Coalition Labour was a description used by candidates in the

1918 United Kingdom general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent ...

who identified with

trade unionism A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

and supported the outgoing coalition government, which retained power at the election. The Labour Party had left the coalition earlier in 1918; most Coalition Labour candidates were former Labour

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MPs). When Labour withdrew from the coalition, four of its MPs preferred to remain as ministers: G. N. Barnes, James Parker,

George Henry Roberts George Henry Roberts (27 July 1868 – 25 April 1928) was a Labour Party politician who switched parties twice. Biography He was born on 27 July 1868. At the 1906 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich. He ...

and

George Wardle George James Wardle CH (15 May 1865 – 18 June 1947) was a British politician. Biography He was born on 15 May 1865. He was editor of the ''Railway Review'' and, in 1906, was elected a Labour Member of Parliament for Stockport. At the 191 ...

. They, along with the

National Sailors' and Firemen's Union The National Union of Seamen (NUS) was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail, ...

-sponsored candidate John R. Bell, contested the election independently of the Labour Party, and were termed "Coalition Labour" candidates. Only Bell and Parker received a

Coalition Coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

, and they were wrongly identified in official coalition literature as

Coalition National Democratic and Labour Party The National Democratic and Labour Party, usually abbreviated to National Democratic Party (NDP), was a short-lived political party in the United Kingdom. History The party's origins lay in a split by the right wing of the British Socialist Part ...

and

Coalition Liberal The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victo ...

candidates, respectively.

F. W. S. Craig Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compilin ...

, ''British Parliamentary Election Statistics, 1918-1968'', p.2

G. D. H. Cole George Douglas Howard Cole (25 September 1889 – 14 January 1959) was an English political theorist, economist, and historian. As a believer in common ownership of the means of production, he theorised guild socialism (production organised ...

, ''History of the Labour Party from 1914'', pp.87–88 The

National Democratic and Labour Party The National Democratic and Labour Party, usually abbreviated to National Democratic Party (NDP), was a short-lived political party in the United Kingdom. History The party's origins lay in a split by the right wing of the British Socialist Part ...

was a separate organisation which also supported the Coalition and had a background in the Labour Party. Of the five candidates in the 1918 General Election, the four former ministers were successful: Following the election, the four ministers continued in position. Stephen Walsh, who had been elected as a Labour Party candidate, also agreed to join the coalition government. However, he was sponsored by the

Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation (LCMF) was a trade union that operated on the Lancashire Coalfield in North West England from 1881 until it became the Lancashire area of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1945. Background Colli ...

, which voted against his participation, and he therefore left the government a few days later. Of the remaining four Coalition Labour MPs, Wardle resigned in 1920 due to poor health, and Barnes retired at the

1922 United Kingdom general election The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and a divided Liberal Party. ...

. Parker and Roberts stood in that election; as the coalition had ended, they were termed independent candidates, and only Roberts won his seat. He stood again at the

1923 United Kingdom general election The 1923 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 December 1923. The Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour Party (UK), Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's re ...

, as a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate, but was then defeated.

References

Labour Party (UK) breakaway groups Political parties established in 1918 Political parties disestablished in 1922 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom 1922 disestablishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-party-stub