Workers' Party (Singapore)

The Workers' Party (WP) is a major social democratic political party in Singapore and one of the two contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the governing People's Action Party (PAP). The WP sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is currently the largest and oldest opposition party in Parliament, having contested every parliamentary election since 1959 against the dominant PAP. Since the 2011 general election, the WP has been the only political party, other than the PAP, with elected Members of Parliament (MPs).

The WP was founded in 1957 by David Marshall, having previously led the more left-wing Labour Front (LF) to victory in 1955, forming a minority government and becoming the first Chief Minister of Singapore. After the British initially rejected his proposal for home rule, he resigned as leader of the LF and from his seat in 1957. After creating the WP, Marshall returned as its first representative in the Legislative Assembly as a Member for Anson in 1961, before resigning in 1963 after disagreements with some members of the party. The party would thereafter decline in prominence during the 1960s and 1970s before its re-emergence in 1981, when party leader Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam became the first opposition MP to break PAP's monopoly and dominance in Parliament and elected since Singapore's independence, having defeated the PAP's candidate at a by-election in Anson. Jeyaretnam was re-elected in 1984 with increased votes but subsequently lost his seat in 1986 following a conviction for falsely accounting the party's funds, a conviction which he claimed was politically motivated. Former members of the WP also include former Law Society President Francis Seow and socialist activist Lee Siew Choh.

Since 1991, the party's safe seat and stronghold has been Hougang SMC, which was represented by Low Thia Khiang for two decades. The popularity of the party in Hougang has been attributed to the area's Teochew heritage and Low's personal affability. Low moved to Aljunied GRC in 2011, where he led the first team from an opposition party to win a group representation constituency (GRC). In 2020, the WP become the first opposition party to win multiple GRCs in a single general election which was the newly created Sengkang GRC after retaining back Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC. Positioning itself as a " check-and-balance" in Parliament, it supports a progressive approach to civic nationalism, reducing the voting age from 21 to 18, establishing a universal minimum wage, and providing more flexibility in regard to the Central Provident Fund. In recent years, members of the WP have worn light blue uniforms during political campaigns to represent the party's support for blue-collar workers.

History

1956-1965: Pre-independence and beginnings

In 1956, Singapore's first Chief Minister, David Saul Marshall, resigned his leadership post for Labour Front (the largest party in the assembly at the time) following the failure of the Merdeka Talks that had sought self-governance for Singapore. Marshall remained as the party's backbencher in the Legislative Assembly until his resignation in 1957. On 3 November that year, Marshall went on to found the Workers' Party.

Following the adoption of the Rendel and McNeice Commission recommendations, the six wards in the city area consisting of 18 elected seats was carved into 32. In 1957, the pro-communists backed two new entrants, the Workers' Party and the People's Action Party, which later went on to become the long-running governing party in Singapore. Their electoral debut was mostly a success as the party elected four members (out of the five contested) to the City Council; however, in 1958, Kallang ward incumbent Chang Yuen Tong resigned, and subsequently lost their seat to PAP as a result of their by-election defeat.

The party's first Legislative election in 1959 did not see success unlike the 1957 City Election, as Marshall failed to retake his seat from 1955 to 1957, Cairnhill constituency; it was won by former Chief Minister and Singapore People's Alliance leader Lim Yew Hock, and the WP did not win any of the three contested seats. That same election also saw PAP became the majority party for the very first time.

In May 1961, a by-election was precipitated due to the passing of Anson constituency's incumbent MP Baharuddin Mohammed Ariff. Marshall then went to declare his candidacy with the statement:

"... effective, vigorous and constructive opposition and to protect them against the arrogant dictatorship of unchallenged power. Marshall was also eager to assist the workers to prevent the political enslavement of trade unions and to revive the struggle against colonialism in seeking complete independence preferably within and, if necessary, without the Federation."

On 15 July, Marshall won the by-election and subsequently returned to the Legislative Assembly.

David Marshall, as Chairman of the party, made his views known on merger at public rallies and radio talks. Marshall's stand on merger was that:

"... Singapore should seek equal privileges and rights for its citizens in the new federation but surrender autonomy in education and labour, since different policies in these crucial areas would undermine the stability of Malaysia in the long run. He further maintained that if Singapore could not negotiate for a complete merger, she should seek independence on her own, a proposition which drew gales of laughter from the Legislative Chamber at that time. Marshall's strongest objection to the White Paper merger terms was on the point of citizenship and the implications of citizenship in the new federation. He saw the provisions as denying the Singapore citizen who was a federal national, the right of political participation in terms of being allowed to organise or contest in an election in the other states of the Federation. Singaporeans would in his view, be no more than favoured foreigners in the Federation, permitted to live and work there without visas, but also without the important constitutional guarantees that immigration barriers would not be raised against them."

