View source for West Indies Federal Labour Party

{{Distinguish||text=the loosely organized and 1926 established St. Lucian West Indian Federal Labour Party}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = West Indies Federal Labour Party
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| colorcode = {{party color|West Indies Federal Labour Party}}
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| leader1_title = Parliamentary leader
| leader1_name = [[Grantley Adams]]
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| founded = June 1956
| dissolved = {{end date|1962|05|31}} 
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| successor = [[COPPPAL]] (''[[de facto]]'')
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| ideology = [[Democratic socialism]]<br>[[Federalism]]<br>[[Commonwealth of Nations|Pro-Commonwealth]]
| position = [[Centre-left politics|Centre-left]]
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| state = West Indies Federation
}}{{labour|sp=wi|expanded=parties}}
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The '''West Indies Federal Labour Party (WIFLP)''' or ''Federalists'' was one of  two main Federal parties in the short-lived [[West Indies Federation]], the other being the [[West Indies Democratic Labour Party|West Indies Democratic Labour Party (DLP)]] or ''Democrats''. The party was the first national party of the planned West Indies Federation. In the [[1958 West Indies federal elections]], the party was victorious, winning  25 of the 45 seats in the [[Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation]].

== History ==
The WIFLP was organised by [[Norman Manley]], [[Grantley Adams]], [[V. C. Bird]], [[Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw]], [[Joseph Nathaniel France]], [[Eric Gairy]], [[Carl La Corbinière]] and [[William Henry Bramble]] in June 1956 as the Federation of Labour Parties of the British Caribbean. However, at its inaugural conference on September 1, 1956, in St. Lucia, its name was changed to the Caribbean Federal Labour Party. Only later on did its name finally change to the West Indies Federal Labour Party (although it was also mistakenly called the West Indian Federal Labour Party or the West Indies Federal Party).

== Membership ==
The party was a confederation of local parties from each of the constituent territories. Generally speaking its constituent parties were the more urban based parties. Member parties were required to pledge active support of trade union movements and public ownership or control where this would best serve the public interest. Member parties were also required to advocate a society offering equal opportunities for all, regardless of race/colour or religion.  Initially there were no Trinidadian parties included and in May 1957, in order to include the Trinidad's non-socialist People's Nation Movement, the constitution of the WIFLP was amended to allow admission of progressive parties and democratic trade unions, whether socialist or not. By the time of the first elections, the WIFLP was a grouping of the ruling parties in each territory except St. Vincent — although in October 1957, both the ruling party of St. Vincent (the [[People's Political Party (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)|People's Political Party]]) and the opposition party (St. Vincent Labour Party) had applied for membership, the latter was ultimately approved and the former joined the [[Democratic Labour Party (West Indies Federation)|Democratic Labour Party]]. Associate membership was open to parties in British Guiana and British Honduras.

=== Affiliated parties (incomplete) ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |[[British West Indies|Island]]
| colspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|West Indies Federal Labour Party}}" |{{White|'''WIFLP Member'''}}
|-
!Name
!abbr.
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Antigua and Barbuda (1956–1962).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Antigua and Barbuda]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Antigua Labour Party]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Antigua Labour Party|ALP]]
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Barbados (1870–1966).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Barbados]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Barbados Labour Party]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Barbados Labour Party|BLP]]
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Dominica (1955–1965).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Dominica]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Dominica Labour Party]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Dominica Labour Party|DLP]]
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Grenada (1903–1967).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Grenada]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Grenada United Labour Party]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Grenada United Labour Party|GULP]]
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Jamaica (1957–1962).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Jamaica]]
* [[File:Flag of the Cayman Islands (pre-1999).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Cayman Islands]]
* [[File:Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands (1889–1968).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Turks and Caicos Islands]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[People's National Party]] 
| bgcolor="pink" |[[People's National Party|PNP]]
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Montserrat (1909–1960).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Montserrat]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Montserrat Trade and Labour Union]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Montserrat Trade and Labour Union|MTLU]]
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (1958-1967).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Saint Kitts Workers' League]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Saint Kitts Workers' League|WL]]
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Saint Lucia (1939–1967).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Saint Lucia]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Saint Lucia Labour Party]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Saint Lucia Labour Party|SLP]]
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1907-1979).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Saint Vincent Labour Party]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[Saint Vincent Labour Party|SVLP]]
|-
| align="left" |[[File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago (1889–1958).svg|border|30x30px]] [[Trinidad and Tobago]]
| bgcolor="pink" |[[People's National Movement]] 
| bgcolor="pink" |[[People's National Movement|PNM]]
|}

== 1958 West Indies federal elections ==
The WIFLP went on to contest and win the [[West Indies federal elections, 1958|Federal elections]] in 1958.  Since neither Manley nor [[Eric Williams]] contested the Federal elections, Sir [[Grantley Adams]] became the [[Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation|Prime Minister]].  The [[Parliamentary Opposition|Opposition]] party was the [[Democratic Labour Party (West Indies Federation)|Democratic Labour Party]].

At its inaugural conference in St. Lucia, a constitution for the party was drafted providing for a biennial conference and an elected executive council which would act between meetings. This council was to convene at least once a year and was composed of party officers and seven others elected at the biennial conference.

After the successful election, the party suffered from the awkward situation of the two most influential leaders (Manley and Williams) absent from the federal government, and holding a minority of seats from their respective territories [[Jamaica]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]].

=== Manifesto ===
The WIFLP's political manifesto (which formed its election platform) advocated a democratic socialist society, maintenance of close contacts with countries with which the islands had strong cultural and economic links, encouragement of agriculture and tourism, establishment of a central bank to expand credit resources throughout the area, dominion status within five years, full internal self-government in all the unit territories, encouragement of British Guiana, British Honduras and the Bahamas to join the union and an international project for technical and financial aid to the Caribbean.

== Dissolution ==
When Sir [[Alexander Bustamante]] won a referendum in [[Jamaica]] to leave the Federation, [[Eric Williams]] decided that the remaining burden was too great for [[Trinidad and Tobago]] to bear alone.  Once Trinidad and Tobago declared its intention to leave the Federation, the British government dissolved the West Indies Federation.

== References ==
* Meighoo, Kirk. 2003. ''Politics in a Half Made Society: Trinidad and Tobago, 1925-2002'' {{ISBN|1-55876-306-6}}
* Wallace, Elisabeth. 1977. ''The British Caribbean: From the decline of colonialism to the end of Federation '' University of Toronto Press. {{ISBN|0-8020-5351-3}}
{{Barbados Labour Party}}{{People's National Party}}{{People's National Movement}}

[[Category:Labour parties]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1956]]
[[Category:Political parties in the Caribbean]]
[[Category:Politics of the Caribbean]]
[[Category:Socialist parties in North America]]
[[Category:West Indies Federation]]
[[Category:International socialist organizations]]