General Election 2015: A guide to the smaller parties, from the National Health Action Party to the Church of the Militant Elvis Party
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Version 0 of 1. During the great debate about the debates at the start of this campaign, the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland was outraged ("Outrageous!" cried its leader, Peter Robinson) after being excluded from the seven-way ding-dong on ITV. Elsewhere, there was concern about overcrowding. But had you extended that line of lecterns to include all of the parties vying for votes in tomorrow's elections, it would have been almost a mile long. The Al-Zebabist Nation of Ooog, the Deep Earth Ecosphere Preservation Alliance, and Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers are among 462 registered parties. Beyond the big two, the big three and the big seven, the list includes scores of genuinely small parties, from the very local (Residents' Association of Cuddington) to the niche (War Veteran's Pro-Traditional Family Party), the novelty (the Church of the Militant Elvis Party), and the potentially tautological (the Party Party). Most of these names will appear on ballot papers in only one constituency. Most will lose deposits of £500 per constituency when they fail to win five per cent of the vote. Most will have effectively wasted the £150 registration fee paid to the Electoral Commission (plus an annual fee to stay on the list). But among the raving loons and satirists, there are plenty of parties who might stand to do well, if only they had a voice. Clive Peedell co-founded and jointly leads the National Health Action party (NHA). He is running as a candidate in Witney, one of the safest seats in the country, where he dreams of unseating the Conservative incumbent, David Cameron. "But a big part of our problem is just being recognised," he says while driving to a hustings. "If you ask the average person in the street if they have heard of us, it would be a very low percentage." Prime mover: Clive Peedell is going up against David Cameron (Getty) Peedell, who has put his career as an oncologist on hold to fight for the NHS, is one of 12 candidates his party is putting up, most of whom are also doctors. He has the support of a press officer, Giselle Green, but while his fight against Cameron has gained national and international press attention, his party has struggled locally. "I remember, in a hustings before the Eastleigh by-election two years ago, we got a minute next to the Beer, Baccy and Crumpet Party," Green says. The Witney Gazette had been due to cover the launch of Peedell's campaign but, the candidate says, it has ignored the NHA while giving precious column inches to his rivals, including a female golfer campaigning against tax on sport, and a Muppet (Bobby Smith is the leader of the Give Me Back Elmo Party, which wants better rights for fathers). "We are healthcare professionals taking unprecedented steps to defend the healthcare system with a wide range of policies," Peedell says. "That deserves attention." It can be hard to be taken seriously when the electorate expects small parties to be novelty groups, but even those inspired, perhaps, by Screaming Lord Sutch say that they have a role in democracy. "We bring issues to the voters that the main parties don't," says Lord Biro, the leader of the Church of the Militant Elvis Party. The veteran loser of deposits has run for a number of parties, all founded by himself. His issues have included potholes, climate change, public lavatories (he wants more) and a campaign to install Bono as the Pope. Waleed Ghani (pictured left), the founder (or reviver) of the Whig Party, is running in Vauxhall, a Labour safe seat in south London. "I really don't understand why more people don't set up parties," he says. "The way I see it, there are 650 really good jobs up for grabs, and people should be competing for them. But while the system is good, the people in the system always seem to represent a professional political class." He adds: "We can all raise the standards of political discourse." The barriers to standing for election have moved with time but are traditionally low. Rules were tightened in 1998 to prohibit confusing names. Before that, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the 1994 European elections launched a legal challenge after he narrowly lost to the Literal Democrat Party. He lost in court, too, but, like the Conversatives and the Conservatories, the Lit Dems would now not be able to run. Yet the Electoral Commission has allowed Heydon Prowse, the comedy activist, to run against Grant Shapps as "Michael Green", the Conservative candidate's alter ego. And, to Nigel Farage's chagrin, Al Murray was also allowed to register the parody Free United Kingdom Party (FUKP). The Commission, which allows parties to have up to six words in their names, has also moved to stop the use of ballot papers as (relatively) cheap billboards. In 1997, the Mongolian Barbecue Great Place to Party party won 112 votes in Wimbledon. (The restaurant has since closed.) Names that are deemed likely to cause offence are also now prohibited. The Beer, Baccy and Crumpet Party faced ruin when officials decided "crumpet" could be interpreted as derogatory to women rather than a yeasty griddle cake. But it lived to lose another election after changing its name. Its leader, Ray Hall, is now standing in Eastleigh for the Beer, Baccy and Scratchings Party. The latest polling suggests that he may win one per cent of the vote. In Witney, Peedell says he will be delighted to keep his deposit, but is looking beyond tomorrow. He finds inspiration in a rare occasion on which a small party has triumphed. In 2001, Dr Richard Taylor