Republican Labour Party

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
Political position	Centre-left
Politics of Northern Ireland Political parties Elections

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". Fitt won the West Belfast seat in the UK general election of 1966, and held it in the 1970 election.

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.

References

↑ David Boothroyd, Politico's guide to the history of British political parties, p. 138
↑ Michael A. Murphy, Gerry Fitt: A Political Chameleon, p.162
↑ Eamonn McCann, "Obituary: Paddy Kennedy", The Guardian, 4 May 1999

Defunct political parties of Northern Ireland

Unionist / Loyalist	Commonwealth Labour Party Independent Unionist Association Northern Ireland Unionist Party Protestant Unionist Party UK Unionist Party Ulster Constitution Party Ulster Democratic Party Ulster Popular Unionist Party Ulster Progressive Unionist Association Ulster Unionist Coalition Party Ulster Unionist Labour Association Unionist Party of Northern Ireland United Ulster Unionist Council United Ulster Unionist Party United Unionist Coalition Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party Volunteer Political Party

Nationalist / Republican	All Ireland Anti-Partition League Federation of Labour Fianna Uladh Irish Anti-Partition League Irish Independence Party Irish Union Association National Democratic Party Nationalist Party National League of the North National Unity Northern Council for Unity Official Sinn Féin People's Democracy Red Republican Party Republican Socialist Collective Saor Éire Socialist Republican Party Unity

Left wing¹	Belfast Labour Party Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist-Leninist) Communist Party of Northern Ireland Democratic Left Independent Labour Group Independent Socialist Party Labour coalition Labour Party of Northern Ireland Labour and Trade Union Group League for a Workers Republic Northern Ireland Labour Party Republican Labour Party Socialist Labour Alliance Socialist Party of Northern Ireland United Labour Party Workers League World Socialist Party

Ulster nationalist	British Ulster Dominion Party Ulster Independence Movement Ulster Independence Party Ulster Movement for Self-Determination Ulster Third Way

Others	Democratic Partnership Newtownabbey Ratepayers' Association Northern Ireland Women's Coalition Ulster Liberal Party Unbought Tenants Association

¹ Excluding those left-wing parties avowedly nationalist / republican or unionist / loyalist.

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