Democratic Labour Party (Trinidad and Tobago)

The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) was the main opposition party in Trinidad and Tobago between 1957 and 1971. The party was the party which opposed the People's National Movement (PNM) at the time of Independence. After several splits brought about by leadership struggles, the party lost its hold on the Indo-Trinidadian community in the 1976 General Elections and was displaced in parliament by the United Labour Front under the leadership of Basdeo Panday. The party was the representative of the ethnic Indian community in the country; however Indian Muslims were said to be less loyal to the party than Indian Hindus.

The party symbol was a flaming torch.

The DLP was formed through the merger of three Opposition parties in the Legislative Council, the People's Democratic Party, the Trinidad Labour Party and the Party of Political Progress Groups. Also joining was Stephen Maharaj, a member of the Butler Party. The three parties aligned with the Democratic Labour Party of the West Indies Federation under the leadership of Sir Alexander Bustamante and merged to form a single national party. The DLP defeated the PNM in the 1958 Federal Elections, winning six of the ten seats in the Federal Parliament.

Shortly thereafter the party began to disintegrate. Bhadase Sagan Maraj, the first leader of the party in the Legislative Council, became ill, bedridden and addicted to pethidine. Dr. Rudranath Capildeo was elected party leader in 1960; he was brought into the party to provide an "intellectual equal" to Eric Williams. When Capildeo left Trinidad to teach at the University of London, a faction of the party called a general meeting and elected Albert Gomes party leader. However, the rank and file of the party stood behind Capildeo, and the Gomes faction left the party.

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