Welsh Labour
Welsh Labour Llafur Cymru | ||
---|---|---|
Police and Crime Commissioners 3 / 4 | ||
Website | ||
www | ||
Part of a series on |
Socialism in the United Kingdom |
---|
|
Welsh Labour (
Structure
Welsh Labour is formally part of the Labour Party, not separately registered with the
The Welsh Executive Committee contains representatives of each section of the party – government,
Welsh Labour headquarters in
History
Origins (1890s to 1945)
By the end of the 19th century most of Wales' adult male population were able to vote, they predominantly supported the Liberal Party partially due to the influence of the Nonconformist religious movement on Welsh society as well as the party's association with various other radical causes including improving the welfare of the working classes.[12]
In 1893, the
After 1922, Labour maintained consistent electoral dominance in Wales winning between 40% and 45% their at general elections for the rest of the interwar period.[15][16][17][18][19][20] In 1931, when the Labour party collapsed to just 52 seats the 16 seats it won in the southern Welsh valleys constituted its largest regional stronghold anywhere in Britain.[14][13] After difficult years in the 1920s and 30s, following World War II there was keen desire in Wales like elsewhere in the UK to avoid a return to the conditions of the interwar era and the Labour victory at the 1945 general election was strongly endorsed by the Welsh electorate.[21][22][23][24]
As an all Wales unit (from 1947)
In 1947, an all Wales unit was formed within the Labour Party for the first time with the merger of South Wales Regional Council of Labour and the constituency parties of north and mid Wales. This change was based on the Labour Party's support for central planning in the Welsh economy and was not at that stage any kind of endorsement of the idea of devolution.[25][26]
Labour expanded its dominance of Welsh politics in the early 1950s, extending its influence in rural and Welsh speaking areas beyond its traditional industrial heartlands.[25] Though Labour went into opposition after 1951, the Labour Party in Wales polled over 50 per cent of the popular vote at each general election, winning seemingly impregnable majorities in the valleys of south Wales. Aneurin Bevan, for example, was routinely returned for Ebbw Vale with 80 per cent of the vote. The pattern was similar in some 15 other seats in the region. Through its actions in local government and proposals for central government the Labour Party in Wales was perceived to be a modernising party committed to investing in infrastructure and serious about providing jobs and improving public services.[27]
In the 1964 general election, the Labour Party in Wales polled some 58 per cent of the Welsh vote and won 28 seats.[28] The Wilson government gave the Labour Party in Wales the chance to enact its promise (following the Conservative government's appointment of a Minister of Welsh Affairs in the mid-1950s) to create the post of Secretary of State for Wales and a Welsh Office.[29] At the 1966 United Kingdom general election, Labour's support in Wales reached a peak, winning 61% of the vote and all but four of Wales's 36 parliamentary constituencies.[14]
Increased competition (from 1967)
Within three months, however,
The emergence of Plaid Cymru (and the
Plaid Cymru's threat in the industrial heartland fell away in the 1970s, but it and the Conservatives gained ground in Welsh-speaking and coastal Wales respectively, where Labour's roots were shallower. By the 1979 General Election, the Labour Party in Wales held 22 of the 36 parliamentary seats, albeit with a 48 per cent share of the vote.[34]
This relative decline was eclipsed by a dramatic fall in Labour support at the 1983 General Election. In contrast to the 1950s, the swing against Labour in Britain was matched in Wales, where voters showed themselves just as unwilling to endorse Michael Foot's markedly more left-wing manifesto. The Labour Party in Wales polled a mere 37.5 per cent of the popular vote, yielding 20 seats. A rampant Conservative Party, by contrast, captured 14 seats (including three of the four Cardiff constituencies) and exceeded 30 per cent of the vote for the second election in succession. The Labour Party in Wales's problems were compounded by a strong SDP–Liberal Alliance performance, gaining 23 per cent of the vote, though few seats, at what was to be the height of its success.[35]
The
However, Conservative policy in Wales could be said to have helped to break the traditional compact between the Labour Party in Wales and the Welsh electorate. The party was ineffective when faced with the psychological trauma of restructuring and de-industrialising the Welsh economy. Meanwhile, the seemingly perpetual Conservative rule, based on its electoral power outside Wales, reignited debate within the Labour Party in Wales on devolution.[38]
Under John Smith, Labour committed itself to devolution for Wales and Scotland, a commitment that survived his early death.[39] By 1997, the Labour Party in Wales captured 34 of Wales's 40 seats, wiping out the Conservatives' Welsh representation and polling 55 per cent.[40] The stage was set for another devolution referendum, this time won by the narrowest of margins.[41]
