The Northern Party was a regionalist political party in

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

, founded by leader Michael Dawson and former

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

MP;

Harold Elletson Harold Daniel Hope Elletson (8 December 1960 – 23 June 2023) was a British politician. Elletson unsuccessfully contested Burnley for the Conservative Party in the 1987 general election, before becoming Member of Parliament (MP) for Black ...

, in March 2015 to contest five

marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. T ...

s in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

at the 2015 general election. The party was one of three regionalist parties contesting the general election in the north of England. Members included former activists from the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green parties.

Founding

Michael Dawson, a former Executive Committee member of the Labour Campaign for Human Rights, is the nephew of former MP for Lancaster Hilton Dawson who now runs the North East Party. At the launch of the party he said "We've been planning this for months. This is a Northern rebellion against a system that has failed the North." The party argued for Northern England devolution of power to an autonomous Northern region, and for business investment and environmental protection. The party described its symbol as "a Norse raven, closely associated with the ancient kingdom of Northumbria (today's North of England) and the struggle for autonomy".

Electoral history

The party stood candidates in five seats in Lancashire: * Morecambe and Lunesdale: Michael Dawson (85 votes). Dawson appeared on the ballot as an independent. * Lancaster and Fleetwood:

(174 votes). Elletson was the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP for Blackpool North 1992-1997. * Blackpool North and Cleveleys: James Walsh (57 votes). Walsh is an ecologist, former

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

member, and part of Frack Free Lancashire. * Fylde: Elizabeth Clarkson (230 votes). Clarkson had been a Conservative councillor in Preston. * Rossendale & Darwen: Shaun Hargreaves (45 votes). Hargreaves was previously in the Green Party. Paul Salveson noted the smaller vote share than the North East Party and Yorkshire First at the same General Election and a lack of parish councillors versus those other parties, and suggested this was because the Northern Party, though they stood in Lancashire, had a Northern identity rather than a Lancashire identity.

Organisation

The party was registered with the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

on 1 April 2015, with Michael Dawson as Leader and Treasurer and Stephen Gilpin as Nominating Officer and an address in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Chairman Ron Bell was a former Conservative councillor and prospective parliamentary candidate in Blackpool South. The Northern Party voluntarily deregistered as a party on 8 April 2016.

References

{{reflist, 30em Defunct political parties in England Regionalist parties in the United Kingdom 2015 establishments in England 2016 disestablishments in England Political parties established in 2015 Political parties disestablished in 2016 Politics of Lancashire Northern England

Founding

Electoral history

Organisation

See also

References