Third Way (United Kingdom)

For other uses, see Third Way (disambiguation).

Leader	David Kerr
Founder	Patrick Harrington
Founded	17 March 1990
Ideology	National liberalism Cultural nationalism Euroscepticism Centrism Populism Distributism Co-operatism
Official colours	orange, green
Website
http://www.nationalliberal.org/

The National Liberal Party – The Third Way is a United Kingdom political party that was formed on 17 March 1990 as The Third Way. In 2006, the Third Way registered the name National Liberal Party – The Third Way with the Electoral Commission.

Ideology and policies

The National Liberal Party describes itself as a Patriotic Centre and National liberal party rooted in the culture and traditions of the British islands. It advocates direct democracy along Swiss lines using referenda and citizens' initiatives. It supports small business and co-operative ownership. The National Liberal Party opposes over-centralised government and promotes decision making at the lowest practical level. The party argues that its policies would benefit and empower all citizens and asks for support on that basis from all sections of the national community. The organisation's website claims that "Third Way is for everyone." The group has condemned neo-Nazi ideology and its supporters claim it actively recruits from all ethnic and religious communities. It stood its first Asian candidate in local elections in 2006.

Policies include de-criminalisation of prostitution and cannabis, and reform of Britain's role in the European Union (the party began life by calling for complete withdrawal and supported Sir James Goldsmith's Referendum Party in the 1997 General Election). They have also run "support small trader" campaigns and claim to be the heirs to the Poujadist tradition. The group also advocates a form of social credit based on a universal citizens' income and advocates co-operative ownership and renationalisation of the railways. It often describes its political views as distributist. The party is opposed to UK military involvement in Iraq.

Some critics (including George Monbiot in The Guardian of 30 April 2002 and Andrew Gilligan in the Evening Standard of 18 April 2006), however, claim Third Way (UK) is a Far right political movement, and continue to regard the group with suspicion due to the past ties of some of its leadership with the National Front and its alleged populist cultural ethnocentrism. Third Way posted a detailed response to the Standard article.

In the early 1990s Third Way still described itself as "a nationalist and separatist movement ... committed to the preservation of our national and ethnic character" and at least as late as 1997 it was advocating voluntary repatriation of "non-Europeans" (although the Party has argued as to what the term 'European' meant in this context) to be encouraged by "generous financial incentives", which could be interpreted as similar to the current policy of the British National Party. It now advocates a "selective and non-racist" immigration policy and a system of guest workers for the UK with the opportunity for such to become citizens. It has supported those seeking political asylum.

Third Way (UK) should not be confused with the Third Way ideology promoted by Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Gerhard Schröder, which it condemns as merely a revised form of social democracy.

Finances

According to accounts filed with the Electoral Commission, in 2006 Third Way had 20 members and cashflow of approximately £1,400. (The party's constitution distinguishes between 'Members', 'Registered Supporters' and 'Supporting Subscribers' (Third Way Constitution 2000). Third Way only gives figures for 'Members'.^{[citation needed]} In December 2007 the Third Way had 25 members. By December 2010, the membership was just 21.

Third Way also operates through a number of associated limited companies and associations, most obviously Third Way Publications Ltd, whose turnover in their most recently filed company accounts (for year ending March 2004) was £687, and the dormant Third Way Movement Ltd.

Electoral performance

Local elections

In the May 2000 local council elections, a Third Way candidate polled 298 votes (21.9%) in the Northaw ward of Welwyn Hatfield in Hertfordshire.

In the 2002 local elections in the London Borough of Havering, Third Way stood single candidates in three-member wards. They won 1309 votes in Elm Park ward (32% of voters gave Third Way one of their three votes, including 500 who only voted for Third Way), 289 (6.5%) votes were won in Hacton ward and 205 (4.2%) in the St Andrews ward. Third Way's activity in Havering is claimed to have resulted in a relatively small BNP presence in the borough when compared to neighbouring areas such as the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Epping Forest and Thurrock.^{[citation needed]}

In local elections held in 2004, a Third Way candidate for Canvey Island East ward of Castle Point Borough Council in Essex polled 47 votes (2.5%). In July 2004 they received 93 votes (3.6%) in a Havering London Borough Council by-election for a vacancy in Rainham.

