North East Party

The North East Party (NEP) is a regionalist political party in North East England founded in 2014 by a group of 16 people including the former Labour MP; Hilton Dawson,[2] and 7 members of the FAIR party. The party campaigns for a better deal for North East England generally and is committed to a devolved assembly in the North East with powers similar to those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if approved by a referendum.[3] It says bodies such as the North East Combined Authority do not have a mandate to take on new responsibilities and representatives must be directly-elected.[4] Dawson stepped down as Chair of the party in June 2016 and was replaced by John Tait. Dawson remains active in the party taking on the role of Secretary and Nominating Officer.[5]

The North East Party
LeaderBrian Moore
General SecretaryJenny Shotton
FoundedMay 2014 (May 2014)
Youth wingNorth East Party Youth Wing
IdeologyRegionalism
Subsidiarity
Progressivism[1]
Durham County Council
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Website
www.thenortheastparty.com

The party has two elected councillors above parish council level, all on Durham County Council.[6]

History

The NEP was founded in May 2014 and is widely seen as a sister party to the Yorkshire Party.[7][8] In December 2014, the party won its first council seat at a local by-election for Peterlee Town Council in County Durham.[9] Two months later, the party won a second seat on the council in another by-election.[10] Following these successes, the party contested and won several by-elections for both Durham County and local parish council seats during 2015-17.[11]

In its first general election in 2015 the North East Party contested four parliamentary seats, standing candidates in Easington, Newcastle upon Tyne North, Redcar and Stockton North. Its best performance came in Easington where candidate Susan McDonnell came in fifth of seven candidates and received 2.3% of the vote.

General election 2015
ConstituencyCandidateVotes %
EasingtonSusan McDonnell8102.3
Newcastle upon Tyne NorthViolet Rook3380.7
RedcarPhilip Lockey3891.0
Stockton NorthJohn Tait6011.5

In the May 2017 Durham County local government elections, the party stood 14 county councillor candidates and 27 town councillor candidates. Its candidates won 3 seats on Durham County Council (2 seats for Peterlee West, 1 seat for Passfield)[12] and 23 seats on Durham County town councils including 20 of 22 seats at Peterlee Town Council, 2 of 8 north ward seats at Horden Parish Council, and 1 of 15 seats at Shotton Parish Council.[13]

In the 2017 general election the party ran in only one constituency, Easington. Susan McDonnell nearly tripled her vote total from 2015, saved her deposit with 6.6% of the vote, and came in third place ahead of the UKIP, Liberal Democrat, and Green candidates.

General election 2017
ConstituencyCandidateVotes %
EasingtonSusan McDonnell2,3556.6

The party stood two candidates in the 2019 general election.

General election 2019
ConstituencyCandidateVotes %
EasingtonSusan McDonnell1,4484.2
Stockton NorthMark Burdon1,1892.9

The party nominated its founding member Hilton Dawson in Hartlepool for the first parliamentary by-election of the 2020s.[14] He came in tenth place.

2021 by-election
ConstituencyCandidateVotes %
HartlepoolHilton Dawson1630.5

At the 2021 local elections, the party retained two of its councillors on Durham County Council in Passfield and Peterlee West wards. Despite losing their second seat in the latter ward, they gained both seats being contested in Peterlee East, thus bringing them to four councillors in total.[6]

List of chairs
No. Name Term of position Notes
1. Hilton Dawson June 2014 – June 2016 Founding member of The North East Party.
2. John Tait June 2016 – July 2017 2015 Parliamentary Candidate for Stockton North.
3. Mary Cartwright July 2017 – June 2019
4. Mark Burdon June 2019 – June 2020
4. Susan McDonnell June 2020 – June 2021 Parliamentary Candidate for Easington (2015, 2017 & 2019) County Councillor for Peterlee West on Durham County Council
5. Brian Moore June 2021 - now

See also

References
  1. "STANDING UP FOR NORTH EAST ENGLAND".
  2. "Ex Labour MP forms The North East Party". The Guardian. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  3. "New political party aiming for North-East devolution". The Northern Echo. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  4. "North East Party hits out at civic structures 'developing by stealth' as devolution edges up agenda". The Journal. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  5. "North East Party elects new chairman". 3 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  6. "Durham local election results 2021: How every candidate scored". chroniclelive.co.uk. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  7. "Why Yorkshire needs its own political voice". Yorkshire Post. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  8. "Political parties join forces to campaign for more powers for the North-East and Yorkshire". The Northern Echo. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  9. "North East Party fights for first ever council seat ... and wins". The Journal. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  10. "Fledgling party wins second seat at by-election". The Northern Echo. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  11. "Previous Election Results". Durham County Council. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  12. "Declaration of Results - County Council Elections 4 May 2017" (PDF). Durham County Council.
  13. "Declaration of Results - Parish Elections" (PDF). Durham County Council. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  14. "North East Party reveals Hilton Dawson as Hartlepool By-Election Candidate". Sunderland Global Media. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
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