United kingdom

Abstract

In 1900 a conference of delegates from trade unions and socialist societies (led by Keir Hardie) met in London in order to reflect on the means to improve the representation of the working class in British parliamentary institutions. It was decided to form the Labour Representation Committee and work towards the election of working-class men in the House of Commons. At the time, British employers feared contagion from the Continent, where the emergence of trade unionism and the gradual extension of suffrage1 appeared a potential threat to the constitutional status quo and to their interests. In 1906, 29 Members of Parliament (MPs) were elected with the support of the Labour Coordinating Committee (LCC) and chose the name Labour Party. A party constitution was adopted in 1918. The objective was to reform the British parliamentary system in accordance with its demographic and social transformation and to propose to the newly enfranchised electorate an alternative to the Liberal and Conservative parties.