Independent Political Labour League

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The Independent Political Labour League (IPLL) was a small New Zealand political party. It was the second organised political party to win a seat in the New Zealand Parliament, and was a forerunner of the modern Labour Party.

The IPLL was the product of a gradual move towards an independent working-class political vehicle. Previously, most workers supported the powerful Liberal Party, which had dominated Parliament since its creation. Eventually, however, the pace of reform began to slow, and calls arose for an independent workers' party. In 1904, the annual conference of Trades and Labour Councils called for the formation of a new organisation — this party would be focused solely on workers, unlike the Liberal Party, but would be committed to change through reform, unlike the revolution-minded Socialist Party. A constitution was drawn up in late 1904, and the first conference was held in early 1905, with John Rigg elected as the first president. At the conference, it was claimed that the new organisation had over a thousand members.

Initially, the IPLL did not perform well. In the 1905 elections, the party stood eight candidates, but none were elected — all but one failed to win enough votes to reclaim their deposits. The party also failed in its attempts to recruit from among the more sympathetic Liberal MPs. In the 1908 elections, however, one IPLL candidate was elected — David McLaren was elected in the seat of Wellington East on the second ballot. This was the first time that any organised political party other than the Liberals had won a seat — the conservative opposition was still disorganised.

The IPLL itself, however, was increasingly failing. Internal disputes, such as whether the party should work with or against the Liberals, created tension, and the party was generally disorganised. In 1910, the remnants of the IPLL were relaunched as a new organisation, known as the Labour Party (not to be confused with the modern party of the same name). Eventually, this Labour Party joined with several independent groups to create the United Labour Party, which then merged with the Socialist Party to form the Social Democratic Party. The Social Democrats, along with various members of the United Labour Party who had rejected the previous merger, eventually formed the basis of the modern Labour Party.