The National Party was formed on January 6, 1976 by John Kingsley Read as a less extreme alternative to the National Front. Seeking a less confrontational solution to immigration than the NF the National Party adopted a more populist approach and broke from the ambiguities that the NF had to the Nazis. Essentially the party was intended as a gathering place for those who had flocked to the NF after the actions of Enoch Powell but had found them too extreme. Initially the party looked poised for success and in local elections of 1976 it had two councillors elected in Blackburn, Lancashire. A party journal, Britain First, was published for a time although the National Party proved unsuccessful and did not last long.

The party should not be confused with the Nationalist Party which, although having similar roots to the Nationals, was an alternative name for the Constitutional Movement of Andrew Fountaine.