The party concerned Marshall's issue of common citizenship and the rights of Singapore citizens when they joined the Federation. Marshall later stated on 20 August 1962:

"... issued a statement to advise his Executive Council and party members to accept the White Paper proposals for merger, but continued to oppose the Government on the referendum urging the people to cast blank votes on the grounds that it was undemocratically conducted."

1965–1986: Post-independence, debut of J.B. Jeyaretnam

On 9 August 1965, Singapore was declared as an independent sovereign state, and the Legislative was reformed as Parliament of Singapore. 1968 was the first post-independence election, which saw PAP winning every one of 58 contested seats (51 by a walkover, and the other seven on polling day), due to the election boycotting of the main opposition party at the time, the Barisan Sosialis, leading to the mass arrests of most of its leadership since 1963.

Having become a small and fairly insignificant party by the late-1960s, the party saw a rejuvenation upon the recruitment of a group of lawyers, including J.B. Jeyaretnam, who became the party's Secretary-General. Despite fielding a large slate of candidates in succeeding elections, the ruling PAP still managed to retain its monopoly by winning every contested seat for the next three general elections (including by-elections) until 1981.

On 13 October 1981, Devan Nair vacated his Anson seat to assume his role as the nation's third President, precipitating the by-election; on 31 October, the party's candidate Jeyaretnam secured a historic victory as he became the first opposition MP-elect to be elected in Parliament with 51.9% (7,012) of the valid votes cast, beating PAP's Pang Kim Hin's 47.1% (6,359) and UPF's Harbans Singh's 1.0% (131). This also marked the first time since 1961 that the Anson electorate voted the WP into the assembly. Jeyaretnam then went on to hold the constituency in the 1984 elections with an increased margin of 56.8%.

However, two months later, Jeyaretnam was charged with falsely accounting the party's funds. In 1986, Senior District Judge Michael Khoo found Jeyaretnam innocent of all charges but one. The prosecution later appealed for a retrial to be held in a different district court, which saw Jeyaretnam found guilty on all charges resulting in his disqualification. Though he subsequently remained as the party's Secretary-General, he was also barred from standing in elections until 1991.

1987–1997: Barisan Sosialis merger, debut of Low Thia Khiang

In 1987, some Workers' Party members were among a group of 22 people arrested by Singapore's Internal Security Department as part of Operation Spectrum, accused of being Marxists. They were released on condition that they kept out of politics.

Prior to the 1988 general elections, the party merged with Barisan Sosialis and the Singapore United Front. The party did not win any constituency but came very close to winning the Eunos Group Representation Constituency (which was then a three-member constituency), in which the party's team, consisting of Francis Seow (a former head of the Bar Society who had become a thorn in the government's side and had briefly been detained under the Internal Security Act prior to the general election), Lee Siew Choh (a former chairman of the Barisan Sosialis and former PAP Assemblyman from 1959 to 1961) and Mohd Khalit bin Mohd Baboo, scored 49.1%; only one opposition MP was returned to Parliament ( Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Democratic Party). However, since the team garnered the highest percentage of the vote secured by losing opposition candidates during the election, the party was eligible to nominate two members of its team to become Non-constituency MPs. The party had refused to nominate NCMPs in the past, but this time they nominated Lee and Seow to do so. While Lee accepted the offer, Seow however declined to do so and instead fled the United States following accusations of espionage. The election also marked its debut of the party's Organising Secretary Low Thia Khiang, who first contested the three-seat Tiong Bahru GRC, and would capture its eventual safe seat of Hougang SMC in the 1991 general election.

Jeyaretnam was sued for slander by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew for comments he made at an election rally in 1988; Jeyaretnam was ordered to pay Lee damages of S$260,000 including costs following an unsuccessful lawsuit. Jeyaretnam was again sued and paid damages of S$465,000 and S$250,000 in court costs for an article he wrote in an issue of the party's newspaper, ''The Hammer'', calling the PAP's Indian leaders a bunch of stooges.

