Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is currently the party of government in the United Kingdom, led by Gordon Brown. Historically a party of socialism formed from several groups which first fought a general election in 1895, it abandoned this ideology under the leadership of Tony Blair in 1994. Essentially a centre-left party with strong socialist roots, in policy its commitments have moved markedly rightwards since its landslide election victory of 1997. Blair won two more elections in 2001 and 2005, largely with the support of former Conservative Party voters, and stepped down in June 2007; after up to twelve years in power, the party must face the polls again by May 2010.