Is British Labour still a socialist party?

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Helen Vipond

Is British Labour still a socialist party?

British Labour was born in the 19th century; a product of the trades union movement and the socialist political parties of the time. Historically, Labour has been the ‘working class party’ and this was no different at its birth, with its ideology set out as democratic socialism and this even mentioned in Clause Four of their first ever party manifesto. They traditionally advocated many socialist policies, for example, public ownership, wealth redistribution and a public health system.

However, Britain in the 1980s was an ever changing world, where socialism began to be shunned, in favour of a preferable global ideology; capitalism. Neil Kinnock, leader of Labour during this period began to move his party away from their traditional values, and push them towards the centre, adopting previously rejected free market policies along the way.

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The term ‘New Labour’ was coined shortly later, in 1994, upon the removal of Clause Four, in order to rebrand the party and make them more appealing for ‘middle England.’  For many people, this was the official turning point for the Labour party, moving away from their traditional socialist ideologies and into the centre, seemingly advocating capitalism more and more as they went.

However, is British Labour still a socialist party today? For many people, it is. The party was originally born from the socialism of its day, and of course, that is a fact that can never be taken ...

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