During the 1991 election campaign, one of the WP's candidates in Eunos GRC, Jufrie Mahmood, came under fire from the PAP and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong as they accused him of being a Malay chauvinist, a claim which Jufrie strongly denied. Like the last election, their team polled strongly in Eunos GRC but still lost to the PAP's team with 47.6% of the votes to 52.4%. No NCMPs were offered as the opposition (including Low) elected now occupied a combined four seats in parliament. Following the election, Low became the Assistant Secretary-General.

A by-election in the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency in 1992 was expected to mark the return of Jeyaretnam to electoral politics after his Parliamentary ban had expired; however, the team ultimately did not participate due to one of its candidates turning up late on the nomination day. In 1993, Jeyaretnam and another candidate, Tan Soo Phuan (now a member of Democratic Progressive Party), attempted to seek candidacy in the first-ever presidential election; however, both candidates were not granted the Certificate of Eligibility, an item presidential candidates was required to complete their nominations. In 1996, Lee Siew Choh resigned from the party, citing differences with Jeyaretnam.

1997–2006: Renewal in the new millennium

In the 1997 elections, Low was re-elected as Hougang MP in the 1997 general election. Besides Low, only one other opposition MP was elected (Chiam See Tong, who left SDP to join the Singapore People's Party); one NCMP was offered to the WP team for Cheng San Group Representation Constituency, as they had polled better than any other losing opposition candidates with 45.2% of the vote share; the party selected secretary-general (and candidate) Jeyaretnam as the NCMP, marking his return to the Parliament after 11 years.

During the election campaign, another candidate who was part of the WP's team in Cheng San, lawyer Tang Liang Hong, drew particular attention from the PAP as they accused him of being an anti-Christian and anti-Muslim Chinese chauvinist. Tang, who insisted all he was trying to do was to "better represent the Chinese community and ask questions on their behalf", vigorously denied this charge and accused the PAP of trying to win votes by sowing fear into the electorate. Tang also attacked the PAP with regards to the Hotel Properties Ltd case (which started when the Stock Exchange of Singapore criticised Hotel Properties Ltd for its "tardiness" in disclosing details of sales of its condominium units to directors and their family members). Lee, who had purchased one of the units, claimed that Tang was trying to milk this issue for political capital; the PAP sued Tang for defamation and branding the PAP leadership as a bunch of liars, for a total of S$13.6 million of damages. Tang fled to Australia shortly after the election.

Prior to the 2001 election, Jeyaretnam was discharged from his NCMP seat due to an undischarged bankruptcy (having failed to keep up with payments of S$120,000 worth of damages owed from a libel suit brought by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and other PAP leaders following comments he had made at an election rally in 1997, but since fulfilled and discharged from bankruptcy in May 2007); Jeyaretnam then relinquished his Secretary-General post to Low. The party entered bitter acrimony as Jeyaretnam later accused Low of not doing enough to help him pay the damages from the libel suit. In response, Low claimed that he had always looked upon Jeyaretnam as an elder and had done everything possible to help him. Following the renewal, a few members (including Jeyaretnam) left the party, forming Reform Party in 2008. It would be Jeyaretnam's final involvement in politics until his death three months after.

Many observers speculated that with Low at the helm, WP would tone down its more hardline stance and take on a more centrist outlook at the 2001 election. After Low assumed leadership, Low recruited a series of young members to the party, including James Gomez, Yaw Shin Leong and Sylvia Lim (who would become the party's long-serving (and current) chairperson). Although Low was re-elected as Hougang MP at the 2001 general election, the party's fortunes reached a low as it only contested in two seats, in Hougang and Nee Soon East SMCs and had its entire Aljunied GRC team disqualified on Nomination Day, while plans to contest Ang Mo Kio, East Coast and Pasir Ris-Punggol were abandoned. Low cited that their Aljunied GRC team's disqualification was an "oversight" and a belated April Fools' joke, and he took full responsibility for it.

2006–2011: Major electoral breakthroughs, debut of Pritam Singh

WP launched an updated manifesto in January 2006 entitled "You Have a Choice". The 52-page booklet outlined the party's stand on issues and policies, covering areas from economic and judicial policies to media and sports and recreation. The manifesto, which had last been updated in 1994, took one year to work on according to Low. PAP then panned the party's manifesto citing "time-bombs", quipping that it contained only threats to the PAP's power.

