The PLP was founded in 1953 by William Cartwright, Cyril Stevenson, and Henry Milton Taylor.

Leading the party to its first victory in 1967 was Lynden Pindling, the country's first Prime Minister.

After defeat and one of its MPs leaving the party since, the PLP held 17 of the 41 seats in the Bahamas National Assembly.

[4] In September 2021, the PLP defeated the ruling FNM in a snap election, as the economy struggled to recover from its deepest crash since at least 1971.

[7] On 17 September 2021, the chairman of the PLP Philip Davis was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Bahamas to succeed Hubert Minnis.