Republican Labour Party
Northern Irish centre-left republican party active 1964–1973 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Northern Ireland General Elections
Westminster Elections
Local Elections
| Election | Votes | % | ± | Seats | ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 2,594 | 0.4% | - | 0 / 462 |
 |