At the 2006 general election, Low was elected as Hougang MP for the fourth time by an increased margin of 62.7%. The party also polled strongly in the Aljunied GRC, losing to the PAP's team with 43.91% of the vote to 56.09% and allowing the party to elect an NCMP seat by virtue of being the best-performing opposition losers. The party's chairperson Sylvia Lim was selected, becoming its first female NCMP. Another team of young first-time candidates, led by Yaw Shin Leong in Ang Mo Kio GRC which was helmed by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, garnered a respectable 33.86% or one-third of the votes, about 0.46% higher than the opposition's national average. Combining all the votes received from the seven constituencies contested by 20 candidates, the Workers' Party's popular vote was 38.43%; the party then became the largest opposition to emerge from the election, in front of the second strongest-performing opposition party, the Singapore Democratic Alliance (the party also fielded the same number of candidates contesting the same number of constituencies) which had gotten 32.52%. This meant that Low would succeed Chiam See Tong as the new leader of the opposition.

The manifesto for the General Election 2011 was titled "Towards a First World Parliament", which also became their campaign slogan. One key proposal was for more affordable public housing such that Housing Development Board (HDB) lessees should be able to pay off their mortgage loans within 20 years rather than 30. Prior to nomination day (27 April 2011), Low announced that he would vacate his Hougang seat to former Ang Mo Kio GRC candidate Yaw Shin Long, instead contesting in Aljunied GRC for the forthcoming election along with Lim and three of his "A-List" candidates (Taiwanese-born corporate lawyer Chen Show Mao, law postgraduate and former SAF major Pritam Singh, and freelance councillor Faisal Manap). The party fielded a total of 23 candidates contesting in eight constituencies, the largest slate since 1988 (WP had the second-largest opposition slate, second only to National Solidarity Party (NSP) which fielded 24 candidates in eight constituencies).

On 7 May, the team in Aljunied GRC achieved another breakthrough for the party, with the first-ever GRC victory for any opposition party in history; their score of 54.71% unseated the PAP team, led by Foreign Minister George Yeo and Minister of the Prime Minister's Office Lim Hwee Hua. The Hougang ward was also retained by Yaw with its best performance for the party at 64.80% of the votes (second only to Chiam's score of 69.6% back in 1991), resulting in six WP members being elected into Parliament. Their party's overall vote was its best performance in history, with 46.60% of the votes combined from the eight constituencies contested (second only to SDP's popular vote of 48.56% in 1991). Additionally, Lim and Manap became the first female former NCMP and Malay opposition MP respectively to be elected into Parliament.

Due to an increase of minimum opposition seats from three to nine, the party was also offered two of the three NCMP seats. Selecting Gerald Giam and Yee Jenn Jong (who contested East Coast Group Representation Constituency and Joo Chiat Single Member Constituency, respectively), the party brought its total representation to eight seats, the most for any opposition party in Singapore since independence. East Coast GRC candidate Eric Tan later resigned from WP, citing his disagreement with the NCMP appointment. A month later on 12 June, the party launched its grassroots arm for Aljunied GRC, called the Aljunied Constituency Committee. It also combined the Hougang and Aljunied town councils to form the Aljunied–Hougang Town Council.

2012–2013: Success in by-elections and start of AHTC lawsuit

On 15 February 2012, the party expelled Hougang SMC MP Yaw Shin Leong, for failing to account for allegations made against him. Prior to his expulsion, Yaw was accused of several indiscretions in his private life, as well as party misconduct that had surfaced earlier that year; Yaw had up to 24 February to appeal against his expulsion, but declined, precipitating the by-election which was held on 26 May. The seat was retained by former East Coast GRC candidate Png Eng Huat with a majority of 62.08%. Shortly after the elections, Poh Lee Guan was also expelled from the party after Poh attempted to contest the by-election as a "backup candidate" without consulting the party's CEC, with the CEC condemning Poh's reason as unacceptable.

On 12 December, another by-election was called due to the vacation of Punggol East SMC's MP and former speaker Michael Palmer for indiscretions with a People's Association staff; the party announced the candidacy shortly after the announcement.

Prior to nomination day, the party announced plans to purchase its own premises as its current rented premises at Syed Alwi Road was too small for its operations. Sufficient funds were eventually raised and the new HQ was opened in 2017, coinciding with the party's 60th anniversary.

