The New Party (UK)
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- For the 1930s party founded by Oswald Mosley, see New Party (Oswald Mosley).
The New Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. It supports a smaller role for the state and encourages the growth of a largely laissez-faire system of capitalism, with a significant reduction in bureaucracy and renegotiation with the European Union in line with The New Party's Philosophy and Principles.
The New Party did not stand in the 2005 general election. The party did stand candidates under the name of the Scottish Peoples Alliance at the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary Elections.
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[edit] History
The New Party has its origins in an initiative entitled "A New Party for Britain" launched in late 2002, at a time when speculation about the possibility of a split in the UK Conservative Party was rife, during the leadership of Iain Duncan-Smith. No official launch occurred, however, until 14 March 2003, when the party was founded under the name Peoples Alliance (sic).
The initial policy program of the party had two main planks: direct democracy with all legislation subject to popular referendum; and Universal Benefit, a direct payment from the state to every citizen as of right, as a replacement for the current benefits system. The party decided immediately to contest the Scottish Parliamentary Election in May 2003, fielding 15 candidates. However, the party received a very small proportion of the vote (only 7,718 votes, 0.4% of the total), and won no seats, notwithstanding the fact that two of the Peoples Alliance candidates, Lyndsay McIntosh and Keith Harding, were outgoing Conservative Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Disappointed with its electoral performance, the party engaged in a period of introspection before relaunching in October 2003 with a revamped manifesto and statement of philosophy and principles, under the name The New Party.
The party made little impact throughout 2004, and took no part in the 2004 European Parliament Elections. However, some unexpected publicity was received at the end of 2004 following a reported approach from United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Robert Kilroy-Silk with a view to becoming leader of the party. Several senior members of the New Party subsequently departed to join Kilroy-Silk's Veritas party at its launch in February 2005, including Richard Vass, the first Party Chairman of Veritas, and Patrick Eston, Kilroy-Silk's successor as leader.
The New Party did not contest the 2005 General Elections.
[edit] Policy
The New Party has consistently sought to avoid traditional ideological labels in an attempt to maximise its appeal. This makes it difficult to categorise the party without careful reference to its stated policy positions, which tend on examination to reflect a centre-right political orientation. The New Party favours small government with a flat-tax regime and measures to increase individual freedom and self-reliance. It has also latterly espoused a robust eurosceptic position, in contrast to its more equivocal stance towards the European Union in its incarnation as the Peoples Alliance. The party also favours controls on immigration, but is less vocal on this issue than the parties with which it is most often compared, Veritas and the United Kingdom Independence Party. In practice the New Party tends to focus more on economic policies than is typical of small right-of-centre parties, and seeks in particular to attract the business community, for example with its proposals to reduce bureaucracy. Former chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Sir John Harvey-Jones is claimed as a supporter having sent a message of good luck to the party on its foundation.
The most recent policy statement of the New Party is the Manifesto for a World Class Nation, published in 2005.
[edit] Organisation
The Party Chairman, founder and chief financial backer of the New Party is Scottish multi-millionaire businessman Robert Durward. The Party is governed by a National Policy Committee for the UK as a whole, and by a Scottish Policy Committee in Scotland.
The New Party is well-funded, thanks to the financial support of its chairman, and the party has had a small full-time staff from the outset. The party has therefore been able to support an administrative office in Livingston, Scotland, as well as an address in Central London. Significant effort has been put into policy development, and the party has been able to call upon knowledgeable individuals across a broad spectrum in order to pull together a comprehensive and coherent set of policies across the board.
However, creating an active membership base has proved more difficult for the party. Although the party is able to offer free membership, and can therefore claim to have a membership of several thousand, the depth of commitment of the membership can be gauged by the absence of a local and regional branch network even after three years of political activity. In view of this, critics have questioned the long-term viability of the party as a force in British politics. However, these criticisms have to some extent been mitigated by the presence of New Party candidates in local elections in Scotland and England in 2006.
[edit] Electoral Performance
On 30 March 2006 Donald McDiarmid contested a by-election in the Borestone ward in Stirling, polling 18 votes (1.9%). At the local government elections in England on 4 May 2006, five New Party candidates stood in five separate local government areas in Hertfordshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire, averaging 204 votes (8.7%). In a by-election for Dover Town Council in October 2006, a New Party candidate polled 139 votes (27.0%) [1].
