‘Labour’s 125th birthday: What would Keir Hardie think of today’s party?’

On this day in 1900, 129 delegates from trade unions and left-wing organisations gathered in London.

They unanimously agreed on a motion by Keir Hardie to establish ‘a distinct Labour group in Parliament’. This meeting also created an association called the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), which in 1906 changed its name to ‘The Labour Party’, with Keir Hardie as its first Leader.

For Keir Hardie, this was a journey from working down the pit at age ten to becoming a miners’ union leader who realised that the working class needed its own political party, separate from the Liberals who failed them. In 1888, he helped found the Scottish Labour Party and became the MP for West Ham South in 1892.

Origins of the Labour Party

In 1893, Hardie and others formed the Independent Labour Party (ILP), one of the organisations that created the Labour Party.

The Keir Hardie Society aims to keep alive the ideas and promote the life and work of Keir Hardie. When we mark anniversaries like today, you can guarantee a string of social media posts saying that Keir Hardie would be ‘Birling (or turning) in his grave’ at the state of the modern Labour Party.

I then have to point out that Hardie won’t be doing anything in a grave because he was cremated!

However, we can consider what Hardie might have to say about today’s issues while being cautious about applying the views of historical figures to the present. Hardie lived in a different world, although he would likely have recognised more problems than we might assume.

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Some nationalists mistakenly view Hardie’s support for Home Rule as evidence of his inclination toward independence.

He would have embraced devolution for Scotland while encouraging Labour to push further. Hardie was also a strong advocate for local government and would likely be appalled by the centralisation that has drained powers from councils to Holyrood.

He would not recognise the 32 Scottish councils as genuinely local, especially considering that there were hundreds of authentic local councils in his time. He published The Local Authorities Enabling Act, which aimed to provide councils with significant economic powers alongside his advocacy for municipal socialism.

He would certainly recognise the return of landlordism, with its associated insecurity, rent increases, and mouldy, damp homes. However, the modern Labour Party might be less comfortable with his support for the temperance movement, a point I always make when speaking at Keir Hardie dinners.

Vision of ‘a political party for the working class’

Hardie challenged colonialism during his visits to India and South Africa. During his trips to the USA, he also forged strong connections with union leaders like Eugene Debs. He would find common ground today in their campaigns against the billionaire oligarchy running rampant under Trump.

While he identified as a Christian socialist, he dismissed the hypocrisy of the established church. He would be equally critical of the hypocrisy exhibited by right-wing so-called Christians in the USA today. Similarly, in Russia.

He became great friends with Russian dissidents of his day living in London after fleeing the Tsarist autocracy. He would recognise Putin for what he is – the reincarnation of Imperial Russia, not the Soviet Union.

Hardie’s vision was to create a political party for the working class. While his writings remain relevant today, he was primarily an agitator. He toured the country, building Labour’s organisation within communities, something we need to do more today.

He also fought in Parliament for socialism and would have been astonished and delighted to see a Labour Government with such a majority at Westminster. He would have also challenged us to be bolder in the cause of socialism.

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