The Republican Labour Party (RLP) was a political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, with two MPs at Stormont, Harry Diamond and Gerry Fitt.[1] They had previously been the sole Northern Ireland representatives of the Socialist Republican Party and the Irish Labour Party respectively, so a common joke was that "two one-man parties had become one two-man party".[2] Fitt won the West Belfast seat in the UK general election of 1966, and held it in the 1970 election.
Republican Labour Party | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Gerry Fitt (1964–1970) Paddy Kennedy (1970–1973) |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Dissolved | 1973 |
| Preceded by | Socialist Republican Party |
| Ideology | Socialism Irish republicanism Anti-Common Market |
| Political position | Centre-left |
In August 1970, Fitt founded the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and he and Senator Paddy Wilson were expelled from the RLP by a vote of 52 to 1.[3] Paddy Kennedy was elected as the new party leader. He formally withdrew from Parliament in 1971, and adopted a more strongly Irish republican stance, agreeing to attend a conference organised by William Whitelaw only if he could bring Irish Republican Army members as part of his delegation.[4]
The party was wiped out in both the 1973 elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the 1973 local elections and as a result was disbanded.
Electoral Results
editNorthern Ireland General Elections
edit| Election | Votes | % | ± | Seats | ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965(NI Parliament) | 3,326 | 1.02% | New | 2 / 52
|
 1
|
| 1969(NI Parliament) | 13,115 | 2.4% | 1.18
|
2 / 52
|
|
| 1973
(NI Assembly) |
1,750 | 0.2% | New | 0 / 78
|
New |
Westminster Elections
edit| Election | Votes | % | ± | Seats
(for Northern Ireland) |
± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 14,678 | 2.3% | New | 0 / 12
|
New |
| 1966 | 26,292 | 4.4% | 1.1
|
1 / 12
|
1
|
| 1970 | 30,649 | 3.9% |  0.5
|
1 / 12
|
|
Local Elections
edit| Election | Votes | % | ± | Seats | ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 2,594 | 0.4% | - | 0 / 462
|
|
References
edit- ^ David Boothroyd, Politico's guide to the history of British political parties, p. 138
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008, Lawrence Goldman, OUP Oxford, 2013, page 376
- ^ Michael A. Murphy, Gerry Fitt: A Political Chameleon, p.162
- ^ Eamonn McCann, "Obituary: Paddy Kennedy Archived 2014-07-15 at the Wayback Machine", The Guardian, 4 May 1999
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