The party was formed in May 1950 with the merger of the Accra Ratepayers' Association and the Manbii Party. It was led by Nii Amaa Ollennu, with Frederick Nanka-Bruce as chairman. It supported a gradual transition to self-government, under the slogan "Sure, Solid, Self-government". It campaigned against Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party (CPP), claiming that the CPP's candidates were inexperienced and extreme, while its candidates were both experienced and respectable. The British colonial officials welcomed the formation of the party, but privately expressed doubts about its popular appeal.
