Elections
The party tested its electoral fortunes in the 1972 Uxbridge by-election but performed poorly. Although they finished ahead of one other fringe right-wing candidate in "Democratic Conservative against the Common Market" candidate Reginald Simmerson, their 1.64% vote share put them behind the Union Movement's Dan Harmston (2.6%) and way behind the NF's John Clifton, whose 8.71% vote share was seen as a dramatically high result for the NF at the time. Their best performance came in the February 1974 general election when Micahel Coney, standing as National Independence - Anti-Common Market captured 4.4% of the vote in Tottenham, finishing ahead of the NF's Roy Painter. This came despite Painter, a former member of the Conservative Party, being a well-known local figure and receiving widespread coverage in the area's press. By this time the relationship between the two parties had deteriorated so much that the NIP was "despised" by the NF.
Read more about this topic: National Independence Party (UK)
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