Changes

The overwhelming Labour victory at the 1945 General Election caused the ILP leadership to question the party's continuing relevance, particularly as the new Labour government appeared to be delivering on its promises of social and economic reform. For many, only personal loyalty to the ILP's veteran parliamentary leader, [[James Maxton]], kept them in the party, and Maxton's death in 1946 saw a headlong rush of senior figures such as [[Fenner Brockway]] into Labour. The leadership had recommended that the ILP apply to rejoin the Labour Party; but this was turned down by a vote of the membership. This sealed the fate of the ILP: it declined gently, largely ignored by other groups of the left, into a tiny nostalgic sect, kept alive only by the property wealth it had acquired in more prosperous days. In 1975 the party bowed to the inevitable and rejoined the Labour Party, not as a party but as Independent Labour Publications, seeking to promote socialism within Labour through publication and propaganda rather than electoral organisation.

The overwhelming Labour victory at the 1945 General Election caused the ILP leadership to question the party's continuing relevance, particularly as the new Labour government appeared to be delivering on its promises of social and economic reform. For many, only personal loyalty to the ILP's veteran parliamentary leader, [[James Maxton]], kept them in the party, and Maxton's death in 1946 saw a headlong rush of senior figures such as [[Fenner Brockway]] into Labour. The leadership had recommended that the ILP apply to rejoin the Labour Party; but this was turned down by a vote of the membership. This sealed the fate of the ILP: it declined gently, largely ignored by other groups of the left, into a tiny nostalgic sect, kept alive only by the property wealth it had acquired in more prosperous days. In 1975 the party bowed to the inevitable and rejoined the Labour Party, not as a party but as Independent Labour Publications, seeking to promote socialism within Labour through publication and propaganda rather than electoral organisation.

[[Category:British political parties]]

 

[[Category:British Political Parties]]