On 16 January 2013, the party fielded Lee Li Lian, a candidate who had previously contested the same ward on the 2011 election. On 26 January, Lee was elected to the parliament with 54.52% of the votes (her PAP rival Koh Poh Koon got 43.71%, and two other smaller parties 1.77%), marking the second by-election since 1981 in which the party had won another parliamentary seat from the PAP.

Ahead of the two by-elections, WP called for a tender for managing agent services for their town council, with only FMSS submitting a bid. After the Punggol East by-election, AHTC was briefly renamed to Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) until the 2015 election. In February 2015, the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) carried out an audit of AHPETC and found several lapses in governance and compliance, which became the subject of parliamentary debate.

2015–2016: Leadership renewal

Ahead from the 2015 elections, coinciding with the nation's golden jubilee, the party announced that it would contest 28 seats (in ten constituencies), slightly under a third of the 89 parliamentary seats. They revealed their slogan for the election, "Empower Your Future". In August 2015, chairwoman Lim confirmed the first batch of candidates, consisting of all seven elected MPs, which would defend their respective constituencies. By the end of the month, the party's line-up was unveiled and finalised.

On 11 September, the team for Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC were re-elected for another term in Parliament, but by a reduced winning margin of 50.96% and 57.69%Today, Page 20, Saturday ,12 September 2015 respectively, while Punggol East SMC's candidate Lee was defeated in her re-election bid to PAP's candidate and Deputy Speaker Charles Chong by a vote count of 51.76%–48.24%. The party's overall vote (based on the ten constituencies contested, all of them were higher than the opposition's national average of 30.14%) fell from 46.60% down to 39.75%.

Consequently, the party became the only opposition party to be represented in Parliament for the first time since 1981–84, as the party won all three NCMP seats and formed an opposition of nine members. Lee was the first of the three NCMPs but declined the offer; Fengshan SMC's candidate Dennis Tan was next in line for the second NCMP seat, while the party's East Coast GRC team nominated Leon Perera for the third seat. Following Lee's decline of the offer, the party announced that they would nominate Daniel Goh as the third NCMP should the Parliament allow another appointment. The appointment was approved by the PAP legislature on 29 January 2016, allowing Goh to be elected NCMP via an announcement from the Election Department on 4 February.

On 29 May 2016, leader Low successfully fended off an unprecedented challenge for his Secretary-General post by Chen for the first time in the party's history. Chen was re-appointed by Low in his previous position as Treasurer for another three months from 7 June 2016 until 9 September 2016, as he had already served two terms in the post. On 7 June, the party appointed Pritam Singh as Assistant Secretary-General.

2016–2019: Continued AHTC lawsuits and handover to Pritam Singh

On 26 July 2017, the Aljunied–Hougang Town Council, which had appointed an independent panel of three lawyers at the behest of MND and HDB, sued town council chairman Singh, vice-chairman Lim, party's leader Low, and three others including the town council's former managing agent, for improper payments made to the MA.

On 29 September, the party's headquarters were relocated from Syed Alwi Road to the Teambuild Centre, located at Geylang Road.

On 3 November, an anniversary dinner was held on Harbourfront Centre, marking a milestone of 60 years since the founding of the party on 3 November 1957. On the same night, Low announced during his speech that he would step down from his role of Secretary-General and would not seek candidacy for the next CEC's election the following year. A commemorative biographical book for the party, ''Walking With Singapore'', was launched at bookstores the following day.

Singh was elected to the post of Secretary-General unopposed on 8 April 2018 after Low decided to step down for leadership renewal.

On 26 July, the Party was among the nine opposition parties invited for a gathering led by former PAP member and Presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock, but the party did not attend. WP later revealed that the party was "going through a leadership transition and is focused on organisation building to better serve Singaporeans".

On 3 October, a $33.7 million trial between Aljunied–Hougang Town Council and former leader Low, Chair Lim, secretary-general Singh as well as two other town councillors was initiated. The trial went on until 25 October, where the three politicians launched an appeal to fund their legal fees, having depleted their personal resources after paying their lawyers close to S$600,000 for work done before the trial. Three days later, they closed their fundraising appeal after raising more than S$1 million for legal fees, while thanking the public for their support.

