Labour Party (Rainier)

Labour Party
Founder	J. W. M. Withers
Leader	Alexander Llewellyn
Founded	12th October 1910
Headquarters	Victoria
Student wing	Labour Students
Youth wing	Young Labour
Membership	2,100,000 (2017)
Ideology	Social democracy Social liberalism Progressivism
Political position	Centre left
International affiliation	Socialist International Progressive Alliance
Official colours	Red and white
Anthem	The Red Flag
House of Councillors	147 / 266
House of Senators	40 / 90
Provincial seats	226 / 543
Party flag

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in Rainier. Founded in 1910, it is currently the main party of government with a majority in the House of Councillors with the Prime Minister Alexander Llewellyn being from the party.

Formed as the Farmer-Labour Party in 1910, the Labour Party originally was the political arm of the trade union movement in Rainier. It was a marginal force until the Great Depression when it alternated between the official opposition or the largest third party; during World War Two the party formed part of a national unity government. Following the 1958 election Labour became the main opposition party and in 1970 under the charismatic Lester Murray it oversaw numerous progressive social and economic reforms. In 1973 the Labour party was thrown into opposition before coming back to power under Nicholas Lennox and Hannah Whittaker between 1979-1982 and 1984-1990 who oversaw a shift to the right, embracing neoliberal economic policies. They returned to power under Ken Huang in 1996 where it won four successive general elections but lost power again in 2008 following the Great Recession. Their current leader is former Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Llewellyn who became prime minister at the head of a Labour government following the 2017 election.

The Labour Party currently supports social democracy, progressivism and trade unionism, having been perceived to have moved away from their democratic, Christian socialist roots. They are currently the largest party in Rainier and the largest left-of-centre party. The Labour Party is currently the governing party in Rainier holding a majority of seats in both chambers of parliament. Labour currently holds 138 seats in the House of Councilors, 40 seats in the House of Senators, and 226 total seats in provincial legislatures.

History

Formation

The Farmer-Labour Party was formed on the 12^th October 1914 as a merger between the Progressive Party and the Rainian Labour Committee (RLC). The RLC was a body set up by the two largest trade unions in Rainier, the National Union of Shipbuilders (NUS) and the Miners Guild and Union (MGU) three years earlier to push for political representation for trade union workers'. The Progressive Party meanwhile had been created in 1897, and was a left-wing party based on rural populism and progressivism.

The leader of the RLC, Henry Clyde, discussed with the Progressive leader and Reverend MP J. W. M. Withers the possibility of merging the RLC and the Progressives into one body. At the time the SDP was a small organisation with a mere three seats in parliament, whilst the RLC had maintained a policy of calling for its members to vote for the Liberal Party over the rival Conservative Party. The merging of the RLC and Progressives was hoped to lead to a major leftist force in Rainian politics that would represent the growing urban proletariat, rather than the Conservatives who courted support from rural landlords and farmers and the Liberals who were rooted in the liberal bourgeoisie.

The first election contested by Labour in 1916 saw them get six seats, double the amount the Progressives had gather in 1909. The 1915 election was held against the backdrop of World War One with Labour under leader J. W. M. Withers opposing conscription, getting almost double their seat share as the Union party dithered on the issue. Following the war as trade union membership slowly rose Labour soon had representation in most provincial legislatures, being strong in the coastal provinces of Cascadia and Oregon as well as the province of Saskatchewan.

Ideology

The official party ideology of the Labour Party according to their website is "to promote socialism in a democratic manner whilst protecting the interest of Rainier.". Commonly they are referred to incorporating social democratic policies with a strong support of trade unions and public services. They describe themselves as being centre-left, but in more modern times has been compared to New Labour in the UK, the SPD in Germany and Scandinavian social democratic parties in their embrace of the third way.

Whilst the Labour Party has been prominent in its consistent support of women's and workers rights, during the 1940's up until the 1960's the Labour Party endorsed several social conservative policies such as opposition to recognising homosexuality and improving race relations in order to win working class voters, who were often opposed to the social liberalism of the Liberal Party and the pragmatism of the National Union Party. Under the leadership of Jack Maddocks the party shifted away from social conservatism embracing socially liberal policies as it became more popular with the middle class. During the 1990's under Ken Huang the party took a right-wing turn, embracing new right neoliberal economic policies - this embrace of liberal economic and social policies has been described as an examples of the "third way" being implemented. In the 2000's Labour moved to a more centrist position economically whilst retaining its socially liberal policies.

The Labour Party has been described by international sources as social-democratic, socially progressive and dovish.

Factions

The Labour Party is a big tent party has four major factions within it - the hard left democratic socialists, the soft left social democrats, the third way centrists and the Christian socialist Blue Labour. Factions are often based around factional leaders, who act as patrons for faction members, providing them with financial support and connections with extra-parliamentary organisations - however, unlike the National Union Party (who also have patronage networks) these networks and connections are based on ideological factions rather than regional organisations. The current four factions are formalised within the House of Councillors, although there can be overlap within the party.

