Parliamentary Labour Party
Encyclopedia
In UK politics
, the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary party of the Labour Party
in Parliament
: Labour MPs as a collective body.
Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes draw a distinction between the Labour Party (which was created outside Parliament and later achieved office) and the Conservative and Liberal parties (which began as parliamentary factions). The term 'Parliamentary Labour Party' properly refers to the party in parliament, whereas the term Labour Party refers to the entire Labour Party, the parliamentary faction of which is the PLP.
Originally, the Leader of the Labour Party was elected by the PLP. Nowadays, an electoral college
is used, consisting of three sections – MP
s and MEP
s, affiliated organizations (trade unions and socialist societies
), and Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs). A person can be counted in multiple categories, so, for example, an MP who belongs to a trade union, one socialist society, and a CLP gives four votes (although the vote he gives for being an MP is by far the most influential one). The single transferable vote
is used to conduct the election.
Labour MPs retain the power to trigger an extraordinary or "special" Labour Party Conference to choose a new leader if they lose confidence in their existing leader.
Labour MPs also elect two of their number to Labour's National Executive Committee
.
The PLP holds regular meetings behind closed doors to question the Leader and to discuss its concerns.
A similar body for the Conservative Party
is the 1922 Committee
.
, are competitive.
From 1921 to 1970, the Chairman of the PLP was also the leader of the party as a whole (before 1921, leadership of the party was arguably split between the Chairman of the PLP, the General Secretary and the Party Chairman
). When the leaders of the Labour Party joined coalition governments during the First
and Second World Wars, an acting chairman was appointed to lead the rump of the party in Opposition. When the Party was in government, a liaison committee was elected to facilitate communications between the cabinet and Labour backbencher
s - the chairman of this committee also chaired meetings of the PLP as a whole during these periods. In 1970, the positions of Leader of the Labour Party and Chairman of the PLP were permanently split.
Politics of the United Kingdom
The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government...
, the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary party of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
: Labour MPs as a collective body.
Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes draw a distinction between the Labour Party (which was created outside Parliament and later achieved office) and the Conservative and Liberal parties (which began as parliamentary factions). The term 'Parliamentary Labour Party' properly refers to the party in parliament, whereas the term Labour Party refers to the entire Labour Party, the parliamentary faction of which is the PLP.
Originally, the Leader of the Labour Party was elected by the PLP. Nowadays, an electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
is used, consisting of three sections – MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s and MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
s, affiliated organizations (trade unions and socialist societies
Socialist societies
A socialist society is a membership organisation that is affiliated with the Labour Party in the UK.The best-known socialist society is the Fabian Society, founded in 1884, some years before the creation of the Labour Party itself . The Society's membership is relatively small , but in Labour...
), and Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs). A person can be counted in multiple categories, so, for example, an MP who belongs to a trade union, one socialist society, and a CLP gives four votes (although the vote he gives for being an MP is by far the most influential one). The single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
is used to conduct the election.
Labour MPs retain the power to trigger an extraordinary or "special" Labour Party Conference to choose a new leader if they lose confidence in their existing leader.
Labour MPs also elect two of their number to Labour's National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
.
The PLP holds regular meetings behind closed doors to question the Leader and to discuss its concerns.
A similar body for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
is the 1922 Committee
1922 Committee
In British politics, the 1922 Committee is a committee of Conservative Members of Parliament. Voting membership is limited to backbench MPs although frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings. While the party was in opposition, frontbench MPs other than the party leader...
.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party
The Chairman of the PLP chairs meetings of the Parliamentary party. He or she is elected by Labour MPs at the start of each annual session of Parliament. By tradition, only elections at the start of each Parliament, following a general electionGeneral election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, are competitive.
From 1921 to 1970, the Chairman of the PLP was also the leader of the party as a whole (before 1921, leadership of the party was arguably split between the Chairman of the PLP, the General Secretary and the Party Chairman
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
). When the leaders of the Labour Party joined coalition governments during the First
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and Second World Wars, an acting chairman was appointed to lead the rump of the party in Opposition. When the Party was in government, a liaison committee was elected to facilitate communications between the cabinet and Labour backbencher
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
s - the chairman of this committee also chaired meetings of the PLP as a whole during these periods. In 1970, the positions of Leader of the Labour Party and Chairman of the PLP were permanently split.
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(1916–17) - in Opposition
- John Hodge
- William AdamsonWilliam AdamsonWilliam Adamson was a Scottish trade unionist and Labour politician. He was Leader of the Labour Party between 1917 and 1921 and served as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1924 and between 1929 and 1931 in the first two Labour administrations headed by Ramsay MacDonald.-Background:Adamson was...
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(1930–31) - Liaison Committee
- Robert Smillie
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(1940–42) - in Opposition - Frederick Pethick-Lawrence (1942) - in Opposition
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(1942–45) - in Opposition - Neil Maclean (1945–46) - Liaison Committee
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(1963–70)- Emanuel Shinwell (1964–67) - Liaison Committee
- Douglas Houghton (1967–70) - Liaison Committee
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- Jack Dormand (1981–87)
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(2006–)