Progressive Social Democrats

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Social Democratic and Co-operative Party

Sȯcydėmscratic nd Samodvẹrc Partẹ
Parti social-démocratique et co-opéthâtique
AbbreviationSDCP
LeaderZoe Halivar
Deputy LeaderNed Tarry
General SecretaryStephen Bradley
Party ChairVara Varun
Chief WhipHelena Sargent
FoundedFebruary 2, 1901 (1901-02-02) (original form)
May 1, 1919 (1919-05-01) (current form)
Merger of
  • ESWI (part)
  • CRP
HeadquartersSDCP HQ, 218 Hall Street, Morwall
NewspaperThe Red Flag
Student wingSocial Democratic Students
Youth wingYoung Social Democrats
Women's wingSDCP Women
LGBT wingLGBT+ Social Democrats
Labour wingCETU
Membership (2019)Increase 489,000
IdeologySocial democracy
Co-operatism
Democratic socialism
Pro-Eucleanism
Political positionCentre-left
International affiliationFSI
Euclean Parliament groupASE
Colours  Red
Chamber of Commons
253 / 600
Chamber of Peers
76 / 300
Euclean Parliament
33 / 114
State legislatures
537 / 1,500
Website
sdcp.org.es

The Social Democratic and Co-operative Party (Swathish: Sȯcydėmscratic nd Samodvẹrc Partẹ, Flurian: Parti social-démocratique et co-opéthâtique), also known by the abbreviation SDCP or as the Social Democrats, is a centre-left political party in Estmere, which currently leads a minority government.

Founded in 1901 as the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International, the party organised alongside the Estmerish trade union movement, sharing close links with the Congress of Estmerish Trade Unions. With Sidney Bell as leader, the party grew to be a political voice of much of the working class. The party eventually however fell to severe infighting, chiefly over the Kirenian Revolution, and over the party's response to the Great Collapse. A split materialised in 1919, when "Red" Ed Barton and the council socialist wing of the party walked out of the annual congress, organising their own in opposition. The remainder of the party under Joseph Halstadder then organised a merger with the municipal socialist Independent Labour Committee and the co-operative Co-operative Representation Party, rebranding under the current name. The left-splitters under Barton kept the name ESWI but were organisationally distinct.

The party supported the war effort during the Great War, and under John Henderson briefly became the leading party in the war-time national government from 1930 to 1932. The party initially struggled to assert itself during the peace negotiations, but after Vincent Holmes took over leadership of the party he quickly positioned it as one of the more stable parties on the political scene. Holmes led the party to victory in 1941, organising the reconstruction effort, nationalising a number of industries and establishing the welfare state, while maintaining Estmere's position as a world power. After a brief lame duck administration under Richard Moore, the party returned to opposition until Fabian Young's close victory in 1953. Young's government was notable for reforming planning laws, but lost the support of the Radical Liberals over this issue, and the party lost the subsequent 1955 election, beginning a twelve-year stint in opposition.

The party failed to return to government under Harold Anderson and John Archer, and provided the official opposition to the SDU governments of the time. The party was subject to fraught infighting throughout this time, between the social democratic Youngites and the democratic socialist Archerites. The party eventually returned to power under the unifying figure Kenneth Lawson in 1967. His first government was notable for expanding social security and a number of liberalising bills. The party dominated government under Lawson, William Prentice and David Armstrong until 1976, when it was brought down by the Twin Bushes scandal and rising discontent in the country. The party returned to opposition in 1976, and provided the official opposition to the SDU until 1981, when the newly-formed Reform Party formed its own government; with the SDU as official opposition, the SDCP were relegated to other opposition.

The SDCP faced a crisis of confidence as Reform overtook it as the primary centre-left party in Estmere. It spent the rest of the 1980s in deep ideological conflict, and did not return to relevance until the party under John Hart acted as a junior coalition partner to the government of Heidi Reid. It pulled its support in 2006 on account of Reid's neoliberal response to the 2005 recession. Starting in the 2010s, the party experienced a revival. Nick Lawrence distanced the party from Reid's government, and began to rebuild the party outside of its heartlands. Under Zoe Halivar, the party achieved its best result in decades in the 2018 snap election, with the party overtaking Reform as second-largest. Over the course of that Parliament, Halivar promoted the party to the country, and following the gambled pensions scandal, the party won power in the 2021 election, with Halivar becoming the first SDCP PM in 45 years.

Alongside the Sotirian Democratic Union and the Reform Party, the SDCP is considered one of Estmere's three major parties. It has provided 6 of the 26 post-war Prime Ministers. The party espouses social democracy and co-operatism, and is generally agreed to have a progressive and socially liberal outlook. Zoe Halivar, considered to be on the soft left of the party, has led the party since 2016, and also serves as Leader of the Opposition. The SDCP is a founding member of Socialist Alternative for Euclea and the International Socialist Forum, and in 2019 had a membership of 489,000.


History

Foundation and party split

Wartime coalition

Holmes government

Opposition

Lawson government

Overtaken by Reform

Long opposition

Return to relevancy

Halivar government

Ideology

Factions

Organisation

Leaders

No. Name
(Born–Died)
Portrait Term in Office Party leadership
elections
1 Sidney Bell
(1861–1942)
George Lansbury.jpg 2 February 1901 11 October 1904 1901
1902
1903
1904a
2 George Staines
(1867–1941)
J.R. Clynes LCCN2014717260 (cropped).jpg 11 October 1904 4 March 1908 1904b
1905
1906
1907
1908
3 George Dimbleby
(1863–1933)
1910 Arthur Henderson.jpg 4 March 1908 4 February 1916 1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
4 Joseph Halstadder
(1859–1936)
Havelock Ellis cph.3b08675.jpg 4 February 1916 25 May 1924 1916
1917
1918
1919
5 Elias Turner
(1881–1963)
Thomas Johnston.png 25 May 1924 6 January 1927 1924
6 John Henderson
(1864–1939)
Lord Snowden.jpg 6 January 1927 3 February 1935 1927
1932
7 Vincent Holmes
(1881–1951)
Ernest Bevin MP.jpg 3 February 1935 5 July 1949 1935
8 Richard Moore
(1888–1965)
Herbert Morrison 1947.jpg 5 July 1949 18 October 1949 1949a
9 Fabian Young
(1911–1986)
Hugh Gaitskell 1958.jpg 18 October 1949 2 February 1959 1949b
1955
10 Harold Anderson
(0000–0000)
Hugh Gaitskell 1958.jpg 2 February 1959 2 February 1964 1959
11 John Archer
(0000–0000)
Hugh Gaitskell 1958.jpg 2 February 1964 25 August 1965 1964
12 Kenneth Lawson
(1917–1998)
Kenneth Lawson.png 25 August 1965 5 October 1972 1965
William Prentice
(1918–1996)
Harold Wilson.jpg 5 October 1972 15 April 1973 Acting
13 David Armstrong
(1915–2013)
Denis Healey.jpg 15 April 1973 6 February 1978 1973

Electoral results