Origins
The organisation's origins lay in National Unity, a political study group founded in 1959. It failed to unite nationalists as it had hoped, and so it worked with Gerry Quigley, Secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, to call a conference of all nationalists.
The conference was held on 19 April 1964 in Maghery. It was well attended, although Nationalist Party leader Eddie McAteer rejected his invitation, and other Nationalist MPs were reluctant to accept criticisms raised of them. The conference founded the National Political Front, with Anne McFadden as its secretary.
The National Political Front aimed to develop policy for the Nationalist Party and any other sympathetic politicians, and to play a role in selecting future nationalist candidates. Despite this, the Nationalist Party chose to organise its own convention to choose a candidate for Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the 1964 UK general election.
In the run-up to the election, McAteer wrote to leaders of other opposition parties to discuss forming a united opposition, and this produced talks with the Republican Labour Party. They released a joint programme entitled "39 Points", largely based on the demands of the National Political Front. However, the relationship between the Front and the Nationalists again soured before the end of 1964. As a result, some politicians resigned from the Nationalist Party, including John Hume.
Read more about this topic: National Democratic Party (Northern Ireland)
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