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=== Internal feuds (1951–1964) ===
[[File:Hugh Gaitskell MP.PNG|thumb|[[Hugh Gaitskell]], Leader of the Opposition (1955–1963).|
Labour spent 13 years in opposition. It suffered an ideological split, between the left-wing followers of [[Aneurin Bevan]] (known as [[Bevanites]]) and the right-wing following [[Hugh Gaitskell]] (known as [[Gaitskellites]]). The economy recovered as Conservatives hung together and chanted, "You Never Had It So Good.".<ref>Jeremy Black, '' A history of Britain: 1945 to Brexit'' ( Indiana University Press, 2017) p. 130.</ref><ref>Peter Hennessy, ''Having it so good: Britain in the fifties'' (Penguin UK, 2007).</ref> The ageing Attlee contested the [[1955 United Kingdom general election|general election in 1955]], which saw Labour lose ground; he retired. Internal squabbling now focused on the issues of [[nuclear disarmament]], Britain's entry into the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC), and [[Clause IV]] of the Labour Party Constitution, with its commitment to nationalisation.<ref>Alastair J. Reid and Henry Pelling, ''A Short History of the Labour Party'' (12th ed. 2005) pp.94–103 [https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofla0000reid/mode/2up online].</ref>
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=== Majority to minority (1974–1979) ===
[[File:James Callaghan (1975).jpg|thumb|
In March 1974 Wilson was appointed prime minister [[Labour government, 1974–1979|for a second time]]; he called a [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|snap election]] in October 1974, which gave Labour a small majority. During his second term as prime minister, Wilson oversaw the [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|referendum]] that confirmed the UK's membership of the [[European Communities]].<ref>Ziegler, ''Wilson'' (1995) pp. 400–491.</ref>
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=== Thatcherism and Labour's civil war (1979–1992) ===
{{see also|Shadow Cabinet of Michael Foot|Shadow Cabinet of Neil Kinnock|Social Democratic Party (UK)}}
[[File:Michael_Foot_(1981).jpg|thumb|[[Michael Foot]], Leader of the Opposition (1980–1983)|
[[File:Labour Party logo, 1966.svg|thumb|The Red Flag symbol used by the party during the [[1966 United Kingdom general election|1966 general election]] and as the official logotype from 1980 to 1987, more specifically under Foot's leadership.|left
Following 1979 the Labour Party found itself overwhelmed by the Conservative government led by a highly aggressive [[Margaret Thatcher]]. From the right she largely rejected the [[Post-war consensus]] on economic and social policies that had bipartisan support since the 1950s. At first Thatcher's economic reforms were doing poorly. Argentina's invasion of a British possession in the [[Falklands War]] in Spring 1982 transformed British politics. Thatcher's aggressive reaction produced a smashing victory and national elation, guaranteeing Conservatives a massive landslide victory in the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]]. Thatcher's successful [[1984–1985 United Kingdom miners' strike|attacks on labour unions in 1984-1985]] further weakened the Labour base. It took a decade for Labour to recover.<ref>Kenneth O. Morgan, ''The People's Peace'' (2001) pp 456–478, 490–491, 500–501.[https://archive.org/details/britainsince19450000morg/page/n4/mode/1up online]</ref>
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=== Modernisers take charge (1992–1997)===
[[File:Old Logo Labour Party.svg|thumb|Kenneth Morgan states, "In 1992, the party presented itself as a modern social democratic party; its communication's officer, [[Peter Mandelson]], ensured that the red flag image would disappear, with the party's new symbol being the gentle emblem of the red rose.<ref>Kenneth Morgan, ''Britain since 1945: The People's Peace'' (2001) p.510.</ref> This was the party's logo from 1987 to 2007.|
