LABOUR PARTY

British political party whose historic links with trade unions have led it to promote an active role for the state in the creation of economic prosperity and in the provision of social services. In opposition to the Conservative Party, it has been the major democratic socialist party in Britain since the early 20th century. Irish Pirt Lucht Oibre (Irish Labour Party) main party of the left in the Republic of Ireland. Additional reading Geoffrey Foote, The Labour Party's Political Thought: A History, 3rd ed. (1997). Eric Shaw, The Labour Party Since 1945: Old Labour, New Labour (1996); Discipline and Discord in the Labour Party: The Politics of Managerial Control in the Labour Party, 195187 (1988); and The Labour Party Since 1979: Crisis and Transformation (1994). Additional reading Arthur Mitchell, Labour in Irish Politics 18901930 (1974), is the standard work on the early history of the Labour Party. The party's transformation from the 1960s is described in Michael Gallagher, The Irish Labour Party in Transition 195782 (1982). Tim Ryan, Dick Spring: A Safe Pair of Hands! (1993), is a journalistic profile of the party's most successful leader. Michael Marsh