The Progressive Constitutional Party (PCP), also known as the Progressive Constitutionalist Party, was a political party in Malta between 1953 and 1971.
History The PCP was established in 1953 by Mabel Strickland, owner of the Times of Malta and daughter of Gerald Strickland, the founder of the Constitutional Party.Vincent E McHale (1983) Political parties of Europe, Greenwood Press, p635 It was a split from the Constitutional Party, which Strickland had left in protest against its support for the Labour Party's policy of integration with the United Kingdom.
The party failed to win a seat in elections in 1953 and 1955, but won a single seat in the 1962 elections. However, it lost its seat in the post-independence 1966 elections. After failing to win a seat in the 1971 elections it subsequently disappeared.
Ideology The party promoted loyalty to the Catholic church and the British Crown, but advocated dominion status for Malta to avoid any cultural assimilation or secularisation that integration with the United Kingdom would bring.McHale, p636 It also held a strict anti-communist line.
Electoral history ElectionLeaderVotes %Seats+/–RankStatus1953Mabel Strickland5,128New4th rowspan="2" 19553,649 0 3rd19627,290 1 5th19662,009 1 4th rowspan="2" 19711,756 0 3rdParty dissolved
References
External links Progressive Constitutional Party's Principles and Programme