Labour Party (Singapore)

The Labour Party was a political party in Singapore.

History

The party was established on 23 March 1948 by several trade unionists. Its first electoral test was the April 1949 local elections, in which it received 13% of the vote, winning one of the 18 seats. In the next local elections in December the party's vote share increased to 43%, although it only won two of the six seats. The party won one seat in the 1950 elections.

The party contested the 1951 general elections, receiving 30% of the vote and winning two of the nine elected seats. In the local elections later in the year, the party won three seats.

However, the party saw several splits in the early 1950s, leading to the formation of the Labour Front. It won only one seat in the 1952 local elections and none in the 1953 elections. By the 1955 general elections the party had lost both its MPs, and received less than 1% of the vote, failing to win a seat.

The party did not contest the 1959 general elections, and after the Societies Ordinance came into force in 1960, it failed to re-register.

Election results

Legislative elections

Election	Party Leader	Seats available	Seats contested	Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–	Status
1951	Lim Yew Hock	9	7	7,335	29.70	–	2 / 9	–	—
1955	Lee Yong Min	25	1	1,325	0.85	28.85pp	0 / 25	2	Extra-Parliamentary

Municipal elections

Election	Seats available	Seats contested	Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
April 1949	18	5	1,894	12.87	–	1 / 18	–
December 1949	6	6	3,338	42.77	29.90pp	3 / 18	2
1950	6	6	4,793	39.81	2.96pp	3 / 18
1951	6	5	4,436	28.48	11.33pp	6 / 18	3
1952	6	4	5,647	25.12	3.36pp	4 / 18	2
1953	6	1	1,723	8.18	16.94pp	5 / 18	1