The Belfast Labour Party was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

from 1892 until 1924. It was founded in 1892 by a conference of Belfast

Independent Labour An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

activists and trade unionists. Labour ran the Unionist Party close in Belfast North in a by-election in 1905 and in the general election of 1906 with

William Walker William Walker may refer to: Arts * William Walker (engraver) (1791–1867), mezzotint engraver of portrait of Robert Burns * William Sidney Walker (1795–1846), English Shakespearean critic * William Walker (composer) (1809–1875), American Ba ...

as its candidate. The party won 12 seats on

Belfast Corporation Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

in 1920, but later lost these. Suffragette, ''Independent Labour'' and Co-operative activist

Margaret McCoubrey Margaret McCoubrey (1880–1955) was an Irish suffragist and active participant of the co-operative movement. Life McCoubrey nee Mearns was born on 5 January 1880 in Elderslie, near Glasgow in Scotland. McCoubrey married an Irish trade unioni ...

in 1920 was elected a Labour councillor for the Dock ward of Belfast.McCoubrey, Margaret 1880-1955 Dictionary of Ulster Biography
Nonetheless, the party came a very close second in Belfast West in the

1923 UK general election The 1923 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 December 1923. The Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's reunited Liberal Party gained enough seats to ...

before merging with others to become the

Northern Ireland Labour Party The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987. Origins The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. William Walker stoo ...

Ideology

Position on Partition & United Ireland

The party found it difficult to sidestep the issue of partition between 1920 and 1922, when the topic pervaded political life in Ireland. In its desire to avoid division over the subject, the party did not directly contest the 1921 Northern Irish election, instead supporting 4 independent candidates. The party's attempt to tip-toe the national question was shown in the campaign run by

Harry Midgley Henry Cassidy Midgley, PC (NI), known as Harry Midgley (1893 – 29 April 1957) was a prominent trade-unionist and politician in Northern Ireland. Born to a working-class Protestant family in Tiger's Bay, north Belfast, he followed his father into ...

in 1924 in the constituency of Belfast West. In the Protestant Belfast ward of Shankill Midgley emphasized his Protestantism and his military service in the British army during World War One. In contrast, in the Catholic Falls area he attacked the policy of internment of prisoners and showed support for the idea of a

United Ireland United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...

References

{{Authority control 1892 establishments in Ireland Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Defunct social democratic parties in the United Kingdom History of the Labour Party (UK) Labour parties in Northern Ireland Political parties established in 1892 Socialist parties in Ireland