How to Start Your Own Political Party

When you think back to the 2005 and 2010 general elections, UKIP and other relatively new parties were barely represented in Parliament. It was a choice between Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem and all other parties just came under the ‘others’ category in the results. In 2015, however, these smaller parties had a lot more presence and influence in Parliament which should show you that in ten, twenty and thirty years time, we might actually be voting for a totally different set of parties to the ones we know now. There’s some speculation that after this general election, if Labour lose out badly, the Labour party could split into two parties – one Corbyn style leftist party and a new, centre-to-right leaning party. This could trigger a surge in people voting for independent candidates or in ex members of parties starting their own parties.

You reading this article right now could be the leader or founder of one of the next big political parties and if that sounds like something you’d want, here’s how to go about it:

1) Create a team of like-minded individuals with different talents and specialities. You’ll need someone good at finance and economics, someone good with legislation, etc.

2) Draw up a sample manifesto to see if your ideas are valid, affordable and achievable. You need to state the core values and beliefs of your new party and how they can be transferred into government and onto society. You need to make an electable manifesto that voters will want as their law.

3) Now you need to think of a name. This is very difficult as there is so much legislation regarding what you can and can’t call yourselves.

4) Once you have your theory sorted, you need to register with the Electoral Commission. They’re the official body that registers all political parties. You can find their guide here.

5) You’ll have to fork out a £150 fee to register – probably to prove that you’re serious.

6) Now you need to find candidates and wealthy people to invest in your cause and give you the promotion you need to get out into the public eye. This will probably be a long and exhausting process but it could pay off in the long run if you manage to get into your council and have some influence in your constituency.

7) Persistence. You need to keep on finding support and investors to allow your party to grow.

It won’t be easy but plenty of people have done it before.