The self-governance of Singapore was carried out in several stages. After the British joined Singapore once more and started, without much success, dealing with post war problems, Singapore already was not happy with the British as their leaders. Since Singapore's founding in 1819, Singapore had been under the colonial rule of the United Kingdom. The first local elections on a limited scale for several positions in the government of Singapore started in 1948 following an amendment to the Constitution of Singapore. This was further amended with the Rendel Constitution, strengthening local representation. Singapore was granted full internal self-government in 1959, but the colonial administration still controlled external relations and shared control of several key internal policies such as internal security.

In 1963, Singapore joined Malaysia, relieving it of colonial rule and becoming an autonomous state in the Federation of Malaysia. After a fallout in the relations between United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and the People's Action Party (PAP), the ruling parties of the Federation and Singapore respectively. Full independence came about with Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia in 1965.

Yearning for independence

Following the end of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore during World War II, the British returned to power in Singapore. On 1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a separate Crown Colony with a civil administration headed by a Governor. In July 1947, separate Executive and Legislative Councils were established and the first local election for six members of the Legislative Council was held in the 1948 Legislative Council elections.

The Singapore Progressive Party, a political party with a progressive platform of working with the British for gradual reform and self-governance, won half of the seats. This was technically a plurality, as independent candidates won the other three: the SPP became the ruling party of the local representation. The majority of seats were still appointed by the colonial administration.

The period after the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments, epitomized by the slogan Merdeka.The British, on their part, were prepared to embark on a program of gradually increasing self-governance for Singapore and Malaya.

In 1953, a British Commission, headed by Sir George Rendel, proposed a limited form of self-government for Singapore. A new Legislative Assembly with twenty-five out of thirty-two seats chosen by popular election would replace the Legislative Council, from which a Chief Minister as head of government and Council of Ministers as a cabinet would be picked under a parliamentary system. The British would retain control over areas such as internal security and foreign affairs, as well as veto power over legislation.

The 1955 election for the Legislative Assembly held on 2 April 1955 was a lively and closely-fought affair, with several newly-formed political parties joining the fray. Unlike previous elections, voters were automatically registered, expanding the electorate to around 300,000. The SPP was soundly defeated in the election, winning only four seats. The newly-formed, left-leaning Labour Front was the biggest winner with ten seats and it formed a coalition government with the UMNO-MCA Alliance, which won three seats.Another new party, the leftist People's Action Party (PAP), won three seats.

Partial internal self-government (1955–1959)

The leader of the Labour Front, David Marshall, became the first Chief Minister of Singapore. He presided over a shaky government, receiving little cooperation from either the colonial government or the other local parties. In May 1955, the Hock Lee Bus Riots broke out, killing four people, and seriously discredited Marshall's government. The Chinese Middle School riots broke out in 1956 among students in schools such as The Chinese High School, further increasing the tension between the local government and the Chinese students and unionists who were perceived as having communist sympathies.

In April 1956, Marshall led a delegation to London to negotiate for complete self-rule in the Merdeka Talks, but the talks fell through due to British concerns about communist influence and unrest and labour strikes from workers and from trade unions which were undermining Singapore's economic stability. Marshall continued to pressure the British, before declaring that if the British did not give Singapore self-rule, he would resign. However, the British were unrelenting and wanted to retain important control over Singapore's internal security. Marshall resigned following the failure of the talk. His successor as Chief Minister, Lim Yew Hock, launched a crackdown on communist and leftist groups, imprisoning many trade union leaders and several pro-communist members of the PAP under the Internal Security Act.

The British government approved of Lim's tough stance against communist agitators, and when a new round of talks was held beginning in March 1957, they were amenable to granting almost complete self-government, only retaining control over external security, and allowing internal security to be an area of shared responsibility between the local government and them. A State of Singapore would be created, with its own citizenship, consisting of persons born in Singapore or the Federation of Malaya, British citizens of two years' residence, and others of ten years' residence. The Legislative Assembly would be expanded to fifty-one members, entirely chosen by popular election, and the Prime Minister and cabinet would control all aspects of government except defence and foreign affairs. The British-appointed Governor was replaced by a Yang di-Pertuan Negara or head of state.

Full internal self-government (1959-1963)

Elections for the new Legislative Assembly were held in May 1959. This time round, the PAP swept the election, winning forty-three of the fifty-one seats. They had accomplished this by courting the Chinese-speaking majority, particularly those in the labour unions and radical student organizations. The leader of the PAP, Lee Kuan Yew, became the first Prime Minister of Singapore.

The PAP's victory was viewed with dismay by foreign and local business leaders. Although Lee and the other leaders of the PAP hailed from the "moderate" wing of the party, many of the other members were staunchly pro-communist. Many businesses promptly shifted their headquarters from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Despite these ill omens, the PAP government embarked on a vigorous program to address Singapore's various economic and social problems. The plan for the economy was overseen by the capable Goh Keng Swee, the new Minister of Finance, whose strategy was to encourage foreign and local investment using a wide variety of measures, ranging from low tax rates and tax holidays to the establishment of a new industrial estate in the Jurong area. At the same time, the education system was revamped with the goal of suiting the workforce to the needs of employers; more technical and vocational schools were established, and the English language was promoted over the Chinese language as a language of instruction. The long-standing problem of labour unrest was suppressed by consolidating existing labour unions, sometimes forcibly, into a single umbrella organization, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), which was closely affiliated with the government.