The United Labour Front (ULF) 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 ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

and the main opposition party between 1976 and 1986. It was a successor to the Democratic Labour Party and the

Workers and Farmers Party The Workers and Farmers Party was a Marxist political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party was organised by former Democratic Labour Party leader Stephen Maharaj, C.L.R. James, George Weekes (of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union) and include ...

History

The party was established in 1975 by union leaders in an attempt to unify the mainly black workers in the oil industry with the mainly Indian workers in the sugar plantations. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p635 However, this was not achieved successfully, and the party was labelled

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

by opponents, alienating key potential voters. Despite this setback, the party received 27.2% of the vote in the 1976 elections, winning ten of the 36 seats and becoming the main opposition to the

People's National Movement The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections sinc ...

. It saw most of its success amongst Indian voters, and despite its intentions to become a multi-racial party, effectively became the successor to the Democratic Labour Party. Having started with a collective leadership, the party eventually coalesced around

Basdeo Panday Basdeo Panday (; born 25 May 1933) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer, politician, trade unionist, economist, actor, and former civil servant who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2001. He was the first ...

. In the 1981 elections the party joined with the

Democratic Action Congress The Democratic Action Congress (DAC) was a Tobago-based political party in Trinidad and Tobago. History The party was established in 1971 by A. N. R. Robinson, and was originally an autonomist party. It first contested general elections in 1976, ...

and the

Tapia House Movement The Tapia House Movement was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. It first contested national elections in 1976, when it finished fourth with 3.9% of the vote, but failed to win a seat. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handb ...

to form the Trinidad and Tobago National Alliance.Nohlen, p640 However, its vote share fell to 15.2%, falling behind the

Organisation for National Reconstruction The Organisation for National Reconstruction (ONR) was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party received the second-highest number of votes in the 1981 general elections, but failed to win a seat. Prior to the 1986 elections it merged ...

, and losing two of its ten seats (the DAC won two and the Tapia House Movement none). Prior to the

1986 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1986. Africa * 1986 Angolan legislative election * 1986 Gabonese presidential election * 1986 Mozambican general election * 1986 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election * 1986 Somali presidential elec ...

it merged into the newly established

National Alliance for Reconstruction The National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) was the governing party in Trinidad and Tobago between 1986 and 1991. The party has been inactive since 2005. History The party was established in 1986, aiming to be a multi-racial party. Nohlen, D ...

, which won the elections.

References

{{Trinidad and Tobago political parties Defunct political parties in Trinidad and Tobago Socialism in Trinidad and Tobago Labour parties