
	* - Party youth wing
	*
	*

	===Other===
	*
	*
	*
	*
	*
	*
	*
	*{{fr icon}} {{cite news \| title=Déroute historique des travaillistes \| publisher=''L'Humanité'' \| date=5 May 2008 \| url=http://www.humanite.fr/2008-05-05_International_Deroute-historique-des-travaillistes}} ({{en icon}} Translation accessible on )
	{{UK Labour Party}}
	{{British political parties}}
	{{United Kingdom general election, 2010}}

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Labour Party (Uk)}}
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Revision as of 20:00, 26 July 2010

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