Labour Party, UK

THE BRITISH LABOUR Party ended the 20th century with the largest landslide victory in its history. Through 100 years it rose from obscurity—forcing the ruling class to accept the legitimacy of political representation and participation of the working class—to command almost total control of Parliament. In 2004, the Conservative Party failed to dent the Labour government's majority in the polls. However, commentators might argue, this dominance has taken place at the cost of the very values that have historically been embodied in the Labour Party.

The background to the emergence of the British Labour Party has to be found in the mid-19th century Victorian society and class division. In spite of Karl Marx having lived in London for three decades, no organized socialist movement existed in ...