The Radical Party was a proposed new

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, ...

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. It was part of an abortive attempt by members of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

to establish a breakaway group. No actual party was ever formed, but the name was frequently applied to the group of dissident MPs by the press. The leaders of the Radical Party proposal were George Russell and Frederick Pirani, both Liberal Party MPs. Russell and Pirani, along with other MPs such as

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and George Smith, were dissatisfied with the Liberal Party under

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-ser ...

, believing that it had lost its commitment to its founding ideals. Both were considered to belong to the Liberal Party's left wing. In 1896, Russell spoke openly about formalising "the advanced section of the Liberal Party," either as an organised faction in the Liberal caucus or as a separate party. However, the new group failed to emerge. Tensions appeared to rise between its various members, with rumours circulating that neither Russell nor Pirani would concede the leadership to the other. The MPs whose names had been mentioned in connection with the Radical Party distanced themselves from it, stating that they had never made any commitments. Pirani and Smith both left the Liberal Party the same year, becoming

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s. In 1905 a similar group, the New Liberal Party was formed, but this group was defunct by 1908.

References

{{Historic New Zealand political parties Defunct political parties in New Zealand New Zealand Liberal Party Radical parties