The Third Way is a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

and former

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, ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, founded on the 17 March 1990. Third Way has supported a system of

federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

for the UK with the possibility of a future break-up, an

isolationist Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...

foreign policy, environmentalism, the wide use of Swiss-style citizens' initiatives and

distributism Distributism is an economic theory asserting that the world's productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated. Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon Catholic social teaching princi ...

. It should not be confused with the

Third Way The Third Way is a predominantly centrist political position that attempts to reconcile centre-right and centre-left politics by advocating a varying synthesis of Right-wing economics, right-wing economic and Left-wing politics, left-wing so ...

ideology promoted by

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and

Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German former politician and Lobbying, lobbyist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (S ...

, which it condemns as a revised form of

social democracy Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

. It is not related to the Christian ''Third Way'' magazine.

Ideology

Third Way describes itself as:

a think-tank dedicated to creating a society based on Justice, Community and Individual freedom against one that is based on Greed, Globalisation and Tyranny.
Third Way stands against all forms of social injustice, racism and religious bigotry. Third Way is for everyone. We promote positive ideas and apart from this website also publish printed material. We advocate Direct Democracy along Swiss lines using referenda and citizens’ initiatives.
We support small business and co-operative ownership.

The former

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 ...

wing of the party,

Ulster Third Way The Ulster Third Way was the Northern Ireland branch of the Third Way and was organised by David Kerr, who had previously campaigned as an 'independent Unionist' (chairing the small North Belfast Independent Unionist Association) as well as fo ...

(U3W) advocated for Northern Irish independence from both the UK and

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

before its dissolution in 2005. U3W also supported the re-establishment of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

and neo-confederatism, although it is not clear if this opinion was shared with the rest of the Third Way.

Leading members

*Patrick Harrington, founder * David Kerr (until 2006), has stood for election as an

candidate in Belfast. He is now a part of the offshoot National Liberal Party

Affiliations

Third Way supported the English Lobby, a pressure group and electoral coalition founded in 2004 that campaigns for the recognition of

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the Calendar of saints, feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities of which he is the Patronages of Saint George, patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bu ...

and the creation of an

English parliament The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised th ...

. Third Way supporters assisted in the foundation of the trade union

Solidarity – The Union for British Workers Solidarity is a United Kingdom trade union formed in late 2005 by the far-right British National Party (BNP). It is named after the Polish trade union ''Solidarność'', and its logo (which it has trademarked) is also inspired by that of the Polis ...

Associated publications

The Third Way has operated, or is closely associated with, various publications and websites, including: * ''Ulster Nation'' magazine and website * ''Counter-Culture'' magazine and website * ''Liverpool Newsletter'', a

distributist Distributism is an economic theory asserting that the world's productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated. Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon Catholic social teaching princi ...

publication formerly edited by Anthony Cooney and now published by Third Way.

National Liberal party

In 1999, new electoral organisation the National Liberal Party was formed by Patrick Harrington and Graham Williamson and registered as National Liberal Party – The Third Way 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 ...

. It fought parliamentary elections in

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...

(in 2001 and 2005), Belfast West (2001, as

Upminster Upminster is a suburb of east London, England, in the London Borough of Havering, northeast of Charing Cross. Historically a rural village, it formed an ancient parish in the Chafford hundred of the county of Essex. The economic history of ...

(2005) and

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

(2010) but obtained below 1% of the vote in each case. In the 2014 European elections, the National Liberal Party stood with 8 candidates in the London constituency, gaining 6,736 votes.

References

External links

* {{Official website
National Liberal party website

Counter Culture website

Solidarity Trade Union website

Self-determination day

''The Lost Race'' BBC documentary featuring Patrick Harrington, Brent Cheetham and David Kerr of Third Way broadcast in 1999
Anti-communist organizations in the United Kingdom Think tanks based in the United Kingdom Far-right politics in the United Kingdom Third Position