English National Party
Encyclopedia
English National Party has been the name of various political parties of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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The original ENP

The English National Party (ENP) was founded as the John Hampden
John Hampden
John Hampden was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643) was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643)...

 New Freedom Party
in the 1960s by Frank Hansford-Miller
Frank Hansford-Miller
Frank Hansford-Miller was a politician and prolific author in both England and Australia.Born in London, Hansford-Miller, he studied at Colfe's Grammar School before serving in the Royal Artillery during World War II. After the war, he studied statistics at University College London and King's...

. In 1974, it renamed itself the "English Nationalist Party". It achieved its greatest notability in April 1976 when it was joined by the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 John Stonehouse
John Stonehouse
John Thomson Stonehouse was a British politician and minister under Harold Wilson. Stonehouse is perhaps best remembered for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his own death in 1974...

, who had formerly represented the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 and at the time was on remand for fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...

. However, Stonehouse was convicted and left Parliament in August of that year, and the party did not stand a candidate in the subsequent by-election. The party was active until at least 1979, when it stood a candidate in the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...

, but was defunct by 1981, when Hansford-Miller stood for the "Abolition of Rates Coalition". Hansford-Miller later settled in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

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The party's best known policy was advocating an English Parliament. Other policies included calling for the abolition of income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...

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Other parties by the name

There have since been several parties which have adopted the "English National Party" name, some of which have also claimed its heritage. These include a far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...

 organisation formed by Raymond Edwin Shenton in 1984, which contested the Enfield Southgate by-election, 1984
Enfield Southgate by-election, 1984
The Enfield Southgate by-election, 1984 was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 December 1984 for the British House of Commons constituency of Enfield Southgate.- Previous MP :...

; a party founded in 1991 by Christopher Nickerson which has contested a couple of parliamentary elections, and one founded by Robin Tilbrook in 1997, now known as the English Democrats.

In April 1999, a group calling itself the "English National Party" was one of four different organizations which claimed responsibility for a nail-bomb attack in Brixton.

Another party registered under the name "English National Party", with leader Robert Williams and other officer Michael Blundell has been registered since September 2002. http://registers.electoralcommission.org.uk/regulatory-issues/regpoliticalparties.cfm?frmGB=1&frmPartyID=336&frmType=partydetail It is based in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 and notes it has a membership of "under 100" and has annual income of less than £100.http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/58278/English-National-Party-Statement-of-Accounts-2007.pdf. As of 2009 the party remains registered under that name, but it has now become the English Democrats Party
English Democrats Party
The English Democrats are an English federalist political party, committed to the formation of a devolved English Parliament with at least the same powers as those granted to the Scottish Parliament. Whilst not supporting English Independence, the English Democrats consider themselves the English...

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