2020–2025: Further gains, Khan's controversy and end of AHTC lawsuits

Ahead of the elections on 10 July 2020, the party introduced their slogan, "Make Your Vote Count" along with 12 new party members, which included ex- NSP candidate Nicole Seah. On Nomination Day, they fielded a total of 21 candidates to contest in six constituencies: Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC, East Coast GRC, Marine Parade GRC, as well as the newly formed Punggol West SMC and Sengkang GRC. Low Thia Khiang, along with two incumbents Chen Show Mao and Png Eng Huat, did not contest the election, marking Low's retirement after a 32-year career. Low had earlier been hospitalised on 30 April due to a head injury he sustained and was on rehabilitation. They were replaced respectively by NCMPs Gerald Giam, Leon Perera and Dennis Tan to complete the team line-up. Former NCMP Daniel Goh and former Punggol East MP Lee Li Lian also did not stand for the election.

During campaigning, Sengkang GRC candidate Jamus Lim received critical acclaim during the live debate which was held on 1 July for his debating skills and charisma. On 5 July, two separate police reports were lodged against Raeesah Khan (another Sengkang GRC candidate) both for alleged discriminatory comments regarding race and religion. She later explained to the media that she had intended to promote awareness about minority concerns, while also expressing remorse for having made said insensitive comments. Raeesah was eventually warned by the Singapore Police Force on 17 September 2020.

On 10 July, the Workers' Party became the best performing opposition party to date, having won a total of 10 seats and garnering 50.49% of votes in the constituencies they contested, surpassing the previous record of 48.46% held by SDP in 1991. The party increased their margins in Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC with 59.95% and 61.21% respectively, while also capturing the new Sengkang GRC with a 52.12% vote, making it the second GRC to be captured by any opposition party. Unlike in the past three elections, the party was not offered NCMPs seats as their result for their best losing performance in East Coast GRC (46.61%) was behind that of the Progress Singapore Party's team in West Coast GRC (48.32%). Following the election, Hougang SMC became the first constituency to have elected the opposition for seven consecutive terms. Singh was also appointed the official Leader of the Opposition by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the role having been unofficial in the past. On 27 December, five months after the elections, another CEC election was held at Clarke Quay, with Lim and Singh re-elected as Chair and Secretary-General respectively. All four Sengkang GRC members, as well as Nicole Seah and Kenneth Foo were elected into the CEC, while former MPs Chen, Goh and Lee, as well as Firuz Khan, John Yam and Terence Tan, stepped down.

On 30 November 2021, Sengkang MP Raeesah Khan resigned from the Workers' Party and Parliament after investigations into lying during parliamentary speeches on women's empowerment, which happened three months earlier. Two days later, the Workers' Party Central Executive Committee said they knew about the lies the week after her speech, but they decided to let her set the record straight after knowing her circumstances. Furthermore, the Party leaders voted overwhelmingly to ask Raeesah to resign even before she did so, with expulsion if she did not resign. Instead, Raeesah informed Pritam she would resign, before the Central Executive Committee met on the matter. The MPs of Sengkang GRC did not step down for a by-election, with the responsibilities of Compassvale instead divided accordingly. Workers' Party Vice-Chair and Aljunied GRC MP Faisal Manap also acted as an advisor to the Sengkang MPs. Former NCMP Daniel Goh publicly questioned Khan's resignation on Facebook in several posts and also requested that the party leadership take some responsibility for "allowing the transgression to persist". Goh was subsequently expelled from the party in 2023.

On 7 July 2023, the Supreme Court of Singapore found both Lim and Low, but not Singh, liable for control failures in regards to payment processes in both Aljunied-Hougang and Sengkang Town Councils, leading to a risk of overpayment. The court found them to have breached their fiduciary duties in 2019, but a subsequent appeal in 2022 revealed that its party councillors and the town employees did not owe fiduciary duties. On 22 August, the Ministry of National Development brought considerations for regulatory action pending clarification from AHTC, under witness of its three party leaders, as well as town councillors Chua Zhi Hon, Kenneth Foo, How Weng Fan and Danny Loh, to ensure the safekeeping of the money totaling S$33.7 million in improper payments. In a statement from the Court of Appeal on 29 November, both town councils were ordered to pay a combined total of about S$388,800 (S$176,241.11 and S$212,543.52 for AHTC and SKTC, respectively) to the town councillors as a result of the appeals, where the court determined that most issues in their appeals were not found from AHTC, and that liabilities of certain duties had since persisted. The three aforementioned MPs, however, had also been liable for negligence to SKTC for permitting control failures as well.

