The Democratic Party was a

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

active in the United Kingdom between 1998 and 2005, although not officially deregistered until 2010. It was founded in November 1998 by Malvern businessman Geoff Southall, who also funded the party. It was described as "right wing" or "hard right" in news reports, but claimed to occupy the centre-ground of British politics. It aimed to reduce Britain's involvement with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, opposed the adoption of the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

, called for direct democracy, and argued for limits on immigration. The party's slogan was "The will of the people NOT the party". It had a few hundred members in 1999, including previous supporters of James Goldsmith's

Referendum Party The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership of the European Union ...

Charles Beauclerk, Earl of Burford Charles Francis Topham de Vere Beauclerk (born 22 February 1965), also styled Earl of Burford by courtesy, is a British aristocrat and heir to the peerage title of Duke of St Albans. Beauclerk first came to public attention when he attempted to ...

, stood as its candidate in the November

1999 Kensington and Chelsea by-election The Member of Parliament for Kensington and Chelsea, The Rt. Hon Alan Clark (Conservative), died of a brain tumour on 5 September 1999. This was the first safe Conservative seat to have a by-election in the 1997–2001 UK Parliament. There wa ...

against

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as '' Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Jour ...

, receiving 189 votes (0.9%). The party decided not to stand any candidates in the 2001 general election, citing a lack of media attention. It criticised the

United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

in 2000 for being perceived as right-wing, lacking political acumen, and performing poorly in Westminster elections. In 2003, the party took legal action against the UK government in the High Court over the then-proposed EU Constitution. Until 2001 the party's Home and Legal Affairs spokesman was Alan Kilshaw, who resigned when he and his then wife became involved in an adoption scandal. Other than in seeking legal advice, the party was inactive after 2005 at the latest, and received no income in 2008 or 2009. According to 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 ...

the party was 'de-registered voluntarily' in June 2010.

References

External links

Official site
an
an archived copy from 2005
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

). {{DEFAULTSORT:Democratic Party (Uk, 1998) Political parties established in 1998 Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom Direct democracy parties 1998 establishments in the United Kingdom 2010 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Political parties disestablished in 2010 Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom

See also

References

External links