Labourhome
Encyclopedia
Labourhome is a popular political blog
specializing in British
politics started by Alex Hilton and Jag Singh. Launched in 2006 with the tagline, "Back to the roots," the site targets supporters of the British
Labour Party
.
Labourhome is not a standard forum-based website, but rather a collaborative blog
, which allows registered members to contribute articles to the site.
The site garnered attention early in its history, when Hazel Blears
posted an entry on the site. In 2008 former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott
started writing on the site.
In 2009 the site became embroiled in a libel legal case, which finally came to an end in the Court of Appeal
in March 2011 with the libel case failing.
resigned as Leader of the Labour Party.
In July 2008 New Statesman
publisher Mike Danson invested in the site.
In September 2008 a Labourhome user survey was used as the basis of a The Independent
front page article claiming that Labour activists wanted Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
to stand down, leading to some criticism of Labourhome from within the Labour Party.
In May 2009 the website switched from using bespoke blogging software to WordPress
, with a significant change in appearance. The site was further revamped in March 2010 in preparation for the general election, and updated to use the Hashcash anti-spam plugin.
The site became inactive for a while after the 2010 general election, and resumed activity in August 2011.
Political blog
A political blog is a common type of blog that comments on politics. In liberal democracies the right to criticize the government without interference is considered an important element of free speech...
specializing in British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politics started by Alex Hilton and Jag Singh. Launched in 2006 with the tagline, "Back to the roots," the site targets supporters of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Labourhome is not a standard forum-based website, but rather a collaborative blog
Collaborative blog
A collaborative blog is a type of weblog in which posts are written and published by more than one author. The majority of high profile collaborative blogs are based around a single uniting theme, such as politics or technology....
, which allows registered members to contribute articles to the site.
The site garnered attention early in its history, when Hazel Blears
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...
posted an entry on the site. In 2008 former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
started writing on the site.
In 2009 the site became embroiled in a libel legal case, which finally came to an end in the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
in March 2011 with the libel case failing.
History
The site was re-launched on May 10, 2007, the day British Prime Minister Tony BlairTony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
resigned as Leader of the Labour Party.
In July 2008 New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
publisher Mike Danson invested in the site.
In September 2008 a Labourhome user survey was used as the basis of a The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
front page article claiming that Labour activists wanted Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
to stand down, leading to some criticism of Labourhome from within the Labour Party.
In May 2009 the website switched from using bespoke blogging software to WordPress
WordPress
WordPress is a free and open source blogging tool and publishing platform powered by PHP and MySQL. It is often customized into a content management system . It has many features including a plug-in architecture and a template system. WordPress is used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet's "top 1...
, with a significant change in appearance. The site was further revamped in March 2010 in preparation for the general election, and updated to use the Hashcash anti-spam plugin.
The site became inactive for a while after the 2010 general election, and resumed activity in August 2011.
External links
- Labourhome website
- Interview with Jag Singh of LabourHome, Shane Greer, Total PoliticsTotal PoliticsTotal Politics is a British political magazine described as a "a lifestyle magazine for the political community". It was first published in June 2008 and is distributed freely to all MPs, MEPs, peers, political journalists, members of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies, and all...
, 11 August 2008