:''See also the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

, which was active in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the early twentieth century.'' The Independent Labour Group was a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s. Sometimes known as the Independent Labour Party, it was formed in 1958 in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

independent Labour The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidate ...

MP Frank Hanna, with the support of various local

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

clerics. That year, the party wiped out the Irish Labour Party on

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

John Joseph Brennan John Joseph Brennan (1913 – 1976) was a Northern Irish politician. He stood for the British House of Commons in Belfast West at the 1959 United Kingdom general election, representing the Independent Labour Group, receiving 37.6% of the vote ...

stood under the party banner in Belfast West in the 1959 UK general election, where he received 37.6% of the votes cast, then stood in Belfast Falls in the 1962 Northern Ireland general election. Hanna continued to hold his Belfast Central seat for the organisation. In the 1965 Northern Ireland general election, Brennan took over Hanna's seat, having joined the National Democratic Party, for which Brennan was elected; the remainder of the party appears to have joined or disintegrated by this point.

References

Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Biographies
* Michael Farrell, ''Northern Ireland: The Orange State'' *Graham S. Walker, ''The Politics of Frustration: Harry Midgley and the Failure of Labour in Northern Ireland'' *Enda Staunton, ''The Nationalists of Northern Ireland 1918-1973'' Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Political parties established in 1958 1958 establishments in Northern Ireland Labour parties in Northern Ireland {{Northern-Ireland-party-stub