The Saint Vincent Labour Party was a social democratic political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 1955 to 1994. It was the ruling party from 1967 to 1972 and again from 1974 until 1984.
The party was established in 1955. [1] In the 1957 general elections it received 19.0% of the vote, putting it in second place, but failed to win a seat. [2] 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, the elections resulted in a tie with both parties winning six seats. The sole independent candidate, James Fitz-Allen Mitchell 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, but lost the 1984 elections to the New Democratic Party. In the 1989 elections 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 to form the Unity Labour Party. [3]
Election | Party leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1957 | Milton Cato | 3,741 | 19.0% | 0 / 8 | Extra-parliamentary | ||
1961 | 11,164 | 47.9% | 3 / 9 | 3 | 2nd | Opposition | |
1966 | 13,930 | 50.9% | 4 / 9 | 1 | 2nd | Opposition | |
1967 | 14,501 | 53.8% | 6 / 9 | 2 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
1972 | 16,108 | 50.4% | 6 / 13 | 1st | Opposition | ||
1974 | 19,579 | 69.0% | 10 / 13 | 4 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
1979 | 17,876 | 54.2% | 11 / 13 | 1 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
1984 | 17,493 | 41.5 | 4 / 15 | 7 | 2nd | Opposition | |
1989 | Vincent Beache | 13,290 | 30.3% | 0 / 15 | 4 | 2nd | Extra-parliamentary |
1994 | 12,455 | 26.5% | 2 / 15 | 2 | 2nd | Opposition |
Politics of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines takes place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent Commonwealth realm, with Charles III as its king, represented by a governor-general, who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party of the House of Assembly, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The governor-general exercises ceremonial functions, but reserve powers, under the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines constitution, can be used at the governor-general's discretion.
Ralph Everard Gonsalves is a Vincentian politician. He is currently the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP).
The Democratic Labour Party (DLP), colloquially known as the "Dems", is a political party in Barbados, established in 1955. It was the ruling party from 15 January 2008 to 24 May 2018 but faced an electoral wipeout in the 2018 general election which left it with no MPs.
SirJames Fitz-Allen Mitchell 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 1974. He founded the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1975, and served as its president until 2000.
The People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is a major political party in Guyana. As of 2020, the party holds 33 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly and forms the government. It has been the ruling party in the past as well, most recently between 1992 and 2015. In Guyana's ethnically divided political landscape, the PPP/C is a multi-ethnic organization.
The People's Action Movement (PAM) is a political party in the island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds one of the 11 seats in the National Assembly. PAM operates only in Saint Kitts and for the 2022 general election is in a 'One Movement' alliance with the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) operating in Nevis, following the breakdown of the governing Team Unity alliance. PAM is a member of the Caribbean Democrat Union, the regional affiliate of the International Democrat Union and shares close links with other centre-right party members in the Caribbean such as the Jamaica 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.
Guatemalan Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic political party in Guatemala. The DCG was a member of Christian Democrat International.
Ebenezer Theodore Joshua was a Vincentian politician and the first chief minister of Saint Vincent from 1960 to 1967. He was the Leader of the Legislative Council from 1956 to 1961.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 7 April 1972. The result was a tie between the People's Political Party and the Saint Vincent Labour Party, which both won six seats. Despite being a former member of the SVLP, the sole independent MP James Fitz-Allen Mitchell formed a government with the PPP. Voter turnout was 75.6%.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 9 December 1974. The result was a victory for the Saint Vincent Labour Party, which won ten of the 13 seats. Voter turnout was 63.2%.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 5 December 1979. The result was a victory for the Saint Vincent Labour Party (SVLP), which won eleven of the thirteen seats. Voter turnout was 64%, up only slightly from 63% in 1974.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 15 June 1998. Although the Unity Labour Party (ULP) received a majority of the public vote, the New Democratic Party (NDP) won a majority of seats, the first time the party receiving a majority of the vote had failed to win the elections since 1966. Voter turnout was 67%.
The People's Progressive Party was a political party in Saint Lucia. It was the only opposition party in the country from 1951 until 1964.
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 Fidel Castro's politics. Some of the support for the Movement for National Unity was the result of absorbing former members of the disbanded Youlou United Liberation Movement of the 1970s. The new party received 2.0% of the vote, but failed to win a seat. In the 1989 elections it increased its share of the vote to 2.4%, but remained seatless. However, in the 1994 elections it received 17.4% of the vote and won a single seat. In the same year it merged with the Saint Vincent Labour Party to form the Unity Labour Party.
The People's Political Party was a political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It was established in 1952 as a breakaway from the ruling Eighth Army of Liberation, and was the country's first lasting nationwide political party. It was the only party to contest the 1954 general elections and received three of the eight seats. In the 1957 elections it received almost half the national vote and won five of the eight seats. In 1961 it remained in power with six of the nine seats.
The Farmers' Assemblies was a conservative political party in Estonia. Led by Konstantin Päts, it was one of the ruling parties during most of the interwar period.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 9 December 2015. The result was a victory for the Unity Labour Party, which retained its one seat majority. However, the NDP has challenged the results in two constituencies, North Windward, and Central Leeward.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 5 November 2020. Nomination day was 20 October 2020. The result was a victory for the Unity Labour Party, its fifth in a row; the party won nine of the fifteen seats, gaining one seat. These elections marked the first time since 1998 that the party which received the most votes did not win the most seats and the first time since 1994 that the New Democratic Party won the popular vote.
Kenneth Randolph Vincent John was a Vincentian lawyer and newspaper columnist. His column "This Week" appeared in national weekly The Vincentian over a period of thirty-nine years.