Labour Party (Arkiasis)

Labour Party
Labour Party Logo
Leader	Mehgan Turner
Founded	22 March, 1900
Headquarters	921 Constitution Ave, 01AFS932 Leighton
Student wing	Labour Students
Youth wing	Young Labour
Women's Wing	Association of Labour Women
Membership (2014)	501,723
Ideology	Social Democracy
Political position	Centre-left
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance Socialist International Alliance of Esquarian Socialists
Esquarian Parliament	Social Democrats
Colours	Red
House of Representatives	133 / 650
Senate	58 / 200
Provincial Councils	430 / 1,828
Esquarian Parliament	9 / 42
Election symbol
LP
Website
http://www.labour.org.ak

The Labour Party is a centre-left social-democratic political party in Arkiasis.

It is the second-largest party in the Arkiasian Parliament and the current leader of the opposition. Generally seen as the most successful and influential party in Arkiasian history, the Labour Party has exerted a profound influence on Arkiasian society, laying the foundation of the Arkiasian welfare state.

Ideology

The Labour Party strives for greater social equality whilst maintaining individual liberty through an extensive welfare state and a mixed economy with measures of government regulation in an attempt to establish fair competition, low inflation, low levels of unemployment, a standard of working conditions, and social welfare.

Political Impact and History

Many scholars attribute the Labour Party to be most the influential party in Arkiasis' history, holding power for 52 years in the 20th century. The party gained significant support during the Great Depression and its policies of relief (government jobs for the unemployed), recovery (economic growth), and reform (through regulation of the Stock Market, banks and transportation) are credited with helping bring Arkiasis out of the Great Depression.

Among the party's other signature policies and legislative accomplishments include women's suffrage, universal healthcare, Social Security, universal primary, secondary and tertiary education, demilitarization, the first female Head of Government, and social liberal policies including same-sex marriage and euthanasia.

From the end of the 1970s however, the party started to lose voters to the right, leading to a turn to the right for the party during the 1980s. Since the 1980s, the party has included more of the principles of a social market economy in its policy, allowing for privatisation of government-held assets and services and reducing income tax progressivity, following the wave of economic liberalisation in the 1980s.

In 2010 the party achieved its worst electoral results since 1926, forcing it to commit to a co-operation agreement with other parties in order to form a majority government. The party further lost support in the 2014 federal election and become the opposition party.

In 2014 and 2015 several Labour MP's from Vesperia have left the party and joined the Vesperian people's Party citing dissatisfaction of Vesperian voters towards the Labour Party.

House of Representative

Election	Seats	+/–	Government
2014	133 / 650	21	in opposition
2010	154 / 650	8	in government
2006	162 / 615	11	in government
2002	173 / 615	19	in government
1998	192 / 580	28	in government
1994	164 / 580	8	in government
1990	156 / 580	3	in opposition
1986	159 / 545	18	in opposition
1982	141 / 545	15	in opposition
1978	156 / 510	21	in opposition
1974	177 / 510	15	in government
1970	192 / 510	192	in government
1929	132 / 556	4	in opposition
1926	128 / 546	16	in opposition
1923	112 / 537	5	in opposition
1920	107 / 518	14	in government
1917	93 / 511	21	in opposition
1911	72 / 455	27	in opposition
1908	45 / 449	6	in opposition
1905	39 / 445	4	in opposition
1902	35 / 442	35	in opposition