The Labour party of Great Britain: its origin, politics, modern situation.

The Labour party of Great Britain: its origin, politics, modern situation.

History. The Labour Party’s origins go back to the last decade of the 19^th century. Its origin was entirely different from that of the Conservative and Liberal parties. The Labour Party was founded to enable the working-class movement to send its own representatives to Parliament. It was conceived by its founders as a party that would unite the trade union movement with all the different socialist parties, and at its inception the Independent Labour Party, the Fabian Society and the Social-Democratic Federation were affiliated to it. The December 1910 General Election saw 42 Labour MPs elected to the House of Commons. From the very beginning, however, the Labour Party was dominated by the right-wing leaders, although the growth of a more militant out look among the working –class during the First World War caused the party to include in its new constitution of 1918 the socialist aim of public ownership of the means of production, which hadn’t previously formed part of its programme. After the 1992 election, the Conservative government ran into trouble and Labour party won the election in 1997. Tony Blair moved the party further to the right, adopting policies which broke with Labour's socialist heritage at the 1995 mini-conference in a strategy to increase the party's appeal to "middle England". Among the early acts of Tony Blair's government were the establishment of the National minimum wage, the devolution of power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the recreation of a city-wide government body for London; the Greater London Authority. In 2006, Tony Blair's Government introduced the Train to Gain scheme, which offers publicly funded flexible and specific training and education to businesses and their employees, in order to boost the success of the businesses that use it, the economy and the wages and career prospects of the individual employees who use it. This can be seen as creating social justice and pursuing economic growth. Labour went on to win the 2001 election with a similar majority to 1997. Tony Blair controversially allied himself with President George W Bush in supporting the Iraq War, which lost his government much support. Under Gordon Brown the party began to loose power again, finance has proved a major problem for the Labour Party in recent years.

Composition and Ideology The Labour Party is a membership organization consisting of Constituency Labour Parties, affiliated trade unions, socialist societies, and the Co-operative Party, with which it has an electoral agreement. Members who are elected to parliamentary positions take part in the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP). The party's decision-making bodies on a national level formally include the National Executive Committee (NEC), Labour Party Conference, and National Policy Forum (NPF) — although in practice the Parliamentary leadership has the final say on policy. The constitution of the Labour Party provides great opportunities for the rank and file to influence the leadership, but it leaves the Parliamentary Labour Party a free hand in Parliament.

Labour was the first political party in Great Britain to stand for the representation of the low-paid working class and it has traditionally been the working class who were known as the Labour Party grassroots (рядове сторонники) and traditional members and voters.

The true aim of Labour Party is to build a fair, strong country where everyone has the opportunity to succeed regardless of their background. The current Labour government have brought in policies such as sustainable growth, higher employment, better living standards, introducing a minimum wage, investment in health, transport, education. It also has been credited with reducing the gap between the rich and poor. They want to create a society where power is held accountable and where individuals are able to maximize control over their own lives. Labour are clear that the best way to govern and to deliver excellent services is in most cases through decentralization and devolution. Their vision is of an equal, inclusive society where there is opportunity for every citizen regardless of gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, race, religion or belief.

By 2011 they plan to expanse investment in public services, science and innovation, benefits for business firms (reducing corporation tax, administrative burden). They have put policies in place to offer everyone the chance to harness their talents. Labour has increased student grants, by 2015, Labour will raise the education and training leaving age so that every young person will be guaranteed an apprenticeship, training or a place to study at school or college up to 18.

In today’s European Union, Britain is a strong voice acting for the best interests of its citizens. Labour believes that Britain should act as a force for good in the world as well as ensuring the safety and security of its own citizens. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Britain helps to reduce international conflict, combat international terrorism and weapons proliferation, and contributes to peacekeeping and peacemaking operations. Labour insures medical care, compensation rewards, accommodation to servicemen and their families. For the purpose of safety in 2008, Labour delivered the biggest changes to immigration, citizenship and border security system which include: single border force to guard ports and airports, deportation of foreign national rule-breakers, compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals who come to work or study, introduction of legislation to reform the immigration system.

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