Has the Labour Party Lost Its Way? Returning to the Founding Principles Amid a Shift to Religious Politics

From Working People to Religious Fault-lines: A Brief History

When the Labour Party was founded in 1900, its genesis lay in the trade unions, socialist societies and co-operative groups committed to giving the working class a real voice in Parliament. Its key commitments were –

• Representation of working people against elite business and land-owning interests.
• Social justice and economic fairness: fair pay, higher living standards, taxation geared to ability, tackling poverty.
• Public ownership: for example Clause IV (1918) committing the Party to “common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange”.
• Workers’ rights and trade unionism.
• Universal democratic participation rather than governance shaped by faith or sectarian identity.

Noticeably, this was a project built on class, democracy and social reform — not on religion or sectarian loyalties.

The Modern Labour Values: Adaptation, Not Abandonment

Over time the Labour Party has, of necessity, adapted: the economy is very different, Britain’s society far more diverse, the global context changed. Its contemporary values include:

• Equality of opportunity and tackling income & wealth inequality.
• Strong public services – especially the NHS – and investment in social care, education and local services.
• Workers’ rights and employment protections (though the nature of work has shifted).
• A mixed economy: private enterprise + public investment + regulation rather than wholesale nationalisation.
• Climate responsibility: decarbonisation and sustainable industry.
• Internationalism: cooperation through global institutions, defence alliances, human rights frameworks.

These remain recognisably social-democratic in approach, and fundamentally secular in structure.

Is Labour Drifting Into Religious or Sectarian Politics?

There is increasing concern that the Party is, in some respects, veering towards religious or sectarian considerations rather than purely class- or values-based politics. Consider the following points:

1. Engagement with Faith-based Communities

Labour (like all modern parties) routinely engages with faith and community organisations. That in itself is not sectarian. But the challenge arises when such engagement becomes identity-politics — where religious affiliation becomes a political marker rather than a matter of individual belief.

2. Faith, Voting Behaviour and Party Identity

Research shows religion and faith communities increasingly influence voting behaviour in the UK. For example, one study of the 2024 General Election highlighted how religion played a role in candidate and party support. While Labour’s formal policies emphasise secular governance and rejection of religiously-based legal systems (for good reason), the lived political interplay is more complex.

3. The Risk of Sectarian Politics

“Sectarian politics” in this context means politics driven by communal faith identity or by catering to specific religious groups at the expense of universal citizenship. While Labour’s formal rules condemn discrimination based on religion and belief. However, the perception that some faith communities may be politically “targeted” or “prioritised” introduces a tension with the inclusive civic model Labour traditionally espoused.

4. The Public Perception Problem

An article in The Guardian labelled the Party’s relationship with faith communities “complicated”. Likewise, the fact that faith and religion are rising up on the electoral agenda means that Labour must navigate carefully so as not to appear as favouring one community over another.

The concern is not that Labour endorses a religious legal system or template. It is that politics increasingly reflects communal markers rather than purely universal ones, and that this risks diverging from the Party’s founding ethos.

Why This Matters

• Loss of moral clarity: Labour’s founding identity was about class, work, fairness, democracy — not faith-based divisions.
• Electoral risk: If the Party is seen as favouring certain faith communities or adopting identity-based politics, it may lose broader appeal.
• Social cohesion: In a plural society, politics that emphasise faith-based cleavages may undermine the common civic project.
• Consistency of values: Universalism matters; one citizen, one vote; one public service for all. If religious identity becomes a political dividing line, this principle is weakened.

How to Return to the Original Principles

1. Reaffirm secular governance
   Publicly emphasise that Labour remains committed to a secular state: one legal system, equal for all citizens regardless of faith or belief.
   
2. Focus on work and class, not faith identity
   Re-emphasise policies that address working-class livelihoods, employment security, living standards and inequality — rather than targeting communities primarily through religious lenses.
   
3. Ensure inclusive community engagement
   Continue to engage faith groups — but ensure that such engagement is civic (concerned with housing, health, education) not sectarian. Faith should not be the primary political identifier.
   
4. Promote universal services and rights
   Emphasise public services available to all, protect freedom of religion and belief, and guard against any policy that privileges one religious community over another.
   
5. Strengthen democratic participation beyond identity politics
   Reinvigorate trade-union links, worker representation, grassroots organising across faith and non-faith lines. Democracy thrives when participation is broad and not segmented solely by religion.
   
6. Global comparison and learning
   Labour should look to its sister social-democratic parties internationally (for example the Social Democratic Party (Germany), the Australian Labor Party, the Labour Party (New Zealand)) which maintain secular, equality-based politics rather than religiously-defined ones.

Conclusion

The Labour Party’s founding purpose remains as relevant today as ever: giving working people a voice, promoting fairness, ensuring a strong public sector, and advancing democratic participation. In an age of heightened religious, ethnic and identity politics, the Party faces a critical choice. It can either double down on universalist, class-and-values-based politics — or drift towards religious and sectarian territory that would undermine its original vision.

By consciously reaffirming its secular commitment, prioritising class-based and universal policies, and ensuring that engagement with faith communities remains inclusive rather than sectarian, Labour can remain true to its roots while meeting the challenges of a changing Britain.