One of the political parties of England which gets its main support from trade unions, co-operatives, etc. It is a socialist party and believes that the means of production should be owned and controlled by the state so as to bring about more equitable distribution of wealth. It was defeated in 1955 elections on account of its internal dissensions, but was returned to power in 1964.
In the 1966 elections it won with a large majority. It formed the Government in 1974, when snap elections had to be ordered on account of coal miners’ strike. Labour Party lost the election in May 1979. Four Labour leaders, Rodgers, Williams, Jenkin and Owen, had formed a new party called Social Democratic Party.
It merged with the Liberals in early 1988. The Labour Party virtually collapsed at the June 1992 polls. In the May 1997 elections, the Labour Party won a resounding victory, it captured 419 seats to the Tories 165.
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The young Prime Minister, Tony Blair, promised not to raise income taxes for 5 years. He had vowed to bring to an early end the dispute in N. Ireland. For the first time Mr. Gerry Adams, the IRA leader, was invited to 10 Downing Street in March 1998. A peace agreement was finally signed to usher in peace in Northern Ireland in April 1998, the so-called Good Friday Agreement.
Tony Blair was a much disillusioned man in late 1999, when the N. Irish Accord so assiduously cultivated by him floundered. At issue was the demand by the Unionists that the IRA must disarm and disengage. Patch-up occurred in late 1999, and David Trimble resumed as first Minister of N. Ireland.
A car bomb close to the BBC office in London in March 2001 once again put the Northern Ireland issue on the front pages. It is a boil or a pest that just refuses to go away. Labour Party again won the elections in June 2001. Tony Blair was in the forefront of the campaign against ‘Terror’, unleashed by the U.S. President in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide attacks.
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He visited India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and many other countries during early 2002 to counter the terrorist network. Tony Blair was the best spokesman of the United States in the war against Iraq. Following the death of David Kelly, the govt’s expert on the Weapons of Mass Destruction in July 03, Tony Blair was slipping in his popularity chart.
Tony Blair was the best known face of his country, protected the British interests during the summits of the G8, European Union and the United Nations. The EU summit hosted by him in Edinburgh focused on the problems of poverty and deprivation in the African continent. Massive aid was promised to the continent at the G8 summit.
Gordon Brown, who became Prime Minister, in June 2007 lacks the charisma of Tony Blair. He, however, identified himself with the flood-hit people in August-Sept, 2007 when vast areas were inundated. Gordon Brown is no longer the U.S. favourite poster boy.
Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor and Nicholas Sarkozy the French President; the duo have reversed the anti-US stand of their predecessors, and become the new mascots of President Bush The US. Foreign policy.
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The public rating of Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been slipping and he is likely to face a tough challenge in the next General Elections. Gordon Brown addressed the G-20 Conference in April, 09 in order to discuss the methodology for fighting the world recession.
He can claim considerable experience of public finance having been the Chancellor of Exchequer prior to taking over the job of Prime Minister. Of all the major economies. Britain suffered the least economic turmoil. H1N1 Swine Flu has also posed serious challenge to the British administration. Lakhs of people are likely to be affected and the damage to the economy will be considerable.
The Labour Party plunged below even the worst case forecasts in the European elections in June, 2009, it now runs not a single county in England and won less than 16% of the votes in the European polls. Labour looks absolutely doomed at the next elections, whoever heads the party. There is little of the enthusiasm that garlanded Labour’s path to power in the 1990s.