View source for National Labour Party (1957-1960)

The '''National Labour Party''' was a [[nationalist]] [[political party]] founded in [[1957]] by [[John Bean]] and [[John Tyndall]]. 

==Formation==
Bean had been a leading figure within the [[League of Empire Loyalists]] (LEL), although he had become disillusioned with its emphasis on publicity stunts and lack of political action. The problem came to a head in 1956 after [[A.K. Chesterton]] sent Bean and Phil Burbidge to the home of [[Malcolm Muggeridge]] in order to throw soot on the commentator after he criticised [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom]] on a TV show<ref>Bean p. 117</ref>. Although the action was not carried out, for Bean it was a prime example of the pointless and childish activism with which the LEL had become synonymous and he soon wrote to Chesterton, bemoaning the weak campaigning of the LEL, its refusal to contest elections, its attachment to a narrow [[British nationalism]] and its strong links to the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]<ref>Bean, p. 118</ref>.

Soon after, Bean left the LEL along with [[John Tyndall (politician)|John Tyndall]] to set up the new party, deliberately picking the name to appeal to [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] supporters who were put off by [[immigration]]<ref>Bean, p. 119</ref>. The nominal party President was to be [[Andrew Fountaine]], although Bean's role as policy director gave him effective control. Producing a journal ''[[Combat]]'', the NLP used its pages to campaign for a reduction in the sentences of those convicted over the [[Notting Hill]] riots of 1958<ref>Bean, p. 121</ref>.

==Electoral activity==
A very small party, the NLP secured some decent results in the [[London]] council election, although the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] objected to the NLP's use of its name. At the time, however, ballot papers listed only the names of the candidates, not the names of the parties, so it was probably less likely than it would be today that Labour voters might vote for the NLP by mistake. Buoyed by its minor success, the party organised a 'Keep Britain White' rally in [[Trafalgar Square]] the same year with a crowd of 3,000 witnessing speeches by Bean, Fountaine and [[White Defence League]] leader [[Colin Jordan]]<ref>Bean, p. 128</ref>. 

The party stood a single candidate in the [[United Kingdom general election, 1959|1959 general election]] with former boxer Bill Webster running in [[St Pancras North (UK Parliament constituency)|St Pancras North]]. The decision to run a candidate was largely driven by the realities of racial tension in the area, as exposed by the previous year's riots<ref>Taylor, p. 12</ref>. During the campaign, a number of NLP supporters attacked a meeting at the local Town Hall where [[Kenneth Robinson]] was a featured speaker. A number of arrests were made over the incident, which made national news and thus served to publicise the name of the NLP<ref>Bean, pp. 130-132</ref>. In the election, the party received 4.1% of the vote in St Pancras North, and lost its deposit.

==Decline==
The aftermath of the event, however, was the decline of the NLP. Bean served 30 days in jail for his part in the riot<ref>Bean, p. 132</ref> and whilst he was incarcerated Webster left to join the [[Union Movement]] and Tyndall also resigned from the party<ref>Bean, pp. 139-140</ref> With the NLP demoralised and closer links to Colin Jordan having been developed, the party merged with the [[White Defence League]] on February 24th 1960. Although the name Racial Nationalist Party was initially considered it was ultimately decided to name the new entity the [[British National Party (1960s)|British National Party]]<ref>Bean, p. 141</ref>.

==Return of the name==
In 1981, [[British National Front|National Front]] activist John King, the candidate for [[Rochester and Chatham (UK Parliament constituency)|Rochester and Chatham]] in the [[United Kingdom general election, 1979|1979 election]], broke from that group and formed his own [[minor party]] also using the name National Labour Party. This version, which was not connected to Bean's, took a [[Enoch Powell|Powellite]] line on [[immigration]] although it was significantly less economically [[Neoliberalism|neo-liberal]] than Powell. This group contested two elections, the [[Bermondsey by-election, 1983|1983 Bermondsey by-election]] and the [[Ashford (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashford constituency]] in the [[United Kingdom general election, 1983|1983 general election]], without making any impact<ref>[[David Boothroyd]], ''Politico's Guide to the History of British Political Parties'', 2001, pp. 193-194</ref>.

==See also==
*[[Lineage of British Nationalist organizations and individuals]]

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==References==
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[[Category:British nationalism]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1957]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1960]]
[[Category:1957 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1960 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]