Political opposition in Northern Ireland - National Democratic Party, 1965-1970

Abstract

This article is a study of the role of the National Democratic Party in minority politics in Ulster between 1965 and 1970. The NDP established three principles of crucial significance for the later development of minority party politics. Firstly, it established a belief in constructive political action as an effective lever to change, after the two alternative methods to change - political abstentionism and physical force - had been discredited. Secondly, the NDP formed a consistent and efficient political organisation and thirdly, an open membership. All three principles were the basic prerequisites for a modern political party and provided the basis for the Social Democratic and Labour Party when it was formed in 1970.