"A Party For Ordinary Blokes:" The Birth Of Britain's Labour Party, 1900-1924
The organization was founded in a rather disadvantageous political climate. Britain was in the midst of fighting the Boer War in South Africa, which the Party strenuously opposed. Thus, the Party did not do well in the 1900 "Khaki Election," returning just two MPs. (6)
Six years later, however, the Party returned 30 MPs, most through a secret political pact with the Liberal Party. The pact led to Liberal candidates withdrawing in several Labour-leaning constituencies and Labour candidates from several Liberal-leaning constituencies. As a result, the parties of the left magnified their election totals, with the Conservative Party going down to its worst defeat up until last year.
While this was good short-term politics for the Liberal Party, it was disastrous in the long term, as Labour established itself as a credible third party. In 1906, this posed no immediate threat to the Liberal Party, so long as the Edwardian England and Europe that existed in 1906 would continue to exist. When World War I broke out eight years later, and continued beyond expectations, however, the Liberal Party's days of hegemony were numbered.
In November 1918, the war finally ended. Three days later, Prime Minister David Lloyd George dissolved Parliament and called new elections. This posed a problem for the Labour Party. It had been part of Lloyd George's Wartime Coalition, and thus, could have fought the General Election as part of the coalition. If they did this, they would undoubtedly increase their share of seats somewhat, but they would be continuously overshadowed by the Liberals. They might never become a serious political party.
The other course of action was to withdraw from the coalition and fight the General Election by themselves. This also had its many risks. They would be by themselves, and have a limited campaign treasury. They could end up losing seats, and thus, disappearing entirely as a political force. But to many, it was a risk worth taking, and on November 14, 1918, the Labour Party decided, in a momentous debate, to fight the election independently. (7)
In the ensuing General Election, the Party increased its share of the vote dramatically, going from 400,000 votes and six percent in December 1910 to 2.4 million votes and 21 percent. (8) Yet it only elected 15 more MPs than in 1910, and lost most of its leaders. Nevertheless, the Party demonstrated that it should be taken seriously. As a result, less than six
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