Campaign for a More Prosperous Britain

The Campaign for a More Prosperous Britain was a political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded before the February 1974 general election by Tom Keen and Harold Smith, both business owners in Manchester.

Campaign for a More Prosperous Britain
Leader	Tom Keen
Founded	1974
Dissolved	c. 1982
Headquarters	Manchester
Ideology	Anti-labourism
Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections

Keen was the party's leader. Before forming the campaign, he had become a millionaire through property development. The party called for voters not to vote for its candidates, but for tactical voting to defeat the Labour Party; it distributed anti-Labour literature. Despite this, some of its candidacies received hundreds of votes, with Keen's candidacy in Portsmouth North at the October 1974 general election attracting 1.0% of all the votes cast.^[1]

The party first came to public attention when members plastered the headquarters of the Trades Union Congress with anti-union posters.^[2] It was also strongly opposed to the Communist Party of Great Britain.^[3]

Smith stood against Labour Party leader Harold Wilson at the February 1974 general election, taking 234 votes.^[1] Keen and Smith set a new record at the October general election by standing simultaneously in eleven and twelve constituencies, respectively.^[4] With two associates who stood in a single constituency each, the campaign stood in a total of 25 seats, receiving 4,301 votes.^[3] Each constituency was a marginal seat held by the Labour Party, but Labour held each seat at the election.^[5]

Keen stood for the party again in the 1979 general election and several by-elections. However, the party was apparently dissolved in the early 1980s, Keen standing in five Labour seats at the 1983 general election as an independent.^[1]

Results

February 1974 general election

Constituency	Candidate	Votes[1]	Percentage	Position	Result
Huyton	Harold Smith	234	0.4	4		Labour hold

October 1974 general election

Constituency	Candidate	Votes[3]	Percentage	Position	Result
Aldridge-Brownhills	Tom Keen	210	0.4	4		Labour hold
Battersea South	Tom Keen	170	0.6	4		Labour hold
Birmingham Handsworth	Tom Keen	105	0.3	4		Labour hold
Birmingham Perry Barr	Tom Keen	86	0.2	5		Labour hold
Birmingham Yardley	Tom Keen	111	0.2	5		Labour hold
Bolton East	Harold Smith	149	0.3	5		Labour hold
Bradford West	Harold Smith	339	0.8	4		Labour hold
Chorley	Harold Smith	185	0.3	4		Labour hold
Coventry South West	Tom Keen	144	0.3	5		Labour hold
Derby North	Harold Smith	242	0.4	4		Labour hold
Glasgow Govan	T. Clyde	27	0.1	6		Labour hold
Gravesend	Tom Keen	239	0.4	5		Labour hold
Huddersfield West	Harold Smith	136	0.3	5		Labour hold
Ilford South	Tom Keen	169	0.4	4		Labour hold
Keighley	Charles William Deakin	179	0.4	5		Labour hold
Loughborough	Harold Smith	125	0.2	5		Labour hold
Manchester Moss Side	Harold Smith	96	0.3	5		Labour hold
Middleton and Prestwich	Harold Smith	234	0.4	4		Labour hold
Portsmouth North	Tom Keen	527	1.0	4		Labour hold
Preston North	Harold Smith	138	0.3	4		Labour hold
Preston South	Harold Smith	87	0.2	5		Labour hold
Putney	Tom Keen	125	0.3	4		Labour hold
Sowerby	Harold Smith	157	0.4	4		Labour hold
Walsall South	Tom Keen	150	0.4	5		Labour hold
York	Harold Smith	304	0.5	4		Labour hold

By-elections, 1974–1979

Election	Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Position	Result
1976 Coventry North West	Tom Keen	40	0.1	6		Labour hold

1979 general election

Constituency	Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Position	Result
Bristol North West	Tom Keen	73	0.1	5		Conservative gain
Bristol South East	Tom Keen	66	0.1	5		Labour hold
Colne Valley	Tom Keen	101	0.2	4		Liberal hold
Coventry North West	Tom Keen	98	0.3	4		Labour hold
Coventry South West	Tom Keen	144	0.3	5		Conservative gain
Huddersfield West	Tom Keen	101	0.2	4		Conservative gain

By-elections, 1979–1983

Election	Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Position	Result
1981 Warrington	Tom Keen	10	0.0	11		Labour hold
1982 Beaconsfield	Tom Keen	51	0.1	6		Conservative hold

At Beaconsfield, Keen stood under the description "Benn in 10 unless Proportional Representation".