Democratic Socialists

The Democratic Socialists (sometime referred to as the DemSocs) consists of the hard left of the Labour party who favour strongly socialist policies, greater links with the trade unions and a form of social liberalism that emphasises social justice. In recent years the DemSocs have also favoured green policies and are strongly anti-nuclear as well as non-interventionist in foreign affairs, with some members being pacifists. They are often critical of the Conference of American States. The DemSocs trace their roots to the old left of the party who during the 1960's became influenced by an influx of young activists who identified with the new left, with many of its members being former Trotskyites. Many DemSocs were active in the 1970's, and saw many of their members elected in the 1970 election - despite this the DemSocs have never held much sway over the party, although they did sponsor some key socially progressive policies under Lester Murray.

Social Democrats

The Social Democrats are identified with the soft left, calling for a form of social democracy and social liberalism that sits to the left of the Third Way Coalition but the right of the DemSocs. The Social Democrats often favour progressive social policies, Keynesian economics and strong support of the welfare state with moderate ties to the trade unions. They favour American unionism. Formed from the anti-Stalinist left in the 1920's, the Social Democrats have consistently been the dominant faction within the Labour Party. During the 1960's and 1970's they began to become more socially liberal and during the 1990's moved to the right economically. The Social Democrats currently possess the most seats of any faction within the House of Councillors.

Democratic Labour Coalition

The newest faction within the Labour party, the Third Way Coalition are seen as the right of the Labour party being heavily influenced by the Democratic Party in the USA and New Labour in the UK. Advocating for Third Way politics, the DLC place more of their focus on social justice then equality and are embracing of neoliberal economics as well as a hawkish foreign policy. The TWC traces their roots to the Labour "modernisers" of the 1970's, a loose grouping of Labour MP's who promoted free market capitalism. They were formally created as a faction in 1986 as the the New Democratic Coalition (NDC). Changing their name to the DLC in 1996, they have retained influence as the main right-wing faction of the party.

Blue Labour

Blue Labour represent the old right wing of the Labour party, being rooted in trade unionism and Christian socialism. Blue Labour are more socially conservative and less willing to pursue radical policies like the Social Democrats and the DemSocs, advocating for a form of guild socialism whilst placing great emphasis on the role of the family and opposition to immigration. Blue Labour were formally the mainstream right wing of the Labour party, although they have never produced a Labour prime minister. Their influence had begun to decline by the mid-1960's as Labour moved away from its Christian Socialist roots. The rise of the Democratic Labour Coalition during the 1980's marginalised Blue Labour, who have never become influential in the party since.

Organisation

Labour Party seats in Provincial Assemblies
Alaska	17 / 40
Alberta	55 / 87
British Columbia	41 / 87
Cascadia	46 / 98
Idaho	14 / 50
Oregon	33 / 60
Saskatchewan	11 / 61
Yukon	13 / 19

The Labour Party is made up of three membership bodies - Constituency Labour Parties (CLP's), affiliated trade unions and socialist societies. The main decision making body is the National Executive Council (NEC) which is elected by Labour members every five years. All members who are elected to parliamentary posts (either President, a MP in the House of Councillors, members of provincial assemblies or senators in the House of Senators) form the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) which alongside the NEC and the National Policy Plenum (NPP) directs and drafts party policy, although CLP's can sponsor proposals to the NPP. The NEC and bodies below it are responsible for handling party finances, creating electoral lists, administrative work and organisation.

The Labour party National Conference, held annually, still serves as a forum for debate and policy making, with CLP proposals often being brought up during the conference. However, the National Conference has declined in relevance in recent years with policy debates being less frequent as most policy is debated within the NEC, the NPP and the PLP.

The Labour Party was a founding member of Socialist International, previously having been a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1923–1940. In 2013 it joined the Progressive Alliance, but has stated it has no wish to cancel its ties with SI.

The Labour party has provincial branches in all 12 provinces all of which formally affiliate with the party. Whilst all run candidates in national elections, in provincial elections the Montana branch officially endorses candidates of the left-wing Farmers' Party whilst in Northern Territories hold non-partisan elections. Labour officially forms majority governments in Alberta (under Rachel Notley), Oregon (under Kate Brown) and Yukon (under Elizabeth Hanson) alongside red-green coalitions in British Columbia (under John Horgan) and Cascadia (under Jay Inslee). Labour parties also serve as the official opposition in Alberta, Idaho and Saskatchewan.

Party Emblem and Flag

The first official symbol of the Labour Party was the red flag symbolizing socialism first used in 1912. The word Labour was eventually inscribed on the flag in 1920 and has remained the party's flag since then. In 1921, the Labour Party adopted a logo featuring two masculine arms holding a hammer used to represent the poor and working class that the party was founded to represent and form policies to advocate on behalf of. The symbol remained the official party logo until 1968 when it was changed over to a red rose with green leaves to resemble the ideology of social democracy, the main ideology of the party, and has been the party's symbol since 1968 and retains its status well into the contemporary era.

