The party was established in August 1959 by Llewellyn Briggs, bringing together his Independent Group and former members of the Federal Independence Party (FIP) who had formed the Progressive Local Government Party.[1][2][3][4] The Independent Group had won eight of the fourteen European seats in the 1956 general elections, whilst the FIP had failed to gain representation. The formation of the United Party was primarily a response to the establishment of the New Kenya Party by liberal Europeans.[4]