The Saint Vincent Labour Party was a

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

political party in

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

from 1955 to 1994. It was the ruling party from 1967 to 1972 and again from 1974 until 1984.

History

The party was established in 1955. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p595 In the 1957 general elections it received 19.0% of the vote, putting it in second place, but failed to win a seat. In the 1961 elections the party received 47.9% of the vote and three seats, losing by only 336 votes to the ruling People's Political Party, who won nine seats. In the 1966 elections they received 50.9% of the vote, but the PPP won five seats to the Labour Party's four. However, early elections the following year saw the Labour Party increase their vote share to 53.8% and take six of the nine seats. Despite receiving over 50% of the vote again in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, the elections resulted in a tie with both parties winning six seats. The sole independent candidate,

James Fitz-Allen Mitchell Sir James Fitz-Allen Mitchell (15 May 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a Vincentian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 1984 to 2000 and as the second Premier of Saint Vincent from 1972 to ...

formed a government with his former party, the PPP, and was appointed Prime Minister. However, a further set of early elections in 1974 saw the Labour Party claim 69.0% of the vote and win ten of the thirteen seats. They remained in power following the

1979 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1979. Africa * Algeria: presidential election * Benin: parliamentary election * Botswana: general election * Gabon: presidential election * Ghana: presidential election * Kenya: general election * Mal ...

, but lost the 1984 elections to the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

. In the

1989 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1989. Africa * 1989 Beninese parliamentary election * 1989 Botswana general election * 1989 Equatorial Guinean presidential election * 1989 People's Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * ...

the NDP won all 15 seats. The Labour Party regained two seats in the 1994 elections, and on 16 October 1994 they merged with the

Movement for National Unity The Movement for National Unity was a political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It was formed shortly before the 1984 general elections by a split from the United People's Movement due to the refusal of most party members to disown Fide ...

to form the

Unity Labour Party The Unity Labour Party (ULP) is a democratic socialist political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Currently the governing party, it is led by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.

.Unity Labour Party
Caribbean Elections

Electoral history

House of Assembly elections

References

Labour parties Political parties disestablished in 1994 Political parties established in 1955 Political parties in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Socialist parties in North America 1955 establishments in the British Empire {{SaintVincent-stub