TheNational Democratic Party (NDP) was aright wingpolitical party that operated in theUnited Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s. The NDP sought to position itself as an early rival to theNational Front although ultimately it failed to challenge the position of this group.[1]
The NDP had existed on paper since the early 1960s as the title was used by Dr David Brown in both the1964 and1966 general elections to contest theIpswich constituency, securing 0.6% and 1.3% of the vote in the respective elections.[2][3] However this NDP had no existence beyond Brown and it was not until 1966 that a process of formalisation as a proper political party took place.
In 1966, Brown, who was also the chairman of theRacial Preservation Society, proposed to form the NDP by merging the RPS withJohn Bean'sBritish National Party.[4] However this did not occur as Bean was put off by Brown insisting that theGreater Britain Movement should be excluded from any alliance and that Brown should be sole leader of the new party.[4] Following this Brown entered negotiations withA.K. Chesterton about using theLeague of Empire Loyalists as the basis for the NDP but this plan was rejected by Chesterton as once again Brown insisted that leadership should lie with him alone.[5] TheNational Front, effectively a merger between the BNP, LEL and elements of the RPS under Robin Beauclaire followed soon afterwards, with Brown excluded.
Despite this set back the NDP was established officially in 1966 before the NF although critics, particularly from within the NF, argued that Brown only did so as he could not stand the prospect of serving underA. K. Chesterton. Amongst the leading members of the party upon formation was Leslie Eric 'Lutz' Vaughan who had been associated with theNational Socialist Movement's Spearhead paramilitary wing andColumn 88.[6]
In its early years, the Party expanded through mergers with a number of smaller movements, including the British Defence League, a small group based around ex-ConservativeJohn O'Brien.[7] Another group to join was the Association of British People, a 200 strong group fromBirmingham that opted for the NDP after turning down the overtures of the National Front'sMartin Webster. This group took the lead in the campaign in theBirmingham Stechford seat where the party won 3.% of the vote in the1970 general election.[8] In the same election the NDP had managed the largest vote share of any far-right group competing inSouthampton Itchen, where it won 21.8% of the votes. Southampton was the seat of theSpeaker of the House of Commons however, and traditionally, re-election of the Speaker is unopposed by other major parties.[9] Dr. Brown, meanwhile, won an improved 3.7% vote share in Ipswich, a seat he continued to contest until his final election inFebruary 1974.[10] With only 2.5% of the vote secured for its candidate inLeicester North West, and although the party had attracted some disaffected Conservatives who supportedEnoch Powell, there was a general feeling within the NDP that the election had been disappointing for them.[11]
O'Brien had already left the NDP to join the NF before the election, although he maintained close links with (Anthony)AFX Baron, whose East Anglia Forum was affiliated to the NDP.[12] Chesterton had long hoped to merge the NF with the NDP, a party that he believed contained less of a loutish element than his own NF, and he felt that O'Brien's appointment as NF chairman would hasten this aim due to O'Brien's good standing with NDP activists.[9]
The party had held informal discussions with the NF about a merger in early 1970, although these came to nothing as the NF fell into upheaval resulting in the removal of Chesterton from the leadership.[7] The issue came back on the agenda with O'Brien as NF leader and certainly the two groups grew closer and the NDP was persuaded to withdraw its proposed candidate from theSt Marylebone by-election in 1970 and instead campaign on behalf of the NF's Malcolm Skeggs.[9] A merger was discussed and O'Brien presented such a proposal to the NF Directorate but they refused to endorse the idea.[13] Nonetheless the two groups were able to continue with a closer working relationship and in 1971 leading NDP member Eddie Bray even brought a coachload of party members toBristol where they joined an NF march in the city.[13] The relationship was not always beneficial, however, such as when the importantManchester branch leften bloc, under the direction of organiser Walter Barton, to join the NF after a particularly rousing speech by O'Brien.[14]
In May 1971 Eddie Bray stood as a candidate in theSouthampton Itchen by-election. In the seat where the party had performed well in the previous general election the NDP once again made a good showing with Bray winning over 7.5% of the vote and finishing ahead of theLiberal Party candidate.[15]
The NDP was weakened when O'Brien left the NF and joined theNational Independence Party rather than bringing his followers back to the NDP. O'Brien left the NF because ofJohn Tyndall andMartin Webster's neo-Nazi links[16] The party tried to carry on but it became less and less significant. The emergence of other outlets for thepopulist tendency of thefar right, such as theNational Party, meant that support for the NDP disappeared. Towards the end of its life the NDP attempted to forge links with rightist groups associated with theConservative Party such as theConservative Monday Club and the Anglo-Rhodesia Society, although the party was gone by the late 1970s.[10] Around this time future Tory MPPiers Merchant was a member of the party.[6]
The NDP was not connected to theNational Democrats, which was an attempt by the NF to change its name. This resulted in a split in the NF.
| Election year | # of total votes | % of overall vote | # of seats won | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 |  349 | 0.00% |  0 | 23 |
| 1966 | 769 | 0.00% | 0 | 17 |
| 1970 | 14,276 | 0.01% | 0 | 14 |
| 1974 |  1,161 | 0.00% | 0 | 30 |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
