Labour Party (Imagua)

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Labour Party of Imagua and the Assimas Partito laburista di Imagua
Founded	1903
Dissolved	1948
Merged into	Democratic Labour Party
Headquarters	Cuanstad, Imagua and the Assimas
Student wing	Labourers of the Intelligentsia
Youth wing	Young Labourers
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
Colors	Crimson
Anthem	The Red Flag
Political parties Elections

The Labour Party (Vespasian: Partito laburista) was a political party in Imagua and the Assimas that existed from 1903 until its merger with the anti-UP faction in the Democratic Party in 1948 to create the modern Democratic Labour Party. Originating as the section of the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International in 1903, following the split between the communists and social democrats in 1919, it became known as the Socialist Party, in conjunction with the "mother party." These formal ties would be maintained until 1937, when Imagua became independent within the Estmerish Empire, and thereafter, the Labour Party would be a separate organisation.

During its existence, the Labour Party participated as the junior partner in a coalition with the Suthmeerites under Chief Minister Peter Hansson from 1917 to 1920 (as the Imaguan Subsection of the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International), but it never formed government.

History

Shortly after the founder of the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International in 1901, trade unionists, such as Clayton Keating sought to establish a "party of the working class." Due to the Colony of Imagua's subservient status to Estmere, Keating felt that "it was only natural for us to associate ourselves" with the Estmerish labour movement.

Thus, in 1903, Keating officially established the Imaguan Subsection of the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International. From the start, Keating sought to prioritise his initial campaign on "workers' seats." However, Keating faced substantial challenges as voting was restricted to men over 21 who owned property. This effectively meant that the party was unable to get elected in 1904, despite focusing their efforts on the wards within Cuanstad.

The Imaguan Subsection of the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International would only enter the Imaguan Parliament in the 1908 elections, securing two rural seats. From the start, the Imaguan Subsection campaigned on the right for "all men to vote" and to introduce labour laws "for both the workers and sharecroppers."

Over the next several elections, the Imaguan Subsection of the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International grew until by 1917, it held the balance of power in the Chamber of Commons. It negotiated a coalition with the Suthmeerite faction, since as the speaker traditionally came from the governing party, there would have been deadlock. This led to Clayton Keating serving as Deputy Chief Minister until 1918, when he was succeded by Nelson Egnell as party leader.

When the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International split in 1919, with the council socialists leaving the party, a similar split occurred as Ethel Cropper and other council socialists left the party. After Joseph Halstadder merged the party with the Estmerish Independent Labour Committee and Co-operative Representation Party, the Imaguan Subsection of the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International became the Imaguan Socialist Party.

It was the Imaguan Socialist Party who would benefit from Hansson lowering property requirements, when after his death in 1920, a snap general election were called, which saw the Imaguan Socialist Party form a majority government for the first time. Under Nelson Egnell's leadership, labour laws were instituted, initially targeted at farmers and manual labourers, as well as abolishing all property qualifications to vote by 1923. This enabled Egnell to be re-elected in 1924, where during his term, he invested in infrastructure and in housing.

However, the Great War and Imagua's occupation by Gaullica through most of the war dampened many people's support of the Imaguan Socialist Party. While after Imagua's liberation in 1934, Egnell invested in reconstruction efforts, by 1936, the Imaguan Socialist Party were reduced to third-party status, as it lost fifteen of its twenty-two seats. Egnell resigned and was succeeded by Martin Trevarthen.

After Imagua became "independent within the empire" in 1937, the Imaguan Socialist Party renamed itself to the Labour Party, which in its first election after renaming in 1940, it fell to four seats. Trevarthen resigned and was succeeded by Wilbur Smith, who in 1944 slightly improved the party's fortunes.

By this point, the Liberals Party and the Labour Party began rallying to form a "common front" against the Sotirian Democratic Party, who in 1944 had governed for 33 of the 52 years since Imaguan was granted self-government in 1892. However, the top leadership supported the United Provinces, leading to the Liberals becoming the Democratic Party in 1945. However, many party members began to advocate for a merger, and in 1946, the Democrats split into two factions, with one faction opposed to the UP and supporting a common front negotiating with the DLP to form a single party. In late 1947, the two parties formally agreed to merge, with the merger taking effect in 1948. Unlike the Democratic Party, where a faction led by Abraham Halfacre continued the party, the Labour Party was "absorbed into the Democratic Labour Party wholeheartedly."

Election results

Election	Leader	Candidates	Seats	+/-	Votes	%	Position
1904	Clayton Keating	18/37	0 / 37		4,641	6.90%	Extra-parliamentary opposition
1908		21/37	0 / 37		6,391	9.10%	Third party
1909		22/37	0 / 37		3,955	4.45%	Third party
1913		24/38	1 / 38	1	10,988	11.30%	Third party
1917		26/38	3 / 38	2	19,567	15.98%	Suthmeerite-Labour coalition
1920	Nelson Egnell	33/38	9 / 38	6	105,155	43.20%	Official Oppositon
1924		37/39	10 / 39	1	106,825	36.52%	Official Opposition
1936		39/39	7 / 39	3	72,214	22.72%	Third party
1940	Martin Trevarthen	39/39	5 / 39	3	75,663	22.70%	Official Opposition
1944	Wilbur Smith	39/39	5 / 39		95,515	31.20%	Official Opposition