3.The Labour Party

The Old and New Logo of British Labour Party

The Labour Party is a comparatively new party，which was formed in 1900by a union between the trade unions and socialist groups，including the Independent Labour Party and the Fabian Society⁴.It first took the name Labour Party in 1906.

The Labour Party claims to represent the interests of the working class as against the interests of the employers.It believes actively in the pursuit of greater social and economic equality，and in foreign affairs it is，in sentiment if not in practice，more internationalist than nationalist.The Labour Party is a party of moderate socialism（it has always been anti-Communist）.It is in favor of nationalization of key industries.But now many of its members are not very interested in this objective.However，its policies are closely connected with those of the trade union movement，and it is usually considered as a main party for working class people.So it draws most of its support from high urban and industrialized areas，particularly in the Midlands and the north of England.It is also supported by a significant number of middle class people，especially intellectuals.

The leader of the Labour Party was formerly elected by its parliamentary party.However in 1980the Blackpool ⁵ party conference decided that election should be instead by an electoral college representing the three main sections of the movement（the unions，the constituency associations，and the parliamentary party）.In 1981aspecial conference decided that the unions should have 40%of the franchise，and the other sections 30%each.

In organization the Labour Party is more democratic but looser than the Conservative.Its conference is intended to be an occasion on which the main lines of party policy are decided by a democratic process.It is attended by delegates from the trade unions and the local associations，and the conference votes on the questions of policy which are brought before it.The delegates are often bound in advance to vote according to decisions made by the bodies that they represent.The voting strength of a union depends on the number of Labour Party members in the union，so the delegation of a big trade union counts as several hundred thousand votes，although the union members may not themselves have voted on each question.Conference decisions are supposed to indicate to the Labour Members of Parliament the direction which they should follow，but they decide by their own majority vote on the line which they will all follow in parliamentary business.When the Labour Party is in power the decisions of the conference are not binding on the Labour government.The ministers are responsible to Parliament and through Parliament to the public，and thus cannot accept instructions from a body outside.