Devolution era (from 1999)
In 1998 the leader of the Labour Party in Wales Ron Davies, resigned. In 1999, Wales voted in its first Assembly members; Plaid Cymru achieve 28% of the vote but Labour won with 38% and governed as a minority government. In February 2000, the first assembly leader, Alun Michael resigned following a vote of no confidence on the matter of European funding for Wales. The new leader, Rhodri Morgan, rebranded the Labour Party in Wales as Welsh Labour,[42][43][44][45] and in October that year, Welsh Labour and the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition lasting three years. In April 2001 the Welsh government announced free entry for museums and galleries (8 months after a similar announcement in England). In 2002, free bus passes were introduced in Wales, differently to England. Welsh Labour achieve 40% the Assembly election vote in 2003. In 2004, the Richard Commission suggested increasing the legislative powers of the Assembly. In 2006, the Government of Wales Act 2006 granted the Assembly new powers. The assembly formed the Welsh Assembly government, which is separate from the legislature. In 2007, Welsh Labour introduced free prescriptions in Wales.[46]
In the 2007 elections Welsh Labour's share of the vote fell to 32.2 per cent, its second lowest since the UK general election of 1923. Its seat number fell by four to 26: 11 more than the second largest party, Plaid Cymru. On 25 May Rhodri Morgan was again nominated as First Minister. On 27 June, Morgan concluded the One Wales agreement with Plaid Cymru, which was approved by Labour rank and file on 6 July. On 1 December 2009, Carwyn Jones became the new leader of Welsh Labour.[47]
In March 2010 Welsh Labour twice refused to cross the
On
I think it is [...] really important and fascinating that after 22 years the Welsh Labour Party is still going to be an essential component of the next Welsh Government. London has become a Labour heartland, Scotland is very much not a Labour heartland, seats that had reliably voted Labour up until 2010 have massively trended towards the Conservatives and yet the Welsh Labour party; the dude abides...
Political reporter Stephen Bush discusses the long running success of Welsh Labour shortly before the 2021 Senedd election on the New Statesman podcast, Known Unknowns
In the 2021 Senedd election, Welsh Labour's share of the vote rose by about 5 per cent and the party won half the seats in the Senedd, equalling its best-ever result in 2003.[60][61] A few months later the party formed an agreement with Plaid Cymru over a wide range of policy including included free-at-the-point-of-use social care, expanding services for children and restrictions on second homes.[62] The deal was the third time the two parties had agreed to work together in the era of devolution.[63]
Electoral performance
In recent years there has been some decline for Labour in Wales. The 2009 European Parliament election saw the party fail to come first in an election in Wales for the first time since 1918 (finishing second behind the Conservatives)[64][65] and in the 2010 general election Labour had its worst general election result in Wales in its history. If the swing in Wales were repeated across the UK, the Conservatives would have won a landslide victory of over 100 seats; in some, such as Pontypridd, Welsh Labour lost over 16 per cent of its vote. In the 2011 Welsh Assembly elections, Labour regained half the seats in the National Assembly. In the 2014 European Parliament election, Labour topped the poll in Wales with a swing of 7.9 percentage points. The 2015 general election saw Labour achieve its second lowest vote share in Wales during the post-World War II era.
In the 2017 general election, the decline in parliamentary elections was reversed – Labour raised its vote share to 48.9 per cent, its highest in a general election in Wales since 1997, winning 28 of the 40 Welsh seats in Westminster. However, the 2019 general election saw the party again achieve a fairly poor result by historic standards. Contrastingly, the 2021 Senedd election saw the party match its best ever result at a devolved election and almost its best ever vote share.
House of Commons
Election | Wales | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|
% | Seats | ||
1945 | 58.5 | 25 / 35
|
|
1950 | 58.1 | 27 / 36
|
2 |
1951 | 60.5 | 27 / 36
|
|
1955 | 57.6 | 27 / 36
|
|
1959 | 56.4 | 27 / 36
|
|
1964 | 57.8 | 28 / 36
|
1 |
1966 | 60.7 | 32 / 36
|
4 |
1970 | 51.6 | 27 / 36
|
5 |
Feb 1974 | 46.8 | 24 / 36
|
3 |
Oct 1974 | 49.5 | 23 / 36
|
1 |
1979* | 48.6 | 22 / 36
|
1 |
1983 | 37.5 | 20 / 38
|
2 |
1987 | 45.1 | 24 / 38
|
4 |
1992 | 49.5 | 27 / 38
|
3 |
1997 | 54.8 | 34 / 40
|
7 |
2001 | 48.6 | 34 / 40
|
|
2005 | 42.7 | 29 / 40
|
5 |
2010 | 36.3 | 26 / 40
|
3 |
2015 | 37.1 | 25 / 40
|
1 |
2017 | 48.9 | 28 / 40
|
3 |
2019 | 40.9 | 22 / 40
|
6 |
* Includes the Speaker.
