The Peace and Progress Party was a British

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 ...

founded by

Vanessa Vanessa may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais * ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole * ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie ...

and

Corin Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor and left-wing socialist activist. Early life Redgrave was born on 16 July 1939 in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kem ...

to campaign for

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. Combining the Redgraves, formerly leading figures in the Workers' Revolutionary Party and the

Marxist Party The Marxist Party was a tiny Trotskyist political party in the United Kingdom. It was formed as a split from Sheila Torrance's Workers' Revolutionary Party in 1987 by Gerry Healy and supporters including Vanessa and Corin Redgrave. At first, ...

, with others from the media and legal fields, the party campaigned for the rights of refugees and political dissidents.

History

The party was launched in November 2004 and called for the withdrawal of British troops from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, the return of British detainees from Guantanamo Bay and the cancellation of

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

debt. The party urged support from those in other parties, including the

Conservatives 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 in ...

, who upheld human rights. The party received the support of journalist

Anna Politkovskaya Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (;, ; uk, Ганна Степанівна Політковська , 30 August 1958 – 7 October 2006) was a Russian journalist and human rights activist, who reported on political events in Russia, in partic ...

, who was later murdered, and of Azmat Begg, father of Guantanamo Bay detainee

Moazzam Begg Moazzam Begg ( ur, ; born 5 July 1968 in Sparkhill, Birmingham) is a British Pakistani who was held in extrajudicial detention by the US government in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, for ...

, who stood for the party at the 2005 general election in

Birmingham Hodge Hill Birmingham Hodge Hill is a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons since 2004 by Liam Byrne, a member of the Labour Party (UK), Lab ...

. The party had suggested that Moazzem Begg and another detainee, Richard Belmar, would stand as absentee candidates.

Babar Ahmad Babar Ahmad ( ur, بابر احمد; born London, England, May 1974) is a British Muslim of Pakistani descent who spent eight years in prison without trial in the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2012 fighting extradition to the United States. The ...

, wanted by the US authorities on terrorism charges, stood in

Brent North Brent North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Barry Gardiner of the Labour Party. History Created in 1974 from the former seats of Wembley North and Wembley South, Brent North was a Co ...

. Peace and Progress made a negligible impact at the 2005 general election, losing their deposit in each of the three seats they stood in. Ahmad received 685 votes (1.9%), Azmat Begg received 329 votes (1.2%), and Sylvia Dunn received 22 votes (0.1%) in Folkestone and Hythe. 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's leader was Chris Cooper, Sue Conlan the nominating officer, and Edmund Quinn the treasurer. The party registered in 2003 and deregistered in 2015. The official website is now offline.

References

External links

* 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom Political parties established in 2004 Human rights organisations based in the United Kingdom Anti–Iraq War groups Socialist parties in the United Kingdom Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) {{UK-party-stub