Labour Party

Also known as Labour, Labour Party (UK), Labor Party, UK

centrist social democratic political party in the United Kingdom

AI overview

The Labour Party is a centrist social democratic political party in the United Kingdom that competes in national elections to form or influence government. It matters because, as a major political party, its policies and electoral performance significantly shape British politics and governance.

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Described at

CAIN: Abstracts of Organisations - 'L'

cain.ulster.ac.uk →

Compiled: Martin Melaugh ... Additional Material: Brendan Lynn and Fionnuala McKenna Material is added to this site on a regular basis - information on this page may change Labour Committee on Ireland (LCI) A left-wing pressure group within the British Labour Party which was seeking a policy of British withdrawal from Northern Ireland. Labour '87 A small political party founded in 1987 to try to bring together those who supported socialist / labour policies. The party was established as a result of a merger between the Labour Party of Northern Ireland (LPNI), the remnants of the Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP), and the Newtownabbey Labour Party (a local branch of the NILP which had broken away in the 1970s). Labour '87 fought local government and European elections in 1989. Labour Party of Northern Ireland (LPNI) The Labour Party of Northern Ireland (LPNI) was established in 1985 on the initiative of Paddy Devlin and Billy Blease. The LPNI involved some of those people who in 1978 had created the United Labour Party (ULP), although the ULP had ceased to exist at the time the LPNI was formed. The LPNI had branches in Belfast and Coleraine. The party fought seats in the Local Government elections of 1985. The LPNI won a local government seat in a by-election in Newtownabbey in 1987; the by-election was caused by the resignation of two Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillors. Bob Purdie was Secretary of the LPNI when it was first formed. Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) The modern equivalent of the old British Liberal Party. The Liberals were critical of many aspects of the working of Unionist government in Northern Ireland. It urged the use of Proportional Representation in elections and was against the use of internment. The party entered into an alliance in 1988 with the Social Democratic Party and was called, for a short time, the Social and Liberal Democrats. The LDP also has close links with the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI). The party supported the Downing Street Declaration in December 1993 and backed calls for a settlement in Northern Ireland based on some form of power sharing in conjunction with an 'Irish dimension' to formalise relations between Belfast and Dublin. As such the LDP campaigned for a 'Yes' vote in the Referendum campaign on the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998. Charles Kennedy is currently the party leader having been elected to the position in August 1999. [Web Site ] Liberty A human rights pressure group which was previously called the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL). The organisation has taken an active interest in civil rights matters in Northern Ireland. It has argued against the use of emergency powers in the region, opposed the ending of the 'right to silence' in 1988, and was against the broadcasting restrictions imposed on proscribed organisations. Linen Hall Library One of the few remaining subscription libraries in the United Kingdom (UK). The library holds a number of collections of material of Irish interest. The Northern Ireland Political Collection contains approximately 80,000 items gathered since 1968, many of which are ephemeral material. [Web Site ] Lower Ormeau Concerned Community (LOCC) The Lower Ormeau Concerned Community (LOCC) was set up in March 1992 in order to organise opposition to what the local community perceived was the provocative nature of loyalist parades along the lower part of the Ormeau Road in south Belfast. Loyal Citizens of Ulster (LCU) A small militant Loyalist group which was formed in Derry in 1968. It was initially lead by Ronald Bunting. The group were present at a number of Loyalist demonstrations throughout 1968 and 1969. Loyal Orange Lodge (LOL) Part of the structure of the Orange Order. The Orange Order is made up of 1,400 Private Lodges, 126 District Lodges, 12 County Lodges, and one Grand Lodge. Loyalist Association of Workers (LAW) LAW was formed in 1971 and was initially led by Billy Hull who was a trade union

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Article

The Labour Party, commonly Labour, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It sits on the centre-left of the left–right political spectrum, and has been described as an alliance of democratic socialists, social democrats and trade unionists. It has been the governing party since the 2024 general election. Keir Starmer has been Leader of the Labour Party since 2020 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024. There have been twelve Labour governments and seven Labour prime ministers. The party meets annually during Autumn for the Labour Party Conference, during which delegates from local parties and trade unions vote on party policy, and senior figures address the audience from the Conference platform.

The Labour Party was founded in 1900, having emerged from the trade union movement and socialist parties of the 19th century. It was electorally weak before the First World War, but in the early 1920s overtook the Liberal Party to become the main opposition to the Conservative Party, and briefly formed a minority government under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924. In 1929 Labour for the first time became the largest party in the House of Commons, with 287 seats, but fell short of a majority, forming another minority government. In 1931, in response to the Great Depression, MacDonald formed a new government with Conservative and Liberal support, which led to his expulsion from the party. Labour was soundly defeated by his coalition in 1931, winning only 52 seats, but began to recover in 1935 with 154 seats.