the Labour Party
noun/ðə ˈleɪbə pɑːti/
/ðə ˈleɪbər pɑːrti/
(also Labour)
[singular + singular or plural verb]- one of the main British political parties, on the political left, that has traditionally represented the interests of working people
- the Labour Party leader
- The Labour Party has/have won the general election.
CultureThe Labour Party has always been supported by the trade unions. It developed from the Independent Labour Party and formed its first government in 1924 under Ramsay MacDonald. Other Labour prime ministers since then have been Clement Attlee (1945-51), Harold Wilson (1964-70), James Callaghan (1974-9), Tony Blair (1997-2007) and Gordon Brown (2007-10). In the 1980s and 1990s the party moved away from traditional left wing policies regarding public ownership of industry and giving up nuclear weapons. Because of these changes the party was also known as New Labour. It was in government between 1997 and 2010, under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Opposition to New Labour policies and to the war in Iraq among traditional Labour Party supporters led to a decline in the number of party members. From 2015, when Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the party, the number of members increased again rapidly.Topics Politicsb2Definitions on the go
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the Labour Party