Founded in 1955, the Labour Front (LF) was a political party that was formed from the merger of two parties, the Singapore Labour Party (SLP) and the Singapore Socialist Party (SSP). Amongst its founding members were David Marshall, Lim Yew Hock and Francis Thomas. The LF contested in the 1955 Legislative Assembly Election and secured the most votes. As it did not win by a majority, the LF formed a coalition government with the Singapore Alliance Party and Marshall became Singapore’s first Chief Minister. The LF government, however, lasted for only one term, with Marshall resigning from his post in 1956 following the breakdown in negotiations with the British for Singapore’s self-government. The LF subsequently merged with the Liberal Socialist Party (LSP) to form the Singapore People’s Alliance (SPA) in 1958. The SPA fared badly in the 1959 Legislative Assembly Election, securing only four seats. It did not win any seats in the 1963 General Election and was dissolved in 1965 after Singapore gained independence.
