The Labour Party is born out of a wish to safeguard trade unions rights in the face of hostile court decisions, rather than a desire to spread socialist revolution.

The first modest steps towards the party's formation are taken in 1900 when members of the Independent Labour Party, socialists and trade unionists meet in London to discuss how to get their own men into Parliament. With the Liberal Party no longer considered reliable allies, they form the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) to send working men to Westminster.

Its electioneering is funded by affiliated unions. With a war chest of just £33 it fights its first general election and returns two MPs to the Commons in 1900 - one of whom was the former miner and Independent Labour Party leader Keir Hardie. The LRC fields 50 candidates in 1906, this time winning a creditable 29 MPs. Buoyed up by its success, the LRC changes its name to the Labour Party and votes Hardie its chairman.