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Formed as the Labour Representation Committee
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Changed its name to the Labour party
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Won 29 seats
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Labour won 42 seats
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Labour Joined the Wartime Coalition
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Clause IV drafted by Sidney Webb
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1st time in government (Minority Government)
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1st time as a majority government
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Attlee's Landslide victory
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Clement Attlee as PM
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Labour in opposition
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Wilson’s Labour government
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Wilson/Callaghan Labour governments
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The Winter of Discontent
The Winter of Discontent eroded confidence in Labour, culminating in the loss of a vote of confidence in the House of Commons in March 1979 by 1 vote. -
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‘the Lurch to the left’
‘the Lurch to the left’ saw the split with the Gang of Four and the formation of the SDP. -
‘the longest suicide note in history’
In the 1983 General Election Labour issued ‘the longest suicide note in history’ (Kaufmann) and received only 27.6% of the vote. -
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Labour under Kinnock
Labour under Kinnock embarked on ‘the long road to renewal’. This involved the expulsion of ‘the hard left (militant), two lost elections and substantial policy review. -
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John Smith assumed leadership
He dies unexpectedly in 1994. -
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Tony Blair became leader
Tony Blair became leader and, with others, he created New Labour -
Blair drafted a new version of clause IV.
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The Blair Government
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Blair secured a parliamentary majority
Blair secured a parliamentary majority of 178. The 1st Blair government focused on constitutional reforms; demonstrating economic competence and secured a peace deal in Northern Ireland. They accepted much of the ‘neo-liberal’ approach of the Thatcher and Major eras. -
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Blair secured a parliamentary majority
Blair secured a parliamentary majority of 165. The 2nd Blair government focused on increasing public spending to education and health. -
Blair took Britain to Iraq
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The 3rd Blair government
The 3rd Blair government secured a majority of 65. This period is dominated by speculation about Blair’s premiership. -
Blair resigned
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Gordon Brown leadership
Gordon Brown became leader. He dealt with the Banking Crisis and global recession, but was increasingly viewed as ‘a lame duck’. -
Brown lost the election.
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Ed Miliband became leader
Ed Miliband became leader via trade union support. He adopted an ‘austerity-lite’ approach to policy -
Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership of the Labour party
Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership of the Labour party with 59.5% of the vote. He promised an end to austerity and a return to Labour ideas of the past. -
Miliband Lost the election
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Labour MPs passed a vote of no confidence about Corbyn
Labour MPs passed a vote of no confidence in Corbyn by 172 votes to 40 following the resignation of around two-thirds of his Shadow Cabinet. Jeremy Corbyn defeated the challenge of Owen Smith for the leadership with 61.8% of the vote. -
Corbyns success in the election
- Corbyns success in the 2017 election and its aftermath silenced the doubters in the short term at least.
- Corbyns leadership was consistently beset by claims of incompetence, factionalism, a failure to deal with the issue of antisemitism in the party and an unclear BREXIT strategy.
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heavy defeat in the election
This resulted in their heavy defeat in the 2019 election where labour suffered its worst election results since 1935 and saw its vote share fall by eight points. They won 203 seats. -
Keir Starmer was elected leader.