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  Labour Party logo 1921-1968

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  Labour Party logo since 1968

Leaders

No.	Name (Born–Died)	Portrait	Term in Office		Election(s)
1	John Walter Milhous Withers (1867-1938)		12th October 1907	16th October 1920	1913 1916 1919
2	Henry Clyde (1862-1930)		16th October 1920	20th November 1925	1922 1925
(1)	John Walter Milhous Withers (1867-1938)		20th November 1925	4th June 1932	1928 1931
3	Thomas O'Reilly (1895-1962)		4th June 1932	17th December 1944	1934 1937 1940 1943
4	Harry Stone (1899-1972)		17th December 1944	4th August 1952	1946 1949 1951
5	Jack Maddocks (1900-1977)		4th August 1952	14th May 1962	1954 1957 1958 1961
6	Robin Matthews (1914-2007)		14th May 1962	17th October 1966	1964
7	Lester Murray (1918-1975)		17th October 1966	12th January 1975	1967 1970 1973
8	Martin Whittaker (1936-)		12th January 1975	6th May 1978	1987 1990
9	Nicholas Lennox (1932-)		6th May 1978	13th December 1990	1979 1982 1984 1987 1990
10	James Cannon (1947-)		13th December 1990	17th December 1995	1993
11	Ken Huang (1950-)		17th December 1995	22nd June 2004	1996 1999 2002
12	Gerald Ruben (1950-)		22nd June 2004	16th January 2009	2005 2008
13	Samuel Paul (1951-)		16th January 2009	7th March 2012	2011
14	Jane Patterson (1956-)		7th March 2012	30th November 2016	2014
15	Alexander Llewellyn (1963-)		30th November 2016	Incumbent	2017

Election results

Legislative elections

General election	Percentage of votes (%)	Votes cast	Seating graph	Seat change	Presiding chair of the party	Parliamentary position
1913	TBA%	TBA	6 / 222	▲ 6	J. W. M. Withers	Opposition
1916	TBA%	TBA	17 / 238	▲ 11	J. W. M. Withers	Opposition
1919	TBA%	TBA	14 / 238	▼ 3	J. W. M. Withers	Opposition
1922	TBA%	TBA	12 / 238	▼ 2	Henry Clyde	Opposition
1925	TBA%	TBA	12 / 238	N/A	Henry Clyde	Opposition
1928	TBA%	TBA	25 / 254	▲ 13	J. W. M. Withers	Opposition
1931	TBA%	TBA	38 / 254	▲ 13	J. W. M. Withers	Opposition
1934	TBA%	TBA	66 / 254	▲ 28	Thomas O'Reilly	Opposition
1937	TBA%	TBA	49 / 259	▼ 27	Thomas O'Reilly	Opposition
1940	TBA%	TBA	44 / 259	▼ 5	Thomas O'Reilly	National Unity Government
1943	TBA%	TBA	28 / 259	▼ 16	Thomas O'Reilly	National Unity Government (1943-1945) Opposition (1945-1946)
1946	TBA%	TBA	37 / 265	▲ 9	Harry Stone	Opposition
1949	TBA%	TBA	41 / 265	▲ 4	Harry Stone	Opposition
1951	TBA%	TBA	21 / 265	▼ 20	Harry Stone	Opposition
1954	TBA%	TBA	26 / 265	▲ 5	Jack Maddocks	Opposition
1957	TBA%	TBA	61 / 272	▲ 35	Jack Maddocks	Confidence and supply
1958	TBA%	TBA	59 / 272	▼ 2	Jack Maddocks	Opposition
1961	TBA%	TBA	55 / 272	▼ 4	Jack Maddocks	Opposition
1964	TBA%	TBA	66 / 272	▲ 11	Robin Matthews	Opposition
1967	TBA%	TBA	90 / 279	▲ 24	Lester Murray	Opposition
1970	TBA%	TBA	141 / 279	▲ 55	Lester Murray	Majority government
1973	TBA%	TBA	81 / 279	▼ 60	Lester Murray	Opposition
1976	TBA%	TBA	122 / 286	▲ 41	Nicholas Lennox	Opposition
1979	TBA%	TBA	149 / 286	▲ 27	Nicholas Lennox	Majority government
1982	TBA%	TBA	129 / 286	▼ 20	Nicholas Lennox	Opposition
1984	TBA%	TBA	168 / 286	▲ 39	Nicholas Lennox	Majority government
1987	TBA%	TBA	160 / 300	▼ 8	Hannah Whittaker	Majority government
1990	TBA%	TBA	107 / 300	▼ 53	Hannah Whittaker	Opposition
1993	TBA%	TBA	124 / 300	▲ 17	James Cannon	Opposition
1996	TBA%	TBA	195 / 300	▲ 71	Ken Huang	Majority government
1999	TBA%	TBA	147 / 247	▼ 48	Ken Huang	Majority government
2002	TBA%	TBA	148 / 247	▲ 1	Ken Huang	Majority government
2005	TBA%	TBA	112 / 247	▼ 36	Gerald Ruben	Coalition government
2008	TBA%	TBA	89 / 254	▼ 23	Gerald Ruben	Opposition
2011	TBA%	TBA	104 / 254	▲ 15	Samuel Paul	Opposition
2014	TBA%	TBA	100 / 254	▼ 4	Jane Patterson	Opposition
2017	TBA%	TBA	138 / 266	▲ 38	Alexander Llewellyn	Majority government