In November 1990 Thatcher resigned and was succeeded by the less confrontational Thatcherite [[John Major]]. Opinion polls had shown Labour comfortably ahead of the Conservatives largely because of Thatcher's introduction of the highly unpopular [[poll tax]], combined with the fact that the economy was [[Early 1990s recession|sliding into recession]]. Major replaced the poll tax but Kinnock energized Labour with the theme "It's Time for a Change", after more than a decade of unbroken Conservative rule.<ref>Dennis Kavanaugh, "Opposition" in Dennis Kavanaugh and Anthony Selden, eds ''The Major Effect'' (1994) pp. 145-153.</ref> The [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]] gave Conservatives a victory with a much-reduced majority of 21. It was a deeply disappointing result for Labour. For the first time in over 30 years there was serious doubt among the public and the media as to whether Labour could ever return to government. Kinnock resigned as leader and was succeeded by [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]].<ref>David Butler, and Dennis Kavanagh, eds ''The British General Election of 1992'' (1992) pp.247–275. [https://archive.org/details/britishgeneralel0000butl_j1h9 online]</ref>
[[File:Neil Kinnock (
The damage to the economy on [[Black Wednesday]] in September 1992 undermined the Conservative reputation for superior economic competence. By December, Labour had a comfortable lead in the opinion polls. The recession ended in early 1993 and was followed by a sharp fall in unemployment, together with sustained economic growth. Nevertheless the Labour lead in the polls remained strong. Smith died suddenly in May 1994, and [[Tony Blair]] became leader. Once again the battle resumed between the old guard on the left and the younger "modernisers". The old guard argued that they were regaining strength under Smith's strong leadership. Blair, the leader of the modernisers, warned that the long-term weaknesses had to be reversed. He argued that the party was too locked into a base that was shrinking, since it was based on the working-class, on trade unions and on residents of subsidised council housing. Blair said that the rapidly growing middle class was largely ignored, as well as more ambitious working-class families. He argued that they aspired to become middle-class and accepted the Conservative argument that traditional Labour was holding ambitious people back with higher tax policies. To present a fresh face and new policies to the electorate, [[New Labour]] needed more than fresh leaders; it had to jettison outdated policies, argued the modernisers.<ref>David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh, eds., ''The British general election of 1997'' (1997), pp 46–67.</ref> Calling on the slogan, "[[One Member, One Vote]]" Blair defeated the union element and ended [[voting bloc|block voting]] by leaders of labour unions.{{sfn|Rentoul|2001|pp=206–218}} Blair and the modernisers called for radical adjustment of Party goals by repealing "Clause IV", the historic commitment to nationalisation of industry. This was achieved in 1995.{{sfn|Rentoul|2001|pp=249–266}}
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{{main|New Labour}}
{{see also|Premiership of Tony Blair|Premiership of Gordon Brown}}
{{further|Shadow Cabinet of Tony Blair|First Blair ministry|Second Blair ministry|Third Blair ministry|Brown ministry}}[[File:New Labour new Britain logo.svg|thumb|New Labour logo
[[File:Tony Blair
[[New Labour]] was first termed as an alternative branding for the Labour Party, dating from a conference slogan first used by the Labour Party in 1994, which was later seen in a draft manifesto published by the party in 1996, called ''[[New Labour, New Life For Britain]]''. It was a continuation of the trend that had begun under the leadership of [[Neil Kinnock]]. New Labour as a name has no official status, but remains in common use to distinguish modernisers from those holding to more traditional positions, normally referred to as "Old Labour".
