The Northern Party was a regionalist political party in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, founded by leader Michael Dawson and former 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 Blackp ...

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. The ...

s in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

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 Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, is the nephew of former MP for Lancaster

Hilton Dawson Thomas Hilton Dawson (born 30 September 1953) is a British politician who was the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Lancaster and Wyre from 1997 until 2005. Dawson became the chairman of the North East Party in 2014, and was the par ...

who now runs the

North East Party The North East Party (NEP) is a regionalist political party in North East England founded in 2014 by 16 people including the former Labour MP Hilton Dawson and 7 members of the FAIR party. The party campaigns for a better deal for North East En ...

. 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 Northern England devolution is the broad term used to describe the wish for devolved governmental powers that would give more autonomy to the Northern Counties (those northern parts of England in the North–South divide in the United Kingdom). ...

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 Lancaster and Fleetwood is a constituency created in 2010 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Cat Smith of the Labour Party. History ;Creation Following their review of parliamentary representation in Lancashire, the B ...

(174 votes). Elletson was the

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

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 social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

member, and part of

Frack Free Lancashire Frack may refer to: * Frick and Frack (1919–2008), nicknames for an ice skating duo * Fracking, to use the hydraulic fracturing method for extracting oil and natural gas * , a Russian ship sunk in 1915 by a German submarine See also * Frac (di ...

* 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 Paul Salveson, , is an England, English politician, activist and author. He is currently a Visiting scholar, visiting professor in transport and logistics at the University of Bolton and University of Huddersfield. Education Salveson did an u ...

noted the smaller vote share than the

and

Yorkshire First The Yorkshire Party is a regionalist political party in Yorkshire, a historic county of England. Founded in 2014, it campaigns for the establishment of a devolved Yorkshire Parliament within the UK, with powers over education, environment, tran ...

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 city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. 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