Unity Labour Party
Unity Labour Party | |
|---|---|
| File:Unity Labour Party Official Logo.png | |
| Leader | Ralph Gonsalves |
| Founded | 16 October 1994 |
| Merger of | Saint Vincent Labour Party Movement for National Unity |
| Ideology | Democratic socialism[1] Left-wing nationalism Anti-imperialism[2] Republicanism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Regional affiliation | COPPPAL (observer)[3] São Paulo Forum (affiliate) |
| International affiliation | Socialist International (1994–2014)[4] |
| Seats in the House of Assembly | 1 / 15 |
| Website | |
| https://voteulp.com/ | |
The Unity Labour Party (ULP) is a democratic socialist political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It was the ruling party from 2001 to 2025 under the premiership of Ralph Gonsalves.[5]
The party is an observer of COPPPAL and an affiliate of Foro de São Paulo. From 1994 to 2014, the party was a member of Socialist International.[6]
History
[edit | edit source]The party was formed in 1994 from the merger of the Saint Vincent Labour Party and the Movement for National Unity.[5] The parties had run as an alliance in the elections earlier that year, promising voters that they would merge after the election regardless of the result.[5] In the 1998 elections they received 54.6% of the vote, but the New Democratic Party won a majority of seats. The first leader of ULP, Sir Vincent Beache, resigned after the elections, and was succeeded by Ralph Gonsalves. However, in the 2001 general election the ULP won its first parliamentary majority, winning twelve of the fifteen seats.[7] The party won another majority in the 2005 general election.[8] The party was narrowly re-elected in the 2010 general election, winning 8 out of 15 elected seats in the House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the same taking place in the 2015 general elections and was re-elected in the 2020 general election, this time winning 9 out of 15 seats but lost the popular vote to the New Democratic Party.[9]
In November 2020, Prime Minister Gonsalves made history by securing the fifth consecutive victory of his ULP in the general election.[10] In the 2025 Vincentian general election, the party was defeated by Godwin Friday's NDP, with Gonsalves retaining the only winning seat of the ULP.[11]
Electoral history
[edit | edit source]House of Assembly elections
[edit | edit source]| Election | Party leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Vincent Beache[12] | 28,025 | 54.60% | 7 / 15
|
 4
|
 2nd
|
Opposition |
| 2001 | Ralph Gonsalves | 32,925 | 56.49% | 12 / 15
|
5
|
1st
|
Supermajority government |
| 2005 | 31,848 | 55.26% | 12 / 15
|
|
1st
|
Supermajority government | |
| 2010 | 32,099 | 51.11% | 8 / 15
|
 4
|
1st
|
Majority government | |
| 2015 | 34,246 | 52.28% | 8 / 15
|
|
1st
|
Majority government | |
| 2020 | 32,419 | 49.59% | 9 / 15
|
1
|
1st
|
Majority government | |
| 2025 | 27,148 | 42.27% | 1 / 15
|
8
|
2nd
|
Opposition |
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Gonsalves, Ralph E. The Political Economy of the Labour Movement in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Kingstown: Strategy Forum, Inc. (2019), p.25
- ^ COPPPAL – Countries and Member Parties Archived 2016-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Unity Labour Party Archived 28 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ General Election Results - 28 March 2001 Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ General Election Results - 7 December 2005 Archived 24 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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| Current parties | |
|---|---|
| Defunct parties | |
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- Labour parties
- Former member parties of the Socialist International
- Political parties in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Political parties established in 1994
- Republicanism in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Republican parties
- Socialist parties in North America
- 1994 establishments in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines