Actual problems and electoral prospects of Labour parties in Western countries

The first half of the XX century was marked by the rapid development of the Labour parties, not only in Europe but all over the world. Established by trade unions to ensure representation of the interests of employees in legislative bodies, they have become key political institutions in a number of Western countries. However, in recent years the global trend towards weakening the level of electoral support for the Labour parties can be noticed. So, since 2010 they have not been able to win the majority of seats in the House of Commons of Great Britain. In Australia, the Labour Party has been in opposition since 2013, and in New Zealand - since 2008. In 2017 Netherland's parliamentary elections ended with a devastating defeat of the Labour Party. In Norway, a similar party lost the parliamentary majority in 2013. The sustainability of this trend allows to suggest the hypothesis about the global crisis of Labour parties, which is likely to continue in the near future. The article is an attempt to find the causes of the above-mentioned crisis. According to the authors, the first reason is the evolution of the Western model of material production. The decline of employment in the industrial sector, the reduction of the number of working class members, as well as the harmonization of labor-capital relations cause the situation, when voters don't need parties which represent labor's interests any more. The second reason is connected with the weakening of the western trade unions, which have always been the main sources of financial support and the most important strategic partners for Labour parties. The third problem is the discrepancy between the Left Labour ideology and the modern challenges facing Western civilization. In particular, the Labour party took quite a soft position on the immigration crisis and the terrorist threat hanging over many European countries. In addition, modern programs and slogans of Labour, always distinguished by a certain degree of populism, can no longer find the same response from the pragmatical Western voters. Finally, the fourth factor of weakening of the electoral support of Labour parties can be the lack of charismatic political leaders ready to take the lead of the labor movement at the world and national levels. The authors of the article believe that at the moment there are no strong reasons to believe that the problem of low political support of Labour parties will be overcome.

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