Workers' Party (Singapore)

Workers' Party
Malay nameParti Pekerja
Chinese name工人党
Gōngrén Dǎng
Tamil nameபாட்டாளிக் கட்சி
Pāṭṭāḷik Kaṭci
AbbreviationWP
ChairpersonSylvia Lim
Secretary-GeneralPritam Singh
Vice-ChairmanFaisal Manap
FounderDavid Marshall
Founded3 November 1957; 67 years ago (1957-11-03)
Preceded byLabour Front
Headquarters701 Geylang Rd
#04-02
Singapore 389687
Youth wingWorkers' Party Youth Wing
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left
Colours  Light Blue
  Red
  Yellow
SloganMake Your Vote Count
Parliament
8 / 103
Website
wp.sg
Part of a series on
Organised labour
Labour movement
Labour rights
Trade unions
Strike action
Labour parties
Academic disciplines

The Workers' Party (abbreviation: WP) is a major social democratic political party in Singapore and one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the governing People's Action Party (PAP) and the other opposition Progress Singapore Party (PSP). The WP sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is currently the largest and oldest opposition party in Parliament, having contested every parliamentary election since 1959 against the dominant PAP.[3] Since the 1991 general election, the WP has been the only political party, other than the PAP, with elected Members of Parliament (MPs).

The WP was founded in 1965 by David Marshall, having previously led the more left-wing Labour Front (LF) to victory in 1955, forming a minority government and becoming the first Chief Minister of Singapore. After the British initially rejected his proposal for home rule, he resigned as leader of the LF and from his seat in 1957. After creating the WP, Marshall returned as its first representative in the Legislative Assembly as a Member for Anson in 1961, before resigning in 1963 after disagreements with some members of the party.[4] The party would thereafter decline in prominence during the 1960s and 1970s before its re-emergence in 1981, when party leader J. B. Jeyaretnam became the first opposition MP to be elected since Singapore's independence, having defeated the PAP's candidate at a by-election in Anson. Jeyaretnam was re-elected in 1984, but subsequently lost his seat in 1986 following a conviction for falsely accounting the party's funds, a conviction which he claimed was politically motivated. Former members of the WP also include former Law Society President Francis Seow as well as socialist activist Lee Siew Choh.[5]

Since 1991, the party's safe seat has been the constituency of Hougang, which was represented by Low Thia Khiang for two decades. The popularity of the party in Hougang has been attributed to the area's Teochew heritage and Low's personal affability.[6] Low moved to the constituency of Aljunied in 2011, where he led the first team from an opposition party to win a group representation constituency (GRC).[7] In 2020, the WP become the first opposition party to win multiple GRCs in a single general election. Positioning itself as a "check and balance" in Parliament, it supports a progressive approach to civic nationalism, reducing the voting age from 21 to 18, establishing a universal minimum wage, and providing more flexibility in regard to the Central Provident Fund.[8] In recent years, members of the WP have worn light blue uniforms during political campaigns to represent the party's support for blue-collar workers.

  1. ^ Diane K. Mauzy; R.S. Milne (2002). Singapore Politics Under the People's Action Party. Routledge. p. 147. ISBN 0-415-24653-9.
  2. ^ "Our Constitution — The Workers' Party". Workers' Party of Singapore. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Singapore GE2020: The Workers' Party team that won Sengkang GRC". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Country studies: Singapore: Road to Independence". U.S. Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Francis Seow of the Workers' Party almost beat the PAP in the battle for Eunos". mothership.sg. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  6. ^ Tan, Audrey (9 July 2020). "WP's Low Thia Khiang delivers trademark Teochew speech in video". The New Paper. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  7. ^ "The Big Read: After the high of GE2011, a reality check for the Workers' Party". TODAYonline. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Make Your Vote Count; Our Manifesto". Workers' Party (Singapore). 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.