Wales Labour Party
Leader	Tony Blair (National Assembly Labour Party Leader: Rhodri Morgan)
Founded	1947
Headquarters	Transport House 1 Cathedral Road Cardiff, CF11 9HA
Political Ideology	Democratic socialism (Charter)
Political Position	Centre-Left
International Affiliation	Socialist International
European Affiliation	Party of European Socialists
European Parliament Group	{{{europarl}}}
Colours	Red
Website	www.welshlabour.org.uk
See also	Politics of the U.K. Political parties Elections Image File history File links Welsh_labour. ... Anthony Charles Lynton Blair PC, MP (born 6 May 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the UK Civil Service, Leader of the UK Labour Party, and Member of the UK Parliament for the constituency of Sedgefield in North East... Rhodri Morgan, pictured while on an eve of poll visit during the National Assembly of Wales election in 2003. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Cardiff (Welsh: ) is the capital of Wales and its largest city. ... Democratic socialism is a broad political movement propagating the ideals of socialism within the context of a democratic system. ... In politics, the term centre-left is commonly used to describe and denote political parties or organisations that stretch from the centre to the left or are moderately left-wing, as opposed to extreme left wing beliefs such as communism. ... The official symbol of Socialist International The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of social democratic, labor, and democratic socialist political parties. ... The Party of European Socialists (PES) (French: Parti socialiste européen (PSE); German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Europas (SPE); Spanish: Partido socialista europeo (PSE); Italian: Partito socialista europeo (PSE)) is a European political party whose members are 30 social democratic, socialist and labour parties of the European Union member states as well... Red is any of a number of similar colors at the lowest frequencies of light discernible by the human eye. ... Politics of the United Kingdom take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic monarchy, in which the Prime Minister is the head of government. ... Political parties in the United Kingdom lists political parties in the United Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom has five distinct types of elections: general, local, regional, European and mayoral. ...

The Wales Labour Party, also known as Welsh Labour, is the part of the Labour Party which operates in Wales. It is the largest and most successful political party in modern Welsh politics, having won the largest share of the vote in at every UK General Election, Welsh Assembly election and European Parliament election since 1922.^[1] The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the main left-wing political party of the United Kingdom. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales for ever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779 km² (3rd... A general election is an election in which all members of a given political body are up for election. ... The National Assembly for Wales (or NAW) (Welsh: Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) was established in 1998, following a 1997 referendum in which a small majority of voters (but not the electorate) voted in favour of the Labour Governments plans for devolution. ... The European Parliament building in Strasbourg The inside of the building The European Parliament (formerly European Parliamentary Assembly) is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The Wales Labour Party has 2 of 4 Welsh seats in the European Parliament, 29 of 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, 29 of 60 seats in the National Assembly for Wales (where it is the party of government), and control of 8 of 22 Welsh local authorities. The European Parliament building in Strasbourg The inside of the building The European Parliament (formerly European Parliamentary Assembly) is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... The National Assembly for Wales (or NAfW) (Welsh: ) is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales, and is also responsible for most UK government departments in Wales. ... For local government purposes, Wales is divided into 22 unitary authorities. ...

Structure

The Wales Labour Party is a unit of the Labour Party. Nevertheless, it has autonomy in policy formulation to those areas now devolved to the Welsh Assembly, as well as candidate selection. Party objectives are set by the Welsh Executive Committee (WEC), which performs a similar function to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee (NEC) in respect of devolved responsibilities. The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the main left-wing political party of the United Kingdom. ... The National Assembly for Wales (or NAW) (Welsh: Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) was established in 1998, following a 1997 referendum in which a small majority of voters (but not the electorate) voted in favour of the Labour Governments plans for devolution. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the main left-wing political party of the United Kingdom. ...

The Welsh Executive Committee is made up of representatives from each section of the party - government, MPs, AMs, MEPs, councillors, trade unions and Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs - the basic unit of organisation throughout the Labour Party). A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... The National Assembly for Wales is composed of 60 members known as AMs or assembly members (in Welsh: ACau or Aelodaur Cynulliad). ... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP)[1] is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ... A Constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. ... The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the main left-wing political party of the United Kingdom. ...

The party's headquarters in Cardiff organise the party's election campaigns at all levels of government (Community Councils, Unitary Authorities, Welsh Assembly, Westminster and European Parliament), support the CLPs and branches in membership matter and perform secretarial functions to the National Assembly Labour Party (NALP) and the party's policy making process. They also organise the annual conference, the sovereign decision making body of the party.

Policy Differences

Wales Labour Party has made a number of widely different policies from that of "New Labour" and has been said to have "clear red water" between the National Assembly and Westminster. This has widely been the case with Welsh Labour's oppisition to Foundation Hospitals, the introduction of free school breakfasts, free access to swimming pools for children during school holidays and Wales having the cheapest prescription drugs in the UK, with them going to be free by 2007, as well as different policies in both health and education. However Welsh Labour's "clear red water" was somewhat limited by the lack of powers in the National Assembly. Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ... Foundation Hospitals are a scheme created by the Labour Party and Prime Minister Tony Blair to improve the provision of healthcare in the UK. The program is designed to designate the best hospitals as Foundation Hospitals and grant them greater feedom, particularly with regard to their budgets. ...

References

1. ^ Jones, B, Welsh Elections 1885 - 1997 (1999), Lolfa. See also UK 2001 General Election results by region, UK 2005 General Election results by region, 1999 Welsh Assembly election results, 2003 Welsh Assembly election results and 2004 European Parliament election results in Wales (BBC)