Rise of the Labour Party

• Labour party had only been formed in 1900
• Labour had done modestly well in the pre-war elections, but it was very much inferior to the Liberals before 1918
• 1923 election = Labour gained more votes than the Libs for the first time and in 1924, Ramsey MacDonald became the first Labour PM
• Labour became the largest parliamentary party in May 1929 and MacDonald became PM for the second time
• Reasons for rise:

  • emerged united after war
  • war led to huge growth in trade union membership
• A fake letter written by Zinoviev to the British Communist Party, said Labour had promoted Communism by recognising the Soviet Union
• Zinoviev letter boosted Conservative votes in 1924