National Progressive Democrats should not be confused with Progressive Democrats.
| Country: | the Republic of Ireland |
| National Progressive Democrats | |
| Leader1 Title: | Founders |
| Leader1 Name: | Noël Browne, Jack McQuillan |
| Foundation: | 1958 |
| Dissolution: | 1963 |
| Ideology: | Socialism Progressivism |
| Position: | Left Wing |
| Merged: | Labour Party |
The National Progressive Democrats was a small socialist political party in the Republic of Ireland, active between 1958 and 1963.
The party was founded as a left-wing progressive secular party.[1] Its founders were Noël Browne (former Minister for Health) and Jack McQuillan, former members of the social democratic wing of Clann na Poblachta. The party was noted for its vigorous role in Dáil Éireann. Between 1958 and 1961, 7 of the 9 motions discussed in Private Member's Time had been proposed by one of them. In 1961 and 1962, they asked 1,400 parliamentary questions, 17% of the total. Taoiseach Seán Lemass paid them a compliment by referring to them as "the real opposition". Both were re-elected at the 1961 general election, but the party won little support as it fielded only one other candidate.
The party was disbanded when it merged into the Labour Party in 1963.[2] However, both Browne and McQuillan lost their seats in the next election contesting for the Labour Party.
| Election | Constituency | Candidate | 1st Pref. votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 Dublin South-Central by-election | Dublin South-Central | Noel Hartnett | 2,688 | 15.3 |
| 1961 general election | Carlow-Kilkenny | Kathleen Brady | 1,484 | 3.4 |
| Dublin South-East | Noël Browne | 4,717 | 19.1 | |
| Roscommon | Jack McQuillan | 5,289 | 15.1 |