The Singapore Progressive Party (

abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

: PP), or simply the Progressive Party, was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

that was formed on 25 August 1947. It won the 1948 Legislative Assembly general elections with half of the contested seats in the Legislative Assembly, 3 out of 6. At that time, the self-government power of the Legislative Assembly was still rather limited.

History

The party was founded by three lawyers, namely Tan Chye Cheng, John Laycock and Nazir Ahmad Mallal. All three were educated at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

and were three of the six first ever elected legislative councillors in Singapore. The party was Singapore's first political party.

Party ideology

The Progressive Party was heavily backed by and made up of English-speaking upper class professionals. Its campaign ideology was to advocate progressive and gradual reforms, rather than sudden, quick, radical ones, which fell in line with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

policy at the time, to slowly let Singapore gain full self-government. This approach was criticised vehemently by

David Saul Marshall David Saul Marshall (12 March 1908 – 12 December 1995), born David Saul Mashal, was a Singaporean lawyer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Singapore from 1955 until his resignation in 1956, after his delegation to London regarding ...

, leader of the Labour Front who instead wanted rapid reform.

Legislative Council

In the Legislative Council, the SPP worked closely with the British Government. The SPP fought for equal treatment with both local and European civil servants, but this did not please the Chinese-educated locals, who were very unhappy with the SPP's Pro-British stance.

Central Provident Fund

In 1951, PP drafted a law for the setting up of a

Central Provident Fund The Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB), commonly known as the CPF Board or simply the Central Provident Fund (CPF), is a compulsory comprehensive savings and pension plan for working Singaporeans and permanent residents primarily to fund their ...

, and it was approved by the British government in 1954, this CPF scheme provides financial security for workers in their retirement or for workers who were unable to work, this scheme came into effect in 1955, when David Marshall took office, and even after so many years, the CPF scheme despite having a few revisions and changes, remains in Singapore.

Election Results

Legislative Council

; Legislative Council By-Elections

Legislative Assembly

Municipal Council(till 1951) / City Council(since 1951)

References

Background of Progressive Party
{{Singaporean political parties Conservative parties in Singapore Defunct political parties in Singapore Political parties established in 1947 Political parties disestablished in 1956 1947 establishments in Singapore 1956 disestablishments in Singapore