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{{see also|Labour Party leadership of Ed Miliband|Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn}}
{{further|Shadow Cabinet of Ed Miliband|Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn}}
[[File:Ed Miliband
[[Ed Miliband]] won the subsequent [[2010 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|leadership election]].<ref name="Harman made acting Labour leader">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8676333.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |title=Harman made acting Labour leader |date=11 May 2010 |access-date=11 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902190645/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8676333.stm |archive-date=2 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Miliband emphasised "responsible capitalism" and greater [[state intervention]] to rebalance the economy away from [[financial services]].<ref name="Miliband">{{cite web |last=Miliband |first=Ed |author-link=Ed Miliband |title=Building a responsible capitalism |work=Juncture (IPPR) |date=25 May 2012 |url=http://www.ippr.org/junctures/166/9200/building-a-responsible-capitalism |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526093233/http://www.ippr.org/junctures/166/9200/building-a-responsible-capitalism |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 May 2012 |access-date=5 June 2012}}</ref> He advocated for more regulation of banks and energy companies<ref name="New Statesman">{{Cite news |title=Ed Miliband's Banking Reform Speech: The Full Details |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/01/ed-milibands-banking-reform-speech-full-details |work=[[New Statesman]] |access-date=5 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721052136/http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/01/ed-milibands-banking-reform-speech-full-details |archive-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and often addressed the need to challenge vested interests<ref>{{cite news |title=Ed Miliband: Surcharge culture is fleecing customers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16624805 |access-date=5 June 2012 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=19 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122003700/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16624805 |archive-date=22 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> and increase inclusivity in British society.<ref name="The Labour Party">{{cite web |title=Ed Miliband speech on Social Mobility to the Sutton Trust|url=http://www.labour.org.uk/ed-miliband-speech-on-social-mobility-to-the-sutton-trust,2012-05-21 |publisher=The Labour Party |access-date=5 June 2012 |date=21 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524060329/http://www.labour.org.uk/ed-miliband-speech-on-social-mobility-to-the-sutton-trust,2012-05-21 |archive-date=24 May 2012}}</ref> He adopted the "[[One Nation Labour]]" branding in 2012. The [[Parliamentary Labour Party]] voted to abolish [[2010 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election|Shadow Cabinet elections]] in 2011,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/jul/06/labour-abolish-shadow-cabinet-elections |title=Labour MPs vote to abolish shadow cabinet elections |date=6 July 2011 |access-date=26 July 2011 |work=[[The Guardian]] |last=Neild |first=Barry |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003224028/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/jul/06/labour-abolish-shadow-cabinet-elections |archive-date=3 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ratified by the National Executive Committee and Party Conference. Henceforth the leader of the party chose the [[Shadow Cabinet]] members.<ref name="bbc-20110926">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15056108 |title=John Prescott calls for Labour shadow cabinet reshuffle |work=[[BBC News]] |date=26 September 2011 |access-date=31 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906190641/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15056108 |archive-date=6 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In March 2014, the party reformed internal election procedures, including replacing the [[electoral college]] system with "[[one member, one vote]]". Mass membership was encouraged by creating a class of "registered supporters" as an alternative to full membership. [[Labour Party (UK) affiliated trade union|Trade union]] members would also have to explicitly opt in rather than opt out of paying a political levy to the party.<ref name=independent-20140228>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tony-blair-backs-ed-milibands-internal-labour-reforms-9161291.html |title=Tony Blair backs Ed Miliband's internal Labour reforms |author=Andrew Grice |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London |date=28 February 2014 |access-date=26 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822220516/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tony-blair-backs-ed-milibands-internal-labour-reforms-9161291.html |archive-date=22 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=guardian-20140301>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2014/mar/01/labour-votes-on-membershipunion-reforms-at-special-conference-politics-live-blog |title=Miliband wins vote on Labour party reforms with overwhelming majority |author=Andrew Sparrow |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=1 March 2014 |access-date=24 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923120123/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2014/mar/01/labour-votes-on-membershipunion-reforms-at-special-conference-politics-live-blog |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In September 2014, Labour outlined plans to cut the government's [[Current account (balance of payments)|current account]] deficit and balance the budget by 2020, excluding investment. The party carried these plans into the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Is Osborne right that a smaller state means a richer UK? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29409022 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=5 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141002040634/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29409022 |archive-date=2 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> which Labour lost. Its representation fell to 232 seats in the House of Commons.<ref name="How many seats did Labour win">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/how-many-seats-did-labour-win-10233557.html |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London |title=How many seats did Labour win?|date=8 May 2015 |access-date=8 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510003244/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/how-many-seats-did-labour-win-10233557.html |archive-date=10 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The party lost 40 of its 41 seats in Scotland to the [[Scottish National Party]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/SNP/11586534/scottish-election-results-2015-live.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |title=Scotland election 2015 results: SNP landslide amid almost total Labour wipeout – as it happened |date=8 May 2015 |access-date=8 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508215633/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/SNP/11586534/scottish-election-results-2015-live.html |archive-date=8 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Official portrait of Jeremy Corbyn
