The Transvaal Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a political party in the

Transvaal Colony The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the ...

. The party was established in 1906 as a social democratic organisation, bringing together leading white trade unionists and some socialist activists. It was inspired by the British

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

, from which it copied its constitution. Unlike the British party, it had nationalist sympathies, and the majority of its members held openly racist views, opposing Indian and Chinese immigration in particular. The main exceptions to this were Archie Crawford, Arthur Brittlebank and John Campbell, who argued that the party should admit non-whites. These racist views created difficulties in 1907, when

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. ...

of the British ILP visited the colony as part of a speaking tour, but the party's leaders decided that their support for his socialist views trumped their opposition to his anti-racism speeches. At the 1907 Transvaal general election, the party stood 13 candidates, of whom three were elected: J. Reid, Harry Sampson and Peter Whiteside. Other key leaders included

James Thompson Bain James Thomson "JT" Bain (6 March 1860 – 29 October 1919) was a socialist and syndicalist in colonial South Africa. Early life and career Bain was born into poverty in Dundee, Scotland on 6 March 1860 to Andrew Bain and Eliza Thomson. A ...

, Tom Matthews and J. J. Ware. In 1910, the Transvaal Colony became part of the new

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 ...

, and the ILP became part of a new

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 ...

.{{cite book , last1=Brothers , first1=O. F. , title=The story of the first Transvaal Parliament , date=1907 , publisher=Blinman, Holwill and Islip

References

Political parties in South Africa Political parties established in 1906 Political parties disestablished in 1910 Transvaal Colony 1906 establishments in South Africa 1910 disestablishments in South Africa