It was considered more liberal on race relations than the National Party, which strongly supported the preservation of white supremacy.

The party drew support from several different parts of South African society, including white English-speakers, Afrikaners and Coloureds.

Five United Party members were expelled after the 1953 parliamentary session, including Bekker and Abraham Jonker, after they had criticised the party's approach to the Cape Qualified Franchise which allowed some Cape Coloureds to vote in South African elections alongside Whites.

On 4 January 1974, he met with Mangosuthu Buthelezi and signed a five-point plan for racial peace in South Africa, which came to be known as the Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith.

Schwarz's breakaway led to the demise of the United Party and realigned opposition politics in South Africa.

The United Party did not articulate a position on race relations and tacitly supported apartheid in general, though Smuts suggested that if black politicians promote "civilised" conduct, black South Africans might someday share power with the white minority.

The lack of clear policy on race relations contributed to the United Party's loss in the 1948 election.

The United Party was against apartheid as a system, but also favoured the continuation of white minority rule, akin to the political arrangements in Rhodesia at the time.

The party supported links with the Commonwealth of Nations, and unsuccessfully campaigned against the establishment of a republic in the whites-only referendum held on 5 October 1960.

The ruling National Party's reform program under PW Botha initially attracted some liberal support while provoking divisions within its ranks.