After the 2015 general election, Miliband resigned as party leader and Harriet Harman again became interim leader.<ref name="edresigns">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/health-32633388 |work=[[BBC News]] |title=Labour election results: Ed Miliband resigns as leader |date=8 May 2015 |access-date=8 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508052003/http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32633388 |archive-date=8 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Labour held a [[2015 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|leadership election]] in which [[Jeremy Corbyn]], then a member of the [[Socialist Campaign Group]],<ref name="Mason">{{cite news |last=Mason |first=Rowena |title=Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn elected with huge mandate |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/12/jeremy-corbyn-wins-labour-party-leadership-election |access-date=12 September 2015 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=12 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150917033507/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/12/jeremy-corbyn-wins-labour-party-leadership-election |archive-date=17 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> was considered a fringe candidate when the contest began, receiving nominations from just 36 MPs, one more than the minimum required to stand, and the support of just 16 MPs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Eaton |first1=George |title=The epic challenges facing Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2015/09/epic-challenges-facing-jeremy-corbyn-labour-leader |access-date=20 September 2015 |work=[[New Statesman]] |date=12 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923085835/http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2015/09/epic-challenges-facing-jeremy-corbyn-labour-leader |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Labour Party saw a flood of membership applications during the leadership election, with most of the new members thought to be Corbyn supporters.<ref name=bbc-20150812>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33892407 |title=Labour leadership: Huge increase in party's electorate |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=12 August 2015 |access-date=15 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929072843/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33892407 |archive-date=29 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Corbyn was elected leader with 60% of the vote. Membership continued to climb after his victory;<ref name="ibtimes">{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/jeremy-corbyn-membership-labour-party-has-doubled-since-2015-general-election-1523171 |title=Jeremy Corbyn: Membership of Labour party has doubled since 2015 general election |work=International Business Times |date=8 October 2015 |access-date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205131359/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/jeremy-corbyn-membership-labour-party-has-doubled-since-2015-general-election-1523171 |archive-date=5 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> one year later it had grown to more than 500,000, making it the largest political party in Western Europe.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/world/europe/jeremy-corbyn-labour-party-leader.html?_r=0 |title=Jeremy Corbyn Is Re-elected as Leader of Britain's Labour Party |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=24 September 2016 |access-date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904012747/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/world/europe/jeremy-corbyn-labour-party-leader.html?_r=0 |archive-date=4 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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=== Return to government (2024–present) ===
{{Main|Premiership of Keir Starmer|Starmer ministry}}[[File:Keir Starmer official portrait.jpg|left|thumb|
On 4 April 2020, [[Keir Starmer]] was elected as Leader of the Labour Party amidst the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 April 2020 |title=Keir Starmer elected as new Labour leader |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52164589 |url-status=live |access-date=4 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425080229/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52164589 |archive-date=25 April 2020}}</ref> During [[Keir Starmer as Leader of the Opposition|his tenure as opposition leader]], Starmer repositioned the party from the [[Labour left|left]] toward the [[Centre-left politics|centre-left]] and [[political centre]], and emphasised the importance of eliminating [[Antisemitism in the British Labour Party|antisemitism within the party]]. Starmer led Labour to victory in the local elections in [[2023 United Kingdom local elections|2023]] and [[2024 United Kingdom local elections|2024]]. In 2023, Starmer set out five missions for [[Starmer ministry|his government]], targeting issues such as economic growth, health, clean energy, crime and education.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mason |first1=Chris |last2=Whannel |first2=Kate |date=23 February 2023 |title=Keir Starmer unveils Labour's five missions for the country |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64739371 |access-date=5 July 2024 |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-date=7 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707072442/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64739371 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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