won a surprise victory for his Health Concern party in Wyre Forest after campaigning to restore Kidderminster Hospital's accident-and-emergency department. He won again in 2005, but lost in 2010. Now aged 80, he is running this year for the NHA. Clive Peedell campaigning in Charlbury (Getty) In Stafford and South West Surrey, meanwhile, Peedell believes the party has a good chance of victory. "If we got one seat we'd be on a par with the Greens and Ukip," he says. "Then we'd have a good chance of getting on to the Health Select Committee. Those votes will not have been wasted." THE ALSO RANS: 200 SERIOUSLY SMALL PARTIES Excluding those parties already holding seats, the eccentrics and those simply seeking publicity – as well as those campaigning on local or single issues – there are still a multitude of political movements in the UK, all hoping to save their deposits tomorrow. From the 450-plus parties registered for this election, these (may) deserve your consideration: 2015 Constitutionalists UK 21st Century Conservative Democrats 21st Century Democracy A Better Way to Govern All People's Party Alliance EPP: European People's Party UK Alliance for Green Socialism Alliance for Workers' Liberty Alternative Party Animal Welfare Party Apolitical Democrats Britannica British Commonwealth Party British Constitution Party British Democratic Party British Independents Campaign Centre Democrats Centreground Party Christian Democrat Party for a Consensus Christian Democratic Party Christian Movement for Great Britain Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship" Christian Peoples Alliance Citizens First City Independents Class War Co-operative Party Common Good Common Sense Party Communist League Election Campaign Communist Party of Britain Communities Against the Cuts Communities United Party Community Action Party Community First Community Representatives Party Consensus Deep Earth Ecosphere Preservation Alliance Democracy First Democratic Independence Party Democratic Reform Party Democratic-Republican Party Digital Democracy Direct Democracy (Communist) Party District First English Democrats English Independence Party English National Party English Parliamentary Party English People's Party Equal and Just Society Equal Parenting Alliance Europeans Party Everyone's Party Free Public Transport Party Free United Kingdom Party Get Snouts Out The Trough Harmony Party Hoi Polloi Humanity Independence from Europe Independent Democrats Independent Green Voice Independent Group of Councillors Independent Labour Group Independent Sovereign Democratic Britain Independent Voice-Community Focus Independent Working Class Association Interactive Democracy Internet Democrats Islam Zinda Baad Platform iXDemocracy Jubilee Party Justice Party Kaizen Liberal Utilitarian Democrats Keep It Real Party Land Party Left Unity Libertarian Party Liberty GB Life Local Voice Mainstream Matriarchal Party United Kingdom Great Britain Meritocracy Partaidh na h-Alba Movement for Active Democracy (MAD) National Health Action Party National Liberal Party – True Liberalism National Republican and Democratic Party Nationwide Reform Party New Deal New England Party New Independent Centralists New Parliament Party Newclear Outline (NO) Party of Dissent Patria Patriotic Socialist Party People Against Bureaucracy Group People First Party People Social Freedom Party People's Administration People's Democratic Party Population Party UK Populist Party Power to the People Pro Liberty Progressive Party Proletarian Real Democracy Party Rebooting Democracy Red Flag Anti-Corruption Reform Reform 2000 Party Representative Democracy Party Restore the Family for Children's Sake Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) Say Yes! To a Fair Society! Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers Scottish Democratic Alliance Scottish Socialist Party Scottish Unionist Party Scottish Voice Socialist Alliance Socialist Alternative Socialist Equality Party Socialist Labour Party Socialist People's Party Solidarity – Scotland's Socialist Movement Something New Stand The 30-50 Coalition The Animal Protection Party The Awakened Nation The British Empire Party The British Voice The Commonwealth Liberation Party The Community Group The Democratic Party The Democratic Realist Party The European Citizens Party The Evolution Party The Fair Party The Free Democratic Party The Free Energy Party UK The Globalisation Liberation Dream Party The Independent Political Alliance Party The Independent Socialist Party The Independents Alliance The Just Political Party The Justice & Anti-Corruption Party The Ligali Party The Local Party The Money Free Party The Nationwide Party The Peace Party – Non-violence, Justice, Environment The Peoples Party for Better Government The Pilgrim Party The Pluralist Party The Principles of Politics Party The Priority Party The Protest Party The Radical Party The Realists' Party The Referendum Party The Republican Socialists Party The Say No Party The Sensible Party The Socialist Party of Great Britain The Sustainable Population Party The True English (Poetry) Party The U(niversal) Party The UK Progressive Democracy Party The United Democratic Party The United in Europe Party The Whig Party Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition True Democracy Party Truly Independent English Party Ubuntu Party UK Community Issues UK Meritocracy Party United Kingdom People Quality Life Party Unity for Peace and Socialism Valour Veritas Village Voice Vivamus Vox Pop War Veteran's Pro-Traditional Family Party We Are the Reality Party We Demand a Referendum Now Workers Revolutionary Party Working Families Party World Peace Through Song Yes 2 Europe Young People's Party YPP Your Decision Yourvoice |