The Vectis National Party was a minor

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 political ideology ...

operating on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in the early 1970s. Formed in 1967,Adam Grydehøj and Philip Hayward
"Autonomy Initiatives and Quintessential Englishness on the Isle of Wight"
Island Studies Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2011, p.185 the party sought Crown dependency status for the Isle of Wight, on a similar model to certain other islands including the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. They were motivated by a belief that the sale of the Isle of Wight to the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

crown in 1293 was unconstitutional. The party contested the Isle of Wight constituency in the 1970 general election when candidate R. W. J. Cawdell, a councillor for Ryde, polled 1,607 votes (2.8% of the Wight vote). The party led it to undertake symbolic direct action, such as an intra-island postal service during the 1971 postal strike. That year it narrowly lost a local government election. It also led campaigns for the establishment of an Isle of Wight specific radio service (which eventually came into being in 1990) and for a regional television service.David Boothroyd, ''The History of British Political Parties'', Politico's, 2001, p. 333 The party's failure to convince the electorate to break from the traditional parties however led to disillusionment amongst members and by the mid 1970s the party had been wound up. In 2006, Ray Stokes attempted to revive the VNP, emphasizing two aspects: an economically opportunistic deployment of islandness and a conservative, nostalgic impulse. The party was opposed to housing development that would lead to increased migration to the island, and to a fixed link to the island of Great Britain.Adam Grydehøj and Philip Hayward, op. cit., p.186 The revived party did not contest any election.

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