Independent Labour Party

Scottish socialist politician Keir Hardie entered the British parliament independently in 1892 as the first Labour member. He co-founded the Independent Labour Party in 1893 but, as an ardent pacifist, withdrew from Labour politics when the majority of his colleagues declared their support for British participation in World War I. He remained an MP until his death in 1915.

British socialist party, founded in Bradford in 1893 by the Scottish politician Keir Hardie. In 1900 it joined with trades unions and Fabians in founding the Labour Representation Committee, the nucleus of the Labour Party. Many members left the ILP to join the Communist Party in 1921, and in 1932 all connections with the Labour Party were severed. After World War II the ILP dwindled, eventually becoming extinct. James Maxton (1885–1946) was its chair 1926–46.