The party was founded on 15 March 1953 by members of the
Progressive Party,
Social Democratic Party and
Socialist Party. It won two seats in the
June 1953 elections, taken by
Gils Guðmundsson and
Bergur Sigurbjörnsson. Party members also gained seats on the student council of the
University of Iceland,
Akureyri local council and
Reykjavík city council. However, it lost both
Althing seats in the
1956 elections. It failed to win a seat in the
June and
October elections in 1959, and thereafter only contested elections as part of the
People's Alliance. Guðmundsson gained a seat, which he held until 1979. Sigurbjörnsson did not succeed in winning back his seat, but served twice in the Althing during the 1963–1967 term, replacing other MPs. In 1969, some party members left the People's Alliance to establish the
Union of Liberals and Leftists. ==Ideology==