when did the labour party first come to power
1945
title: Labour Party (UK) text: out of the trade union movement and socialist parties of the nineteenth century. It overtook the Liberal Party to become the main opposition to the Conservative Party in the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and from 1929 to 1931. Labour later served in the wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after which it formed a majority government under Clement Attlee until 1951. Labour was next in government from 1964 to 1970 under Harold Wilson and from 1974 to 1979, first under Wilson and then under James Callaghan. The Labour Party was most recently in government title: History of the Labour Party (UK) text: in 1974–79, under Wilson and then James Callaghan. Escalating economic crises (the "Winter of Discontent") and a split with David Owen and others forming the SDP, resulted in Opposition status during the Thatcher years, 1979–1990. Labour returned with a 179-seat majority in the 1997 general election under the leadership of Tony Blair. The party's large majority in the House of Commons was slightly reduced to 167 in the 2001 general election and more substantially reduced to 66 in 2005. Under Gordon Brown it was defeated in the 2010 general election, becoming the Opposition to a Conservative/Liberal-Democrat coalition. After further losses title: History of the Labour Party (UK) text: scandals in the early 1960s (the most notorious being the Profumo affair), engulfed the Conservative government by 1963. The Labour party returned to government with a wafer-thin 4 seat majority under Wilson in the 1964 election, and increased their majority to 96 in 1966 election remaining in power until the 1970 election which, contrary to expectations during the campaign, they lost. The 1960s Labour government had a different emphasis from its 1940s predecessor. Harold Wilson put faith in economic planning as a way to solve Britain's economic problems. Wilson famously referred to the "white heat of technology", referring to the title: Labour Party (UK) text: Conservatives under Edward Heath. After losing the 1970 general election, Labour returned to opposition, but retained Harold Wilson as Leader. Heath's government soon ran into trouble over Northern Ireland and a dispute with miners in 1973 which led to the "three-day week". The 1970s proved a difficult time to be in government for both the Conservatives and Labour due to the 1973 oil crisis which caused high inflation and a global recession. The Labour Party was returned to power again under Wilson a few weeks after the February 1974 general election, forming a minority government with the support of the title: History of the Labour Party (Ireland) text: Sligo–Leitrim TD Declan Bree's Independent Socialist Party. At the 1992 general election on 25 November Labour won a record 19.3% of the first-preference votes, more than twice its share in the 1989 election. The party's representation in the Dáil doubled to 33 seats and, after a period of negotiations, Labour formed a coalition with Fianna Fáil, taking office in January 1993 as the 23rd Government of Ireland. Fianna Fáil leader Albert Reynolds remained as Taoiseach, and Labour leader Dick Spring became Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs. After less than two years the government fell in a controversy over the