New Conservative Party (UK)

The New Conservative Party was a minor nationalist political party in the United Kingdom.

New Conservative Party
Founder	John E. Dayton
Founded	March 1960
Dissolved	Autumn 1961
Ideology	British Nationalism

This article is about the 1960-61 Political Party. For the 2023 caucus of a similar name, see New Conservatives (UK).

The party was founded in March 1960 by John E. Dayton,^[1] a civil engineer living in Dorking, Surrey. He described it as a party "neither of the extreme right nor left",^[2] although The History of British Political Parties describes its main policy as British nationalism.^[3]

Dayton stood as a candidate first in the 1960 Harrow West by-election,^[2] at which he took 4.7% of the vote – which proved to be the party's highest ever share.^[3] Following this, he launched a party newsletter, Watching Brief, and then in November stood in the Bolton East by-election.^[3] He took only 1.2% of the vote in Bolton East,^[4] while fellow party member C. F. H. Gilliard fared even worse in the 1960 Mid Bedfordshire by-election, with 0.6% of the votes cast.^[5]

In May 1961, the party was renamed as the True Conservative Party, but this change did not revive its fortunes, and it was dissolved in the autumn.^[1] However, Dayton founded the Patriotic Front for Political Action and stood in the 1961 Oswestry by-election, at which he took a 2.8% share.^[3] He soon ceased publishing Watching Brief, and dissolved the new party in February 1962, joining the Labour Party,^[3] and standing for the party in Westmorland at the 1966 general election.^[6]