Labour Party

Former Labour Party leader Michael Foot. Born in 1913, Foot was Labour leader from 1980 to 1983. A life-long socialist, Foot was always on the left of the Labour Party, and was also associated throughout his life with the cause of nuclear disarmament.

A photograph of British politician Barbara Castle. Born in 1911 and educated at Oxford University, Castle became a Labour Party MP in 1945 and was a government minister by 1964. A socialist firebrand, Castle must rank with Margaret Thatcher as one of the most important female politicians in the history of Parliament.

Scottish Labour politician, prime minister and leader of the Labour Party from 2007. Born in 1951 and educated at Edinburgh University, Gordon Brown became chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony Blair's New Labour government, which came to power after the 1997 election. A champion of market economics, Brown was central to New Labour's election successes.

Born in Sheffield in 1947, English Labour politician David Blunkett was educated at Sheffield University. He first became a member of Parliament in 1987, and almost immediately became Opposition Spokesman on the Environment (Local Government). A leading figure in Tony Blair's New Labour, Blunkett became Home Secretary in the post-election Cabinet reshuffle of 2001.

British Labour politician Tony Blair, prime minister 1997–2007. Blair was born in 1953 and educated at St John's College, Oxford, where he studied law. Blair practised as a lawyer before becoming a member of Parliament in 1983, and he shares his legal background with his wife Cherie Booth, a leading barrister. One of the architects of New Labour, Blair led Labour to landslide election victories in 1997 and 2001.

Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock. Born in South Wales in 1942 and educated at Cardiff University, Kinnock was leader of the Labour Party from 1983 until 1992. He reformed the Labour Party, preparing the way for Tony Blair's New Labour government of 1997.

Former British Labour Party leader James Callaghan first entered Parliament in 1945, and was swiftly appointed Minister for Transport. It was not until late in his career, in 1976, that he became leader of the Labour Party, and he stepped down from this position only four years later.

UK political party based on socialist principles, originally formed to represent workers. It was founded in 1900 and first held office in 1924. The first majority Labour government 1945–51 introduced nationalization and the National Health Service, and expanded social security. Labour was again in power 1964–70, 1974–79, and from 1997 (winning the 2001 and 2005 general elections). The party leader (Gordon Brown from 2007) is elected by an electoral college, with a weighted representation of the Parliamentary Labour Party (30%), constituency parties (30%), and trade unions (40%).