On 17 July 2023, a video of MP Leon Perera and the party's youth wing president Nicole Seah behaving intimately in a restaurant surfaced online. Perera's former personal driver had also been involved in the alleged relationship according to a press interview. While he had approached the party leaders about this between 2020 and 2021, they deferred to the pair's denials. Seah and Perera resigned on 18 July and 19 July respectively, acknowledging the extramarital affair had happened but "stopped sometime ago". Both members had earlier denied any accusations. The responsibilities of Perera were subsequently divided among the remaining MPs of Aljunied GRC. On 11 September, Perera revealed that his Facebook account had been hacked with posts made after 17 June 2021 deleted, and he had since reported the hack to Meta. While Perera was later seen at multiple Progress Singapore Party events sometime in January 2025, he subsequently confirmed his residency in New York City, implying that it was unlikely for him to contest in the election; PSP also confirmed that Perera had yet to join the party.

On 19 March 2024, Singh was charged in court for two counts on falsely testifying to a parliamentary committee in relation to Raeesah Khan's mishandling of a case dating back to November 2021; Singh took a four-week adjournment to engage a lawyer prior to a pre-trial, which was held on April 17. He remained an MP while he was on trial. The other WP member involved, Faisal Manap, was not charged. On 17 February 2025, Singh was found guilty for these charges and given a $7,000 fine for both counts, though he had since lodged for an appeal. Singh retained his eligibility for elections as each of the separate charges did not meet the threshold requirements for disqualification (of at least a $10,000 fine or a year imprisonment).

On 3 November 2022, a three-minute trailer on a documentary film titled ''Hougang'' was uploaded on their YouTube page to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the party's founding. A full video of the documentary was released exactly two years later in November 2024. The end of the film was dedicated to party pioneer Lim Ee Ping, who died of cancer on 29 May 2024 prior to the release.

2025–present: WP after Low's retirement

Ahead of the 2025 Singaporean general election, on 7 December 2024, Low announced that he would retire from politics but would remain a member of the party's central executive committee, despite initially expressing interest for a return. In a recent CEC update on 30 June 2024, former MP Lee Li Lian, who was working as a councilor in Sengkang Town Council at the time, was reinstated into the CEC after a three-year absence.

After the release of new electoral boundaries, there was heavy speculation that the Workers' Party would contest around 30 seats; while the party did not confirm this, there had been heavy speculation that the party would contest Tampines GRC as well as the newly created Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC, Punggol GRC and Tampines Changkat SMC. On 15 April, WP unveiled their manifesto titled "Working for Singapore". On 17 April, Singh said the party would contest less than a third of 97 parliamentary seats, less than the party's medium-term objective to win one-third of the seats in parliament; it was ultimately revealed that WP would contest 26 seats. On nomination day, all but one MP-elect remained in the team for their wards, the exception being Faisal Manap who would contest Tampines GRC in a rare four-cornered fight against PAP, the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and the People's Power Party (PPP). Aljunied GRC added former candidate Fadli Fawzi and new candidate Kenneth Tiong, while Sengkang GRC introduced Abdul Muhaimin.

WP however made a surprising and controversial move not to contest Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC, citing limited resources and the extensive re-drawing of electoral boundaries in the area. This resulted in a walkover for the PAP team, an occurrence not seen since 2011; this also attracted controversy and reactions from other opposition parties, who believed that every seat should be contested. WP responded to the controversy afterwards, stating that while they respect the views of the other opposition parties, they make decisions in their enlightened self-interest and so does the WP. On 30 April, leaked screenshots of Telegram messages displayed Jalan Kayu SMC's candidate Andre Low using profanities while criticising the civil service and several brands, in which Low apologized thereafter.

The 2025 general election saw the WP managing to retain all three of its constituencies despite a major national swing towards the PAP against non-WP opposition parties. While the WP saw a slight decline of 0.44% in the overall contested vote share, the party increased their overall popular vote to almost 15%. The party was narrowly defeated in Jalan Kayu SMC and Tampines GRC, garnering 48.53% and 47.37% of the votes respectively, and offered NCMP seats as a result of the close margins. These were respectively taken by Andre Low and Eileen Chong on 19 May.

