Title: Labour Party | History, Facts, Policies, & Leaders | Britannica
Headings: Labour Party
Labour Party
political party, United Kingdom
History

Content: Bevanites” (followers of former health minister Aneurin Bevan) wanted a more socialist economic policy and less dependence on the United States; the “revisionists,” led by Hugh Gaitskell, Attlee’s successor as party leader, wished to drop the commitment to the nationalization of industry. Labour did not regain power until 1964 under Harold Wilson, who was prime minister until 1970. Wilson attempted to resolve the problem of Britain’s relative economic decline by pursuing a strategy of technocratic reform, corporatist relations with business and labour leaders, and a system of “indicative” economic planning, in which the government attempted to facilitate economic development in directions of predicted growth. The party held power again from 1974 to 1979, first under Wilson and then under James Callaghan. Labour’s narrow five-seat majority in the election of October 1974 diminished through the term, forcing the party to enter a “Lib-Lab” pact with the Liberal Party. Although hampered by a small majority, the Labour Party pursued controversial policies, including support for Britain’s continued membership in the European Community and devolution in Scotland and Wales, which was rejected by referenda in 1979. Ultimately, the moderate social-democratic approach exemplified by the Wilson-Callaghan years foundered on the twin rocks of Britain’s chronic economic problems and Labour’s worsening relations with its trade union allies. Following the “Winter of Discontent” of 1978–79, when Britain suffered a series of major strikes by trade unions, the party was ousted from office by the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher. Subsequently, Labour underwent a period of considerable internal turmoil.