Labour Party (South Africa)
|
Labour Party
Arbeidersparty |
|
|---|---|
| General Secretary (s) |
Frederic Creswell, Walter Madeley |
| Founded | 1910 |
| Dissolved | 1958 |
| Headquarters | Bloemfontein |
| Ideology |
Social democracy Democratic socialism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Red |
The Labour Party (Afrikaans: Arbeidersparty), was a South African political party formed in March 1910 in the newly created Union of South Africa following discussions between trade unions and the Independent Labour Party of Transvaal, was a professedly democratic socialist party representing the interests of the white working class.
The party received support mostly from urban white workers and for most of its existence sought to protect them from competition from black and other non-white workers.
The party was represented in the South African House of Assembly from the South African general election, 1910 until it lost its last seats in the South African general election, 1958. It never came close to acquiring a majority in Parliament or to being the official opposition, but it did spend periods as a junior coalition partner in the government of South Africa. Between 1910 and 1929 the Party was led by Colonel F. H. P. Creswell.
The worldwide depression after the end of the First World War had led to a strike in South Africa, known as the Rand Rebellion, which had been defused through a combination of military force and repression, including the imprisonment of Labour leader Frederic Creswell for a month. The government's heavy handed negotiations with the out-gunned unions earned Jan Smuts the enmity of the labour vote and the Labour Party, whose support was boosted by the growing militancy of workers. This paved the way for an election agreement between the Labour Party and the National Party (NP) for the 1924 general election, in which the two parties would not oppose each other during the election and would support each other's candidates in certain constituencies. The alliance resulted in a coalition government known as the Pact. The Labour Party provided two members of the Pact government, including its leader, Creswell, as Minister of Defence. In the event, Creswell remained in office until 1933, for much of that time doubling as Minister of Labour. While serving in government, the LP initiated important economic and industrial legislation which improved conditions for white workers. In addition, the LP also helped to alleviate unemployment amongst whites, and a year after becoming labour minister, Creswell claimed that he had found employment for 12,000 previously jobless whites. These policies, however, did nothing to enhance conditions for black workers.
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