Ideology

The Workers' Party (WP) espouses a centre-left, social democratic ideology, focusing on economic justice, inclusive governance, and institutional accountability. Positioning itself as a "credible and constructive" opposition, the WP aims to contribute to national development while providing checks and balances on the ruling People's Action Party (PAP). Rather than challenging the fundamentals of Singapore's political system, the WP advocates for gradual reforms within the existing framework, emphasising fairness, transparency, and democratic participation.

The constitution of the WP defines the party's guiding principles as ''Merdeka'' (independence), parliamentary democracy, and socialism; observers define the Workers Party as social democratic and pragmatic in practice. The party pledges that it will support policies presented in Parliament should they benefit Singaporeans on both sides of the political spectrum; however, if such policies are insufficient and either do not benefit or disadvantage Singaporeans, it will speak up in parliamentary debates to seek a compromise.

Economic policies

The WP has adapted ideology to Singapore's unique economic and political context. Rather than advocating for an expansive welfare state, the WP supports targeted and sustainable social interventions aimed at reducing inequality and ensuring that no Singaporean is left behind. This approach seeks to balance compassion with fiscal prudence, promoting social equity without compromising the country's Competition (economics), economic competitiveness or encouraging dependency.

Key proposals under this framework include the introduction of a universal minimum wage, a more flexible Central Provident Fund (CPF) system to improve retirement adequacy, and stronger support for healthcare, housing, and childcare through means-tested assistance. The party has also argued for measures to manage the cost of living, such as zero-rating essential items under the Goods and Services Tax (Singapore), Goods and Services Tax (GST), and has proposed limited unemployment insurance to better support workers in transition. These policies are designed to uplift low- and middle-income Singaporeans, while maintaining personal responsibility and encouraging workforce participation. Philosophically, the WP is grounded in a belief in dignity in work, fairness, and a stronger social compact. It emphasises that public policy should empower individuals while fostering community resilience. Rather than pursuing populist policies, the party frames itself as a rational and credible alternative to the ruling PAP, prioritising measured reforms and long-term national interest over ideological confrontation.

Historically influenced by Keynesian economics, the party favours government intervention in the economy and some redistribution of wealth. Taxation was seen as a means to achieve a "major redistribution of wealth and income" in previous manifestos. The party also desires increased rights for Singaporean workers, such as allocating greater expenditures towards the Healthcare in Singapore, country's public healthcare system. Whereas the party leans left in general, it has also advocated for a more centrist calibrated approach in regards to Immigration to Singapore, immigration. For instance, it has proposed that the overall number of foreign workers should be capped if Singapore can achieve a 1% annual growth rate in the local workforce.

Social policies

The WP promotes a more inclusive and participatory democracy. It has called for lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, reforming the electoral process to ensure greater fairness, and enhancing transparency and public accountability in government. While avoiding populism, the WP supports measured political liberalisation and a more open civic space. Its leaders regularly emphasise the party’s role as a "rational and responsible" alternative to the PAP, grounded in the national interest rather than opposition for its own sake. The party's light blue campaign colours symbolise solidarity with blue-collar workers, highlighting its historic and continuing commitment to representing working-class interests.

Leadership

List of chairpersons

List of secretaries-general

Central Executive Committee

As of 17 July 2024, the Central Executive Committee comprises the following members:

Former elected members

Former Members of City Council of Singapore (1957–1959)

Former Members of Legislative Assembly of Singapore (1955–1965)

Former Members of

Parliament of Singapore (1965–present)

Members of Parliament

Electoral performance

City Council

Legislative Assembly

Parliament

Seats contested

Constituencies won are in bold.

By-elections

;City Council by-elections

;Legislative Assembly

;Parliament

# Marshall did not contest the 1957 city elections.
# Chiang did not contest in the 1968 election.
# Jeyaretnam did not contest the 1988 and 1991 elections due to pressed charges.
# A candidate who was offered a post in the NCMP was disqualified shortly before accepting the offer due to pressed charges.
#

Notes

See also

* Labour movement of Singapore
* List of political parties in Singapore
* Politics of Singapore
* Social democracy

References

Citations

Sources

; Books

*

External links

*
Official website of The Workers' Party Youth Wing

{{Singaporean political parties

1957 establishments in Singapore
Democratic socialist parties in Asia
Political parties established in 1957
Political parties in Singapore
Progressive parties
Social democratic parties in Asia
Socialist parties in Singapore