Fourteen Third Way candidates contested six wards in Havering in the 2006 local elections. They polled an average of 9.1% of the vote with the best result obtained in Elm Park where they polled 27%. This election also saw the first Asian Third Way candidate, Nakkeeran Arasaratnam in Hacton Ward.

In a by-election held on 14 June 2007 in the St Andrew's ward of Havering, the party's candidate David Durant polled 184 votes, 396 votes behind the BNP.

In another by-election in the same ward on 5 June 2009, Durant polled 291 votes, 480 votes behind the BNP, gaining 6.6% of the vote.

London Assembly

In 2004 in the single vote London Assembly elections Third Way received 2,031 votes (1.49%) in Havering and Redbridge. The Third Way candidate was Dave Stephens, a local butcher and metric martyr.

UK Parliament

In the 2001 General Election, Third Way fielded two candidates: David Durant in Hornchurch who received 190 votes (0.5%) and David Kerr in West Belfast, 113 votes (0.3%)

In the 2005 General Election, Third Way fielded two candidates, Graham Williamson in Hornchurch and David Durant in Upminster, who received 304 votes (0.8%) and 74 votes (0.2%) respectively. David Kerr contested East Antrim as a candidate for the Vote For Yourself Party, gaining 147 votes (0.5%) on a platform of direct democracy.

In the 2010 General Election, Third Way fielded one candidate, Keith Low in Eastleigh who received 93 votes (0.2%).

Leading members

All four leading members of the Third Way were previously in the National Front and voted to disband it in 1989:

• David Kerr, Leader of the party and editor of its Ulster Nation magazine. Kerr has stood for election as an Ulster Third Way candidate in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the group advocates the independence of Ulster from both Britain and the Republic of Ireland and the creation of a non-sectarian state.
• Graham Williamson, Treasurer. Stood for Third Way in Hornchurch in the 2005 General Election, winning 0.8% of the vote.
• Patrick Harrington, Founder, now Nominating Officer, and General Secretary of Solidarity – The Union for British Workers, a trade union whose formation was supported by Third Way and the British National Party.
• Brent Cheetham. Parish Councillor in Northaw, Hertfordshire and editor of the Cuffley Courier newsletter. He was a former NF candidate and stood for Watford in the 1979 General Election and gained 388 votes (0.9%).

Also cited on the biographies section of the Third Way website are Roy Kerridge and US-based racial-separatist rabbi Mayer Schiller.

Allied groups

Third Way is a part of the English Lobby, a pressure group and electoral coalition founded in 2004 that campaigns for the recognition of St George's Day and the creation of an English Parliament.^{[citation needed]}

Third Way candidates contested the 2006 local council elections in Havering as part of the Peoples Alliance coalition, which also included independents and residents group candidates. The Alliance stood 45 candidates in 17 out of the 18 wards in the Borough, campaigning on a platform of no above inflation Council Tax rises, for the council to promote local community shopping centres and opposition to housing over-development. The Alliance polled an average of 10.6% of the vote in the wards contested.

Third Way members assisted in the foundation of and hold key positions in the Solidarity – The Union for British Workers.

It is in no way related to the Christian Third Way Magazine, which predates it by several years.

Manifestos

• Patrick Harrington (editor), 'Third Way General Election Manifesto [2005] (Third Way, 2005) (ISBN 0-9544788-4-3)
• Patrick Harrington and Cliff Morrison, 'Third Way Manifesto 2001 (Third Way, 2001) (ISBN 0-9535077-9-3)
• Patrick Harrington The Third Way Manifesto 1997
• Patrick Harrington, The Third Way - An Answer to Blair (Third Way, 1999) (ISBN 0-9535077-0-X)

Associated publications

The Third Way have operated, or are closely associated with, various publications and websites. They include:

• Ulster Nation magazine and website
• Counter-Culture magazine and website
• Mother Earth magazine and website
• Liverpool Newsletter, a distributist publication formerly edited by Anthony Cooney and now published by Third Way

External links

• National Liberal Party
• Third Way website
• Solidarity Union website