The History Of The Labour Party:
The
Beginnings:
- Created in 1900, Labour was introduced as the party for a new century and was the result of the plight of the working class, trade unionists and socialists who were united in the working classes representing in Parliament.
Into
Government:
- First election in 1906 saw 26 MPs elected into Parliament.
- Ramsey MacDonald was the party’s first PM
- Improved housing, education and social insurance whilst addressing unemployment.
The
War:
- The Attlee government wasted no time after the war to create the NHS – Labour’s greatest victory which they will always protect. It ensured that millions of families would not have to worry about healthcare.
- He also built more homes and did this with a 70 seat majority in the Commons.
The
Wilson Years:
- Labour would next get into government in 1964 where they introduced great change such as the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the Equal Pay Act, but would shortly lose that slot as the country faced an uphill battle against the economy and the rest of Europe.
New
Labour, New Leader:
- Following the death of John Smith (who introduced One Member, One Vote), Tony Blair was elected as party leader and he revitalised Labour making it very modern. He won by a landslide and put in notions such as the Good Friday Agreement and allowed devolution in Scotland and Wales whilst also bringing the Human Rights Act.
Miliband
& Corbyn:
- Miliband did not do as well as people first thought but, Corbyn shocked everyone when he won a lot more seats than expected in the 2017 General Election which meant that since 1945 Labour had the most share in votes. Labour today is leading the way with a vision of hope by working together.
The
Fabian Society:
Core
Ideas: Educate, Agitate, Organise:
- They were united against the rejection of violent upheaval as a method of change, preferring to use the power of local government and trade unionism to transform society.
The
Engine Room:
- Under the Attlee government, the society became an engineer room for policy ideas and they were also a research wing.
- After 1979, they were in conflict with themselves and were tempted to move to the SPD party but they remained with Labour
New Labour:
- They were forced to modernise after the creation of New Labour, they helped Labour built a coalition of voters and researched how they could modernise the UK. Once again, they were the engineer room for the Blair and Brown government.
Leaving
Office:
- The country is leaning more left than ever before and the society needs to establish its role as a pluralist, non-factional forum within the Labour Party and the now have a dedicated research initiative to help Labour with this.