The Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), also known simply as Labour, is a

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

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 ideological or p ...

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...

. It is currently in government in the country after winning six of the eleven seats in the

2022 general election The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local ...

. It is the oldest active political party in the English-speaking Caribbean.

History

The party was founded in 1932, and was initially known as the St Kitts Workers' League. It put forward two candidates in the 1937 elections, both of which were elected. It subsequently won all the elected seats in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

and 1946. From 1946 until 1978 the party was led by Robert Bradshaw. It saw most of its success on

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

, as voters on

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and ...

and

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The terr ...

tended to elect independents and local parties. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p570 It was the only party to contest the 1952 elections and won all eight seats. They retained power in the

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

despite losing three seats to independents. The party was also victorious in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

, and were renamed the St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Labour Party in 1966. They went on to win the 1966, 1971 and 1975 elections, winning seven seats on each occasion. When Anguilla seceded in 1980, the party adopted its current name. In the elections that year the party was reduced to four seats, and although it was the largest faction in the National Assembly, the opposition People's Action Movement was able to form a coalition government. The Labour Party was reduced to two seats in the 1984 elections, and remained with only two MPs after the 1989 elections. Although it received the most votes in the 1993 elections and won the same number of seats as the PAM, the PAM remained in power. However, early elections were called in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, in which the Labour Party won a majority of seats. They increased their majority in the

2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian preside ...

and retained power in elections in 2004 and 2010. After Labour suffered defeats in 2015 and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Denzil Douglas Denzil Llewellyn Douglas (born 14 January 1953) is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician and the longest-serving prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in office from 1995 to 2015. Subsequently he has been Leader of the Opposition. He was t ...

decided to step down as party leader in 2021. Party chairman

Terrance Drew Terrance Michael Drew (born 22 November 1976) is a medical doctor and politician who is the fourth and current prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, having been elected to the National Assembly in the 5 August 2022 general election. He gr ...

was elected as his successor in a national convention. Earl Asim Martin became the new party chairman.

Leadership

Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw (16 September 1916 – 23 May 1978) was the first Premier of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and previously served as Chief Minister, legislator, and labour activist. Early life Bradshaw was born in the Saint Paul Capister ...

, 1945-1978 *

Paul Southwell Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell (18 July 1913 – 18 May 1979) was the second Premier and first Chief Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. He also worked as a teacher, police officer, and trade unionist. Early life and career ...

, 1978-1979 * Lee Moore, 1979-1989 *

, 1989-2021 *

, 2021-

Election results

References

External links

Official websiteSt Kitts National Young Labour
(Defunct) {{Authority control Former member parties of the Socialist International Labour parties Political parties in Saint Kitts and Nevis Political parties established in 1932 Socialist parties in North America 1932 establishments in Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla