The Natal Labour Party (NLP) was a social democratic political party in the

Natal Colony The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

. At the 1906 Natal general election, four candidates from the labour movement were elected, nominated by the Durban Workers' Political Union or the General Workers' Political Association of Pietermaritzburg. This success inspired the establishment of a single party representing white workers across the colony. The party was formed early in 1907. Nelson Pond Palmer became the group's parliamentary leader, and MPs Charles Henry Haggar and John Connolly also joining. Its president was A. L. Clark, while its secretary was J. White, and its treasurer was Joseph Edwards. In 1908, Edwards moved to become secretary, L. M. Sanderson became treasurer, and Haggar was employed as a full-time organising secretary. In 1909, Sanderson was succeeded by T. W. Marshman. The new party began publishing the weekly ''South African Tribune'' newspaper.{{cite book , last1=Ticktin , first1=D. , title=The Origins of the South African Labour Party: 1888-1910 , date=1973 , publisher=University of Cape Town , location=Cape Town , url=https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/handle/11427/23575/Ticktin_origins_South_1973_2.pdf , access-date=21 April 2021 By 1908, all the local trade unions representing white workers had affiliated, with the exception of the

Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners (ASC&J) was a New Model Trade Union in the 1860s in the United Kingdom, representing carpenters and joiners. History The formation of the Society was spurred by the Stonemason's strike, 1859, ...

. Like the unions, the new party was strongly anti-Asian and advocated the restriction of suffrage to white voters. However, a section of the party led by Connolly moderated their views following a speaking tour by British socialist

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...

. On other issues, the party adopted broadly socialist views, and it advocated

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. By 1909, the party was in discussions to form a

South African Labour Party The South African Labour Party (), was a South African political party formed in March 1910 in the newly created Union of South Africa following discussions between trade unions, the Transvaal Independent Labour Party, and the Natal Labour P ...

(SALP), to coincide with the anticipated creation of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

. However, decisions over who the party would sponsor to stand in the

1910 South African general election General elections were held in South Africa on 15 September 1910 to elect the 121 members of the House of Assembly (South Africa), House of Assembly. They were the first general election after the Union of South Africa was created on 31 May 19 ...

proved highly controversial. Both the Journeyman Tailors' Society and the

Amalgamated Society of Engineers The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics. History The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and Mi ...

disaffiliated from the party in protest, leaving the Durban Workers' Political Association and the South African Typographical Union as its leading forces. Harry Norrie was suspended from the party, and Connolly decided to distance himself from it. Haggar moved to the

Rand The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...

, and Edwards, Clark and Marshman all moved away from political involvement. The party became part of the new SALP at the start of 1910. While its anti-Asian positions featured in the new party's constitution, following the defections, it lacked strength in Natal.

References

Defunct political parties in South Africa Political parties established in 1906 Political parties disestablished in 1910 Colony of Natal 1906 establishments in South Africa 1910 disestablishments in South Africa