Table of Contents
- February 28: PEOPLE fields five candidates in UK General Election
- May 5: René Dumont Runs for President in France
- June: PEOPLE holds first National Conference
- October 10: PEOPLE Stands for U.K. General Election

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February 28: PEOPLE fields five candidates in UK General Election

PEOPLE contested a U.K. General Election for the first time, with five candidates of their own, plus two affiliates (an independent in Birmingham Northfield and a PEOPLE/Agrarian in Hornchurch). Together the five plus the PEOPLE/Agrarian candidate received 4,576 votes, led by party co-founder Lesley Whittaker in Coventry North West with 3.9% and Warwick University Technician Alan Pickard with 2.8% (1,332 votes). Both were helped by the absence of Liberal candidates

In Leeds North East, Clive Lord fought a strong campaign, but did less well against monetarist guru Keith Joseph, a mentor and collaborator with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990), who promoted the neo-liberal free market economics that have been dominant in Britain since the 1970s. Lord was supported by the University Conserv-action Society, which supplied student helpers but, despite their efforts, Lord collected a mere 300 votes. A candidate in Liverpool West Derby gained equally few votes.

Edward Goldsmith had hoped to contest his father’s old constituency in East Anglia. But the seat, vacated by Major Frank Goldsmith in 1918, had been removed by subsequent boundary changes. The nearest equivalent, Eye, Suffolk was chosen. Goldsmith’s campaign leaflet, a loosely written 3,000-word document, created controversy and alienated some natural supporters. The leaflet contained a lengthly ecological critique of growth, centralisation, pollution and industrialization, but was interspersed by some socially and economically conservative views that likely limited PEOPLE’s ability to gain support.

May 5: René Dumont Runs for President in France

Ecologie et Survie When sitting French President Georges Pomidou died unexpected in April, 1974, early presidential elections were called, that not normally have been held until 1976. With the first round scheduled May 5th, journalist Jean Carlier rallied support, most notably from Les Amis de la Terre (AdlT - Friends of the Earth) and other journalist concerned with environmental matters, as well as a coalition of environmental groups - including Ecologie et Survie.

Their candidate was René Dumont, internationally known agronomist and expert on the Third World. Dumont polled 1.3% and 336,114 votes, and brought ecology to the French public on the national level for the first time. A forefather of the French Green Party Les Verts, Les Verts called Dumont "the man who made it possible to bring environmental policies in a direct and natural manner into the political world" upon his passing in 2001 at the age of 97.

June: PEOPLE holds first National Conference

The first national conference of PEOPLE was held in Coventry in June 1974. The Party's first and violent split occurred when more radical members joined and attended the Coventry Conference.

Lesley Whittaker drafted the Party’s first manifesto ‘A Manifesto for Survival’ which was circulated before the conference and attracted 150 amendments. But the influx of new radical activists from the Left had joined the Party, and found Whittaker’s document too right wing on certain issues. This struck a nerve, as Whittaker, her husband Tony and Mike Benfield were Party co-founders, but also former activists in the Conservative Party: Tony as an ex-councillor and Lesley the daughter of a Conservative mayor of Coventry.

A heated debate over the Manifesto ensued, which Clive Lord called a “blood bath” and an “out right confrontation between those coming into the Party from the Left and those seen as being in control on the platform”

Although with amendments A Manifesto for Survival was ratified by the 70 members present, the conflict left the Party ill-prepared for the October 1974 General Election, leading to a far worse result than in the February 1974. For their part, the Whittakers, intending to give the Party a two-year trial period, began to feel that the experiment had more or less failed, and ultimately took to self-sufficiency in Devon.

October 10: PEOPLE Stands for U.K. General Election

Five candidates stood in October General Elections, but the average vote fell to just 0.7%. Lesley Whittaker’s vote fell sharply in Coventry North West as the Liberals fought the seat. Norma Russell gained 327 votes in Leeds East, and Elizabeth Davenport 359 in Birmingham Northfield. Two PEOPLE/Agrarian candidates in Essex did a little better – Ben Percy-Davis attracted 1.8% in Hornchurch and L. Sampson gained 0.5%. This disappointing result and lack of media interest exacted its toll. By the end of 1974, the Party was at a low ebb with local groups starting to collapse