Development and policies of the Labour Party Flashcards
When can the Labour party trace its party origins to?
Farringdon street conference of 1900
What was the party at the beginning?
An alliance between members of the trade union movement and various socialist groups, with its initial aim being the independent representation in parliament of the working man
When did the party formally assume a socialist position?
1918, With the adoption of clause iv into its constitution
What did Clause iv represent?
The party aspiration to abolish capitalism, alongside nationalisation and the inevitable redistribution of wealth
Like the conservatives, the modern day Labour is made up of which labour principles?
- Economic socialism
- Trade Unionism
- Globalist internationalism
- New labour/ Third way socialism
Economic socialism
What was the Post war Attlee government most famous for setting up?
- First majority labour government
- Welfare state, it also took into state ownership and many core industries including coal mining
Economic socialism
Subsequent labour governments would nationalise several other industries including?
Major parts of the shipbuilding and aerospace industries in 1977
Economic socialism
What did the advancement of the Thatcher years see?
The sale of all these industries, although the brown/blair governments chose not to renationalise them
Economic socialism
What did the election of Jeremy Corbyn mark?
A clear shift towards the left, although with Sir Kier Starmer’s election in 2020 there has been a shift back into the centre
Trade Unionism
What have many unions looked to Labour for?
Protect and advance the rights of workers
- for example, the right to strike and trade union recognition in the workspace
Trade Unionism
What have trade unions traditionally supplied?
The bulk of Labour’s funding
Trade Unionism
However, what happened to trade unions in the 80s and 90s?
The influence diminished, partly through deindustrialisation and a shift in the economy away from manufacturing
Trade Unionism
How was their power also weakened by the conservatives reforms in 1980s?
Designed to make unions more democratic and for it to be harder to take industrial action
Trade Unionism
How were the trade unions under the influence of Corbyn?
Enjoyed increased influence and access to leadership
Globalist internationalism
What has been a strong strand of Labours polices?
A commitment to peace and disarmament, alongside fascism and racism worldwide
- e.g Labour’s first prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald, remained a pacifist during ww1
Globalist internationalism
What have many MP’s and activists fought against?
Right-wing dictatorships whether fighting alongside the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War
Globalist internationalism
What would many in the modern day labour government revise this attitude into?W
Support for European integration, with a strong emphasis on protecting workers’ rights across the EU
Globalist internationalism
How was this strand weakened during the Blair years?
Blair’s close relationship with conservative republican president George W. Bush and his support for war
Globalist internationalism
What did the war in Iraq produce?
Deep divisions in the party and large scale back bench rebellions
New labour/ Third way socialism
How was the disenchantment with Blair’s ‘Third way Socialism’ reflected?
The swing to the left with the election of Corbyn as leader in 2015, and the adoption of more left wing politics
New labour/ Third way socialism
What was Blair’s intention for Labour?
To modernise and update Labour and move it to the centre ground of electability following its lurch to the left in the early 1980’s under Michael Foot
New labour/ Third way socialism
What was there less concern about?
About who owned industry and far more emphasis on how profits could be put to good use and achieve the goal of social justice
New labour/ Third way socialism
What was more money pumped into?
The NHS and education - ‘Education, education, education’
New labour/ Third way socialism
What was New labour also focused on?
Eliminating Child poverty
New labour/ Third way socialism
How many Elections did Blair win?
3 consecutive elections on the back of his new labour policies
How did Labour’s 2019 election manifesto reflect the strands of Labour?
- Raise the minimum wage from £8.01 to £10 a hour = somewhat Blairit
- Increae the health budget by 4.3% and cut private provision in the NHS = Economic socialism
- Bring forward the net zero target on carbon emissions = Globalist internationalism
