How far do you agree that the role of the Trade Unions was the key factor in the changing fortunes of the Labour Party in the period 1888-1997?

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Britain’s Parliamentary Democracy c1888-1997

Part B: Assessment Objective 1

How far do you agree that the role of the Trade Unions was the key factor in the changing fortunes of the Labour Party in the period 1888-1997?

When considering this question it is important to consider all areas, which may have affected the fortunes of the Labour Party, be it the help of the Trade Unions (TUs) the downfall of the Liberal party, the mistakes of Labour, the successes of the opposition or the changing socio-economic environment. It will be important to consider all of these areas when looking at the question in order to accurately answer it.

The first notable area has to be the way in which the Labour party was formed.  After Parliamentary reforms of 1867 and 1884 more working class men had the vote. This was a point where the Liberals may have had an initial downfall and in effect aloud the rise of the Labour Party, they believed that the workers who now had the vote would automatically side with them. However it was thought by the working class organisations of the time (such as the TUs) that the Liberals were to widely based to be able to help, they wanted a party who would represent their specific interests.

It was this idea that led to the 1900 formation of the Labour Representative Committee (becoming the Labour Party in 1906) an amalgamation of the following groups, The TUs were the main group behind the party wanting a distinct political group to represent their interests, The Social Democratic Federation who were Marxists wanting class war on those in power, the Fabians who wanted the spread of socialism by education and propaganda and co-operative societies who wanted a fair representation of the poorer consumer. This list does show that while the TUs did play an important role in the formation of this new political party it was not purely them who were behind it.

An important factor in the early success of the Labour party was their agreement with the Liberal party (the Lib Lab pact) not to stand against one another. This saw an immediate growth of the Labour party who won 30 seats in 1906 42 seats in 1910 and while loosing seats still 37 seats in 1914. The Lib Lab pact had allowed the growth of the Labour Party, and so its initial growth could be accredited to this. However it is also important to consider the value of the TUs in these early days of the Labour party, 1909 saw some of the strongest Unions join the party such as the Miner Federation. This increased the numbers in support of the party as well as giving the Party more money on election campaigns.

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With the out break of war in 1914 Labour the Liberals and the Conservatives all agreed to hold a “poll truce” which lasted until 1915 and the start of the Asquith coalition and in 1916-18 the war time coalition. These stints in coalitions gave Labour their first taste as part of an active government and allowed MPs to become experienced in the running of government, all be it in wartime.

Further growth for the Labour party was seen in 1918 when the electorate increased so did Labours percentage of the vote, from 7% rising to 22%. This put ...

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