Senedd
Election | Constituency | Regional | Total seats | +/– | Government | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
1999 | 384,671 | 37.6 | 27 / 40
|
361,657 | 35.5 | 1 / 20
|
28 / 60
|
Lab–LD | |
2003 | 340,515 | 40.0 | 30 / 40
|
310,658 | 36.6 | 0 / 20
|
30 / 60
|
2 | Minority |
2007 | 314,925 | 32.2 | 24 / 40
|
288,954 | 29.7 | 2 / 20
|
26 / 60
|
4 | Lab–Plaid |
2011 | 401,677 | 42.3 | 28 / 40
|
349,935 | 36.9 | 2 / 20
|
30 / 60
|
4 | Minority |
2016 | 353,866 | 34.7 | 27 / 40
|
319,196 | 31.5 | 2 / 20
|
29 / 60
|
1 | Lab–LD |
2021 | 443,047 | 39.9 | 27 / 40
|
401,770 | 36.2 | 3 / 20
|
30 / 60
|
1 | Minority |
European Parliament
Election | Wales | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|
% | Seats | ||
1979 | 41.5 | 3 / 4
|
|
1984 | 44.5 | 3 / 4
|
|
1989 | 48.9 | 4 / 4
|
1 |
1994 | 55.9 | 5 / 5
|
1 |
1999 | 31.8 | 2 / 5
|
3 |
2004 | 32.5 | 2 / 4
|
|
2009 | 20.3 | 1 / 4
|
1 |
2014 | 28.1 | 1 / 4
|
|
2019 | 15.3 | 1 / 4
|
Councils
Year | Votes | Share of votes | Seats won |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | 404,013 | 43.6% | 726 / 1,272
|
1999 | 338,470 | 34.4% | 563 / 1,270
|
2004 | 278,193 | 30.6% | 479 / 1,263
|
2008 | 253,029 | 26.6% | 345 / 1,270
|
2012* | 304,466 | 35.6% | 577 / 1,235
|
2017 | 294,989 | 30.4% | 468 / 1,271
|
2022 | 526 / 1,271
|
- Excludes the results of the delayed 2013 Isle of Anglesey County Council election
Appointments
House of Lords
There are currently 14 Labour Members in the House of Lords from Wales, excluding
No. | Name | Date Ennobled |
---|---|---|
1. | Lord Anderson of Swansea | 2005 |
2. | Baroness Gale of Blaenrhondda | 1999 |
3. | Lord Griffiths of Burry Port |
2004 |
4. | Lord Kinnock of Bedwellty |
2005 |
5. | Lord Jones of Deeside | 2001 |
6. | Lord Hain of Neath | 2015 |
7. | Lord Howarth of Newport | 2005 |
8. | Baroness Jones of Whitchurch |
2006 |
9. | Lord Morgan of Aberdyfi | 2000 |
10. | Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 2015 |
11. | Lord Rowlands of Merthyr Tydfil and of Rhymney | 2004 |
12. | Lord Touhig of Islwyn and Glansychan | 2010 |
13. | Baroness Wilcox of Newport |
2019 |
Elected leaders
Leader | From | To | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ron Davies | 19 September 1998[67] | 29 October 1998 | |
2 | Alun Michael | 20 February 1999 | 9 February 2000 | |
3 | Rhodri Morgan | 9 February 2000 | 1 December 2009 | |
4 | Carwyn Jones | 1 December 2009 | 6 December 2018 | |
5 | Mark Drakeford | 7 December 2018 | 16 March 2024 | |
6 | Vaughan Gething | 16 March 2024 | Incumbent |
Elected deputy leaders
No. | Image | Name | Term start | Term end |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Carolyn Harris | 21 April 2018 |
Incumbent |
General secretaries
- 1947: Cliff Prothero
- 1965: Emrys Jones
- 1979: Hubert Morgan
- 1984: Anita Gale
- 1999: Jessica Morden
- 2005: Chris Roberts
- 2010: David Hagendyk
- 2017: Louise Magee
- 2022: Jo McIntyre[68]
See also
References
- ^ Williams, Darren (16 September 2023). "Meeting of the Welsh Executive Committee (WEC), 16 September 2023 (Joint report with Belinda Loveluck-Edwards)". Darren Williams.
- ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2016). "Wales/UK". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- ISBN 9780719050565. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ "Standing up for Wales – Welsh Labour Manifesto 2019" (PDF). Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Our Nation - Welsh Labour". Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections".
- ^ "Labour looks at image in Wales". BBC News. 3 April 2000. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ B. Jones, Welsh Elections 1885–1997 (1999), Lolfa. Also UK 2001 General Election results by region, UK 2005 General Election results by region, 1999 Welsh Assembly election results, 2003 Welsh Assembly election results and 2004 European Parliament election results in Wales (BBC).
- ^ "Review of the registers of political parties". electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Labour backs more autonomy for Welsh party | Wales – ITV News". itv.com. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "www.electoralcommission.org.uk/regulatory-issues/regpoliticalparties.cfm?frmPartyID=6&frmType=audetail". electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ a b "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Chapter 19: The rise of the Labour Party". BBC. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ a b c The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008
- ^ a b c "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Chapter 19: The rise of the Labour Party (Part 2)". BBC. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ "1922 General Election". History Learning Site. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "1923 General Election". History Learning Site. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "1924 General Election". History Learning Site. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "1929 General Election". History Learning Site. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "1931 General Election". History Learning Site. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "1935 General Election". History Learning Site. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Chapter 20: War and depression". BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Chapter 20: War and depression (part 2)". BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Chapter 20: War and depression (part 3)". BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Chapter 21: A new society". BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Waleslabourparty.org.uk". www.waleslabourparty.org.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Chapter 22: A new nation". BBC. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ A. Walling, "The Structure of Power in Labour Wales 1951–1964". The Labour Party in Wales 1900-200, ed. D. Tanner, C. Williams and D. Hopkin, 2000, University of Wales Press.
- ^ "1964 General Election". History Learning Site. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "History of devolution". senedd.wales. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "Carmarthen 1966 by-election declaration". BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "1967 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ "1968 By Election Results". British Elections Ephemera Archive. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Chapter 22: A new nation". BBC. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "1979 General Election". History Learning Site. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS, 9 JUNE 1983" (PDF). 1984. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ "GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS, 11 JUNE 1987" (PDF). 1989. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ "By-election results: 1987–92" (PDF).
- ^ D. Tanner, "Facing the New Challenge: Labour and Politics 1970–2000", The Labour Party in Wales 1900–2000, ed. D. Tanner, C. Williams and D. Hopkin, 2000, University of Wales Press.
- ^ "1994: Labour leader John Smith dies at 55". 12 May 1994. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "General election results 1 May 1997". 9 May 1997. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ Roderick, Vaughan (16 September 2017). "Wales devolution: The referendum night the BBC almost got wrong". BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-134-34905-0.
- ISBN 978-1-317-40757-7.
- ISBN 978-0-7456-4077-8.
- ISBN 978-0-7190-6266-7.
- ^ "AMs vote for free prescriptions". BBC News. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "Jones is new Welsh Labour leader". BBC News. 1 December 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "Labour, Plaid AMs to miss debate due to picket line". BBC News. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ Brant, Robin (12 May 2010). "Election 2010: David Cameron becomes new UK Prime Minister". BBC News. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Election 2010 | Results | Wales". BBC News. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "BBC News – Election 2011 – Wales". BBC News. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Election 2015 – BBC News". BBC. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Welsh Election 2016: Labour 'likely to seek minority rule'". BBC News. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Kirsty will do a good job, says Jones". BBC News. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ Shipton, Martin (6 October 2017). "Plaid Cymru ends its Compact with Welsh Labour". WalesOnline. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Labour figures clash over Wales' EU referendum position". BBC News. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "EU referendum: Welsh voters back Brexit". BBC News. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Results of the 2017 General Election". BBC News. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Results of the 2019 General Election in Wales". BBC News. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ Mosalski, Ruth (11 May 2021). "Labour wins half the seats in the Welsh Parliament". WalesOnline. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ "Wales: Free primary school meals and childcare pledges". BBC News. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ Mosalski, Ruth (22 November 2021). "Welsh Government wants to give free school meals to all primary school pupils". WalesOnline. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ Morris, Steven (8 June 2009). "Election results: Tories celebrate winning in Wales after Labour's 'night of shame'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ Livingstone, Tomos (8 June 2009). "Wales's historic Tory takeover". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ "Register of Interests for Baroness Morgan of Ely – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 2022. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "Davies beats off backbench challenge". BBC News. 19 September 1998. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Chappell, Elliot (13 December 2021). "Jo McIntyre set to take over as Welsh Labour general secretary in January 2022". LabourList.