Happy 112th Birthday to the Labour Party founded to elect Parliamentary Candidates on 27 February 1900 at Caroone House, 8 Farringdon Street, London.
“After a debate, the 129 delegates passed Hardie's motion to establish "a distinct Labour group in Parliament, who shall have their own whips, and agree upon their policy, which must embrace a readiness to cooperate with any party which for the time being may be engaged in promoting legislation in the direct interests of labour." This created an association called the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), meant to coordinate attempts to support MPs sponsored by trade unions and represent the working-class population.”
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| Aylesbury Labour celebrating the NHS's 63rd Birthday at the world famous Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Britain spends half per capita than the USA on Healthcare with better health outcomes thanks to the NHS. |
The driving force in bringing existing left wing and Trade Union groups together was Keir Hardie, the founder of the Labour Party. Born into poverty despite his father being a hard working carpenter, sacked from his job as a 10 year old for being late while looking after his dying brother and trapped in a mine accident whilst still in his teens. Hardie was a Union and Temperance organiser and lifelong pacifist. We know where our values come from.
In the October 1900 "Khaki election" which came too soon for the new party to campaign effectively only 15 candidatures were sponsored, but two were successful; Keir Hardie in Merthyr Tydfil and Richard Bell in Derby.
“The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few, where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe, and where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect.”
As a Labour activist I am proud that Labour is still a progressive force which has shaped the UK political landscape. Where would people in this country be without Labour, its achievements for ordinary working people and the balance it gives. You can criticise (and there is much material) but there is no realistic alternative to electing an alternative to the ConDems than Labour - everything else is purist wishful thinking. There are still many Labour members with fire in their belly to change society for the better - we can only make decisions about the future.
As a Labour activist I am proud that Labour is still a progressive force which has shaped the UK political landscape. Where would people in this country be without Labour, its achievements for ordinary working people and the balance it gives. You can criticise (and there is much material) but there is no realistic alternative to electing an alternative to the ConDems than Labour - everything else is purist wishful thinking. There are still many Labour members with fire in their belly to change society for the better - we can only make decisions about the future.
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