The Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), also known simply as Labour, is a centre-left political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is currently in government in the country after winning six of the eleven contested seats in the 2022 general election. It is the oldest active political party in the English-speaking Caribbean.

History The party was founded in 1932 and was initially known as the St Kitts Workers' League.Robert J Alexander & Eldon M Parker (2004) A History of Organized Labor in the English-speaking West Indies, Greenwood Publishing Group, p131 It put forward two candidates in the 1937 elections, both of which were elected. It subsequently won all the elected seats in 1940, 1943 and 1946.Alexander & Parker, p136

From 1946 until 1978, the party was led by Robert Bradshaw. It saw most of its success on Saint Kitts, as voters on Nevis and Anguilla islands tended to elect independents and local parties.Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p570 Labour was the only party to contest the 1952 elections and won all eight seats.Nohlen, pp576-578 They retained power in the 1957 despite losing three seats to independents. The party was also victorious in 1961 and changed its name to the St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Labour Party in 1966.Alexander & Parker, pp135–136 It went on to win three consecutive elections, in 1966, 1971 and 1975, winning seven seats on each occasion.

When Anguilla seceded in 1980, the party adopted its current name.Nohlen, p569 In the elections that year, the party was reduced to four seats, and although it was the largest faction in the National Assembly, the opposition People's Action Movement was able to form a coalition government. The Labour Party was reduced to two seats in the 1984 elections and remained with only two MPs after the 1989 elections. Although it received the most votes in the 1993 elections and won the same number of seats as the PAM, the PAM remained in power. However, early elections were called in 1995, in which the Labour Party won a majority of seats. They increased their majority in the 2000 elections and retained power in elections in 2004 and 2010.

After Labour suffered defeats in 2015 and 2020, Denzil Douglas decided to step down as party leader in 2021. Party chairman Terrance Drew was elected as his successor in a leadership election held at the party's 2021 national conference. Earl Asim Martin became the new party chairman.

Leadership Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, 1945-1978 Paul Southwell, 1978-1979 Lee Moore, 1979-1989 Denzil Douglas, 1989-2021 Terrance Drew, 2021-

Election results National elections Election year Party leader # ofvotes % ofvote # ofoverall seats won +/– Govt? 1937Thomas Manchestercolspan=2! 2 1940colspan=2! 1 1943 Joseph Matthew Sebastiancolspan=2! 1946Robert Llewellyn Bradshawcolspan=2! 1952 11,016 84.7 (#1) 5 1957 5,270 53.6 (#1) 3 1961 7,808 64.5 (#1) 2 1966 6,249 44.3 (#1) 1971 7,416 50.8 (#1) 1975 7,363 60.2 (#1) 1980Lee Moore 7,355 55.0 (#1) 3 1984 7,463 41.3 (#2) 2 1989 6,642 37.3 (#2) 1993Denzil Douglas 8,405 43.8 (#1) 2 1995 10,662 49.2 (#1) 3 2000 11,762 53.6 (#1) 1 2004 11,426 50.6 (#1) 1 2010 12,227 47.0 (#1) 1 2015 11,897 39.3 (#1) 3 2020 10,355 37.1 (#1) 1 2022Terrance Drew13,43845.8 (#1) 4

Nevis Local Council elections Election year Party leader # ofvotes % ofvote # ofseats won +/– Govt? 1979 Lee Moore 371 12.8% (#2) New

References

External links Official website St Kitts National Young Labour (Defunct)