Editing New Politics Network

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The '''New Politics Network''' (NPN) was an independent political and campaigning [[think tank]] in the [[United Kingdom]], concerned with democratic renewal and popular participation in politics. It was founded as the successor to [[Democratic Left (UK)|Democratic Left]] in 1999, and merged with [[Charter 88]] to form [[Unlock Democracy]] in 2007.

==Origin==
The NPN was established in December 1999 following the winding up of Democratic Left, the [[legal successor (organization)|legal successor  organisation]] to the former [[Communist Party of Great Britain]].<ref name=history>{{cite web|url=http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/?page_id=493|title=A short history|work=Unlock Democracy|accessdate=9 February 2010}}</ref> Its first director was [[Nina Temple]]. Democratic Left had briefly become the New Times Network, publishing a magazine, ''New Times'', until the summer of 1999, before it became the NPN.<ref name=gold/>

==Activities==
The NPN had around 200 to 250 members.<ref name=gold/> The NPN worked with a wide range of groups and individuals to provide a forum to look at emerging ideas in society. Its stated goal was to provide an independent and innovative debate on the future of politics. With the [[Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust]] it funded the [[tactical voting]] website Tacticalvoter.net during the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/may/31/internet.onlinesupplement1|title=Working the web: Voting alternatives|last=Carus|first=Felicity|date=31 May 2001|work=The Guardian|accessdate=9 February 2010}}</ref> although it was not involved with the 2005 campaign of the same name.

While it was predicted by [[Nick Cohen]] in the ''[[New Statesman]]'' in 2000 that NPN would merge with Make Votes Count and Charter 88,<ref name=gold>{{cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/node/138829|title=Up for grabs: £3.5m of Stalin's gold|last=Cohen|first=Nick|date=23 October 2000|work=New Statesman|accessdate=9 February 2010}}</ref> [[Nina Temple]] among others attempted to steer the organisation back towards its democratic socialist roots at the 2003 AGM. If this had been successful, the organisation may well have ended up as part of the [[Compass (think tank)|Compass]] pressure group.{{Original research inline|date=February 2010}}

The NPN owned an office block in [[Islington]], north London, a property company called Rodell, and an office in the Midlands.<ref name=gold/>

==Merger==
In November 2007 the NPN, by then directed by [[Peter Facey]], merged with [[Charter 88]] to form a new campaigning group, [[Unlock Democracy]].<ref name=history/> The contribution of NPN to this merger was substantially financial, due to the dire situation in which Charter 88 had found itself. The NPN strapline "connecting people and politics" was however, retained.

==See also==
* [[List of UK think tanks]]
* [[Make Votes Matter]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* ''Background Information on the Proposed Merger between Charter 88 and the New Politics Network'' (jointly printed pamphlet, 2007)

==External links==
*[http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/ Unlock Democracy]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.new-politics.net/ New Politics Net] on the [[Internet Archive]]
*[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/thinktanks/page/0,,1092273,00.html Guardian profile]

{{Communist Party of Great Britain}}
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[[Category:Political and economic think tanks based in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Communist Party of Great Britain]]