Zusammenfassung der Ressource
The Labour Party in the UK
- Origins
- Labour refers to workers.
- Workers had organised during the Industrial Revolution.
- They organised themselves within the framework of Trade
Unions.
- Trade Union Congress (TUC) - 1868
- Gathered workers from different unions of skilled
trades.
- In 1893 they formed the Independent Labour Party.
- In order to have workers' rights
promoted through political
representation in the parliament.
- In the beginning, the party didn't have a concrete political
program.
- The program was partly supplied by socialist
organisations.
- The program was influenced by such
groups as The Fabian Society
- The Fabian Society promoted the
public ownership of capital and
land.
- The main idea: the state
would act in the interest of
workers better than markets.
- The 20th century Labour Party
- Defended Keynesian policies, namely:
- Public employment
- Public spending to stimulate growth
- Nationalisation
- Welfare state
- In 1945 The Labour Party won for the 1st
time an absolute majority in Parliament.
- It nationalised only 20% of businesses.
- It created NHS.
- It created a system of national insurance.
- Did not introduced collectivism but a mixed economy.
- Crisis occured in 1973 - stagflation (stagnation +
inflation)
- That made an impression that
Labour's program doesn't work.
- Tory campaign poster: "Labour isn't
working"
- Labour divided due to the different ideas of strategies
to regain the power.
- The New Labour Party
- In 1994, Tony Blair became the leader of the party.
- He wanted to modernise the party.
- To re-brand it as New Labour.
- To create a program in a half way
between capitalism and socialism.
- Abolishment of the Clause IV.
- "Power, wealth and opportunity are in
the hands of the many, not the few."
- Reduction of taxes.
- Reduction of public spending.
- Support for education and welfare spending only.
- The idea: to create the conditions for people to have jobs.
- Not to create public jobs.
- The Third Way criticized by the left wing.
- Contradicting working class ideals.
- Party funded by millionaires, not by
working class unions.
- Devolution in 1998.
- The Human Rights Act in 1998.
- Reform of the House of Lords in 1999.
- Abolishion of majority of
hereditary peerages.
- Only 92 remained
out of 750.
- Peerages given on merit.
- BUT the House of Lords still stays
unelected - subject to criticism.
- Criticism of Blairite politics.
- Scandal in 2006-2007 - some
peers had previously been
Labour Party donors.
- Corruption.
- Third Way - pretext for reducing
public spending for limiting the
state's responsibility.
- Capitalism deciding
future of the nation.
- Crisis of 2008 - Gordon
Brown used public funds to
save banks.
- New Labour serving
capitalist interests.
- Manipulation.
- War in Iraq in 2003.
- Blair said S. Hussein possessed weapons
he hadn't possessed in reality.
- The British govt
produced documents
proving these words.
- Public deceived to justify
military intervention.
- In 2010 the Labours lost the elections.
- They had created a public deficit.
- Crisis managed not well enough.
- Some Labour voters not
satisfied with the New Labour
project.
- Ed Miliband approaching the left-wing more.
- In 2015 Jeremy Corbyn won the
leadership of the party.
- J. Corbyn - supporter of the Old Labour
- Convinced socialist - close to Marxism.
- Vegetarian.
- Pacifist.
- In favour of the Clause IV.
- Pro-Palestinian.
- In favour of United Ireland.
- Anti-royalist.
- Not "going left" enough.
- Education - people better qualified to enter the job market.
- Welfare targeted only at those, who needed it.
- Unemployment benefits paid only in case of
evidence that the unemployed one is looking
for a job and willing to take whatever there is.
- Benefits NO longer UNIVERSAL.