Workers and Farmers Party

The Workers and Farmers Party was a Marxist political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party was organised by former Democratic Labour Party leader Stephen Maharaj, C.L.R. James, George Weekes (of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union) and included the then little-known Basdeo Panday among its slate of candidates. It was succeeded by the United Labour Front led by Basdeo Panday.

Workers and Farmers Party
AbbreviationWFP
LeaderStephen Maharaj
C. L. R. James
Founded1965
Dissolved1966
Split fromDLP
Succeeded byULF
IdeologyMarxism
Labourism

The party contested the 1966 General Elections. It secured 3.5% of the vote and failed to win any seats in Parliament. None of its candidates secured the 12.5% of the vote in their constituency that was required to have their deposits refunded.

The major political impact of the WFP was that it launched the political career of Basdeo Panday.

References

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  • Anthony, Michael (2001). Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago. Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Md., and London. ISBN 0810831732.
  • Meighoo, Kirk (2003). Politics in a Half Made Society: Trinidad and Tobago, 1925-2002. Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston, Jamaica. ISBN 9766370796.