The formation of the Labour Party – lessons for today

The negative critique of the Labour Party in debates linked to Ken Loach’s acclaimed film ‘The Spirit of ‘45’ has led to yet another attempt to form an alternative political organisation on the left. Much has changed since the TUC decided to form a Labour Representation Committee in 1899 to give a political voice to the working class – not least that these days most workers are not in unions and most TUC unions are not affiliated to Labour – yet ‘the early development of the Labour Party has relevant lessons for today's labour movement’ says former Labour General Secretary Jim Mortimer in an informative paper on the formation of the Labour Party (first published in 2000):
http://www.socialisthistorysociety.co.uk/MORTIMER.HTM