The British Labour Party (1906-1994)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The emergence of the British Labour Party in the turn of the twentieth century was the result of a long tradition of working class politics. During its early years, Labour was unable to secure a nation-wide membership, but it continued to survive to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. After the War, it adopted its constitution which committed it to socialism and made it more independent from the Liberals. The year 1922 witnessed the emergence of Labour as the main opposition Party to the Conservatives. It had also several stints in government in 1924, 1929-1931, 1945-1951, 1964-1970 and 1974-1979. Nevertheless, the Party went through many electoral defeats compounded with a collapse in its electoral fortunes throughout the 1930s, 1950s 1980s and early 1990s. As the Labour Party evolved, a lot of developments took place with regard to its machinery. These internal developments were fostered in response to many external events which in turn had affected the voters’ opinions on politics. In the same respect, that influence entails a change in the Party’s image, structure and policies. From 1906 to 1994, Labour had gradually moved from being a radical Left Party in Britain into being a centrist one.