The Saint Helena Labour Party was a political party on the island of Saint Helena (a British crown colony). The party was founded in 1974.Aldrich, Robert, and John Connell. The Last Colonies. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. p. 138 Despite having a similar name to that of many left-wing parties across the world, the party advocated private enterprise as opposed to dependence on British economic aid and a supposedly government-dominated economy. It supported closer links with South Africa.Nohlen, Dieter, and Franz Nuscheler. Handbuch der Dritten Welt 5, Ostafrika und Südafrika, Bonn: J.H.W. Dietz Nachf, 1993. p. 527
The founding of the party had been preceded by a controversy regarding the purchase of the Solomon & Co. enterprise (a local trading company) by the South African concern South Atlantic Trade and Investment Company (SATIC).St Helena, Hansard, Volume 826: debated on Tuesday 16 November 1971 The British government had taken over the SATIC operations in Saint Helena, fearing South African dominance over the local economy. The founder of the party was G. A. D. 'Tony' Thornton, a businessman of dual South African and British nationality.Africa Confidential, Volume 16, Miramoor Publications Limited, 1975, pages 9-10The Europa Year Book 1984: A World Survey. London: Europa Publications, 1984. p. 1264 Thornton served as the general secretary of the party. The Saint Helena Labour Party was the first opposition party on the island.The Islander, Thursday 21 December 2000
In November 1975 the party published a document, authored by Thornton, titled 'The St. Helena Manifesto'. The 34-page document criticised the policies of British authorities and accused the government of Saint Helena of neglecting the interests of the island.Cohen, Robin. African Islands and Enclaves, Beverly Hills, Calif. [usw.]: Sage Publ, 1983. pp. 127–128The St. Helena Independent. The St Helena Manifesto, 1975 The manifesto charged that the 1974–1979 development plan was a blueprint for underdevelopment and depopulation of the island.Small Island Economies, Robin Cohen, University of Manchester, Department of Administrative Studies, 1983, page 9 The party argued against public health care and education, and called for developing local industries and exports.Day, Alan J., and Henry W. Degenhardt. Political Parties of the World: A Kessing's Reference Publication. Harlow: Longman, 1980. p. 360 Thornton's positions were met with criticism from the Saint Helena government, discarding the economic policies of the Saint Helena Labour Party as unrealistic.
In December 1975 the British governor Sir Thomas Oates decided to deport Thornton from Saint Helena. The expulsion caused an uproar amongst the inhabitants of the island. The political life of Saint Helena was divided into pro- and anti-Thornton camps, with demonstrations, petitions, public meetings and court cases.
After his expulsion, Thornton continued to try to rally support for the Saint Helena Labour Party. The party contested the 1976 election to the Legislative Council of Saint Helena, but failed to win any seats. The party appears to have become defunct in the same year, at a similar point in time as its pro-British adversary the Saint Helena Progressive Party.The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 1986, page 210
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