Labour Party

origins of the Labour party (socialism)

• was founded in 1900 by a group of socialist societies and trade unions, with the original purpose of getting more working class MPs into parliament

• originally pursued an agenda centered on socialism and social democracy

how did the party’s 1918 constitution support socialism?

• Clause IV committed it to campaign for the ‘common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange’

  • this meant socialism- for the state tot nationalise key industries and run them in the interests of the community rather than just for profit

why was the Representation of the People Act (1918) crucial for Labour?

• this act extended the franchise to all men over 21

• labour party could have the potential base of support necessary to launch a serious electoral challenge

examples of labour factions

• Callaghan (right) demanded that public sector pay demands should be resisted

• however those of the left (Foot) still favoured greater wealth distribution

• Foot led Labour into the 1983 general election with one of the most left-wing manifestos in history

  • included commitments to state control of all major industries, tighter regulation of business, entrenched workers rights

  • support for unilaterla nuclear disarment

    • maybe what contributed to conservative landslide victory

what is Old Labour?

A term that characterises the Labour Party prior to the modernisation programme

refers to party’s historic commitment to socialism and its links with socialist societies, trade unions and the old working class

what is New Labour?

• a term that characterises the party that emerged to fight the 1997 general election following party modernisation completed by Tony Blair

• involved a less powerful role for the trade unions and a rebranding exercise designed to make the party more appealing to middle class voters

  • some critics of New Labour accused Blair and other Labour modernisers of abandoning the socialist principles upon which the party had been founded

• Third Way

what is Third Way?

• ideological position said to exist between conventional socialism and mainstream capitalism, closely associated with Tony Blair and New Labour

• influence of Anthony Giddens

old labour v new labour

• dogmatic v pragmatic

• party of the working class v party for all

• interventionist v market economy

• public sector provision v public private partnerships

• social justice v social inclusion

• universal welfare v targeted welfare

Labour under Gordon brown

• favoured deregulation and light approach to economic management

• nationalised a number of high street banks

Labour under Milliband

• period of opposition under Miliband between 2010 and 2015 saw the party take up a not always coherent position

• dubbed ‘red ed’- because of the fact that he had a strong backing from trade unions and workers

  • red associated with socialism and left wing politics

• shifted away from a stance of new Labour

  • focused on social justice and income inequality

labour under Corbyn

• was focused on pursuing old Labour policies

• was a socialist backbencher

• due to his left-wing agenda, Corbyn struggled to form a united shadow cabinet and opposing MPs forced a 2nd leadership contest in 2016 after a vote of no confidence

• the 2019 manifesto especially was the most radical and left wing Labour manifesto since the 1983 election

  • huge tax increases and day to day public spending

factions of labour (3 examples)

• Momentum

• saving labour

• labour for the common good