Rivers ministry

Patrick Rivers's official portrait as prime minister (c. January 3026)

The sixth Labour government, administratively the Rivers ministry, was formed on 15 January 3026 by Patrick Rivers, the leader of the Labour party, following the 3026 general election three-days prior. Rivers became prime minister with the outside support of the Covalence party, allowing him to form a minority government. Shortly after winning the confidence of the National Assembly, Rivers spilled the leadership of the Labour party, which he subsequently won. Rivers formed the first Labour government of the Commonwealth era, after being invited by governor-general Ray Banes to do so.

Shortly after his election, Rivers confirmed that Gavin Thompson would remain in his position as chancellor of the exchequer. Additionally, in line with the Keeper rule, Peter RT Harris remained as attorney general. The key appointment of the government seemed to be that of Jenna Wilkie to be foreign minister, from which she instituted the Wilkie foreign policy doctrine.

The appointment of a deputy prime minister was granted to the Labour caucus in the 3026 Labour party leadership spill, which returned Alan Kelly as deputy leader of the Labour party, and thus deputy prime minister.

Cabinet

Cabinet of the Rivers ministry

Portfolio	Responsible minister		Party
Prime Minister		Patrick Rivers	🟥 Labour
Assembly Leader
Deputy Prime Minister		Alan Kelly	🟥 Labour
Labour Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer		Gavin Thompson	⬜ Independent
Foreign Minister		Jenna Wilkie	🟥 Labour
Defence Minister		Penny May	🟥 Labour
Home Minister		Elliot Macintosh	🟥 Labour
Progress Minister		Dennis Drakeford	🟥 Labour
Interior Minister		Jack Abbott	🟥 Labour
Attorney General		Peter RT Harris	⬜ Independent
Justice Minister

Departmental reorganisation

Upon taking office, Rivers reduced the number of government offices to nine. This was done in part due to the significantly smaller size of the assembly Labour caucus, though Rivers said the change was to reduce waste and hone government strategy. The offices, and their portfolios, were:

Office of state	Responsible minister	Area(s) of responsibility
Cabinet Office	Prime Minister	Intergovernmental communication, logistics, strategy, disaster preparedness; elections oversight
Treasury	Chancellor of the Exchequer	Fiscal and monetary policy; tax collection
Labour Office	Labour Minister	Work & pensions; welfare; union relations; worker's rights; commercial regulation & consumer protection; education; healthcare
Foreign Office	Foreign Minister	International relations; international development; diplomacy; membership of the DCM and HRE
Defence Office	Defence Minister	Military policy; civil defence; arms manufacturing
Home Office	Home Minister	Immigration; policing and law enforcement; homeland security and counter-terrorism; Wiltshirianification
Interior Office	Interior Minister	Utilities; environment & land management; communities & cities; energy; food
Progress Office	Progress Minister	Investment & infrastructure; housing & urban development; economic development and management; trade; transportation; digital integration and modernisation; research, technology, & space
Justice Office	Attorney General	Legal system; constitutionality

Rivers also appointed himself to the position of leader of the national assembly, arguing that his place in the legislature was more important than ever. The appointment of seven Labour ministers left a backbench of only nine, the smallest in history.

Policies & reforms

Foreign policy

See the Wilkie Doctrine.

As part of the Labour government's efforts to achieved full independence from the Balancín Kingdoms and the Holy Roman Empire, Rivers and foreign minister Jenna Wilkie created a new doctrine for foreign policy, which was to create an alliance of democratic, imperiosceptic "middle states". Part of this was seeking full membership of the Doggerland Covalence Mechanism, building on the free trade agreement signed in the previous year, as well as building the Ironclad Alliance with Paxem.

Welfare

The Labour government introduced Right to Work, a programme which incentivised contracted companies with better rates for employing Wiltshirians in their projects as part of the reconstruction of Juneville, and the construction of Carnal Hill. The government ended all welfare for under-25s, instructing all unemployed citizens to seek employment independently or through Right to Work.

Right to Work was criticised by opposition assemblymen for reducing choice for participants. Unemployed citizens were assigned opportunities to apply for, often with little consideration of their preferences. Instead, a "holistic" analysis of their experience, education, and capabilities were used to match candidates to Right to Work-sponsored vacancies.

The Labour government also then introduced a three month cap on unemployment benefit, which was granted only to over-25s. Individuals still seeking unemployment benefit after three months were instructed to sign up for Right to Work.

Fiscal policy

See the 3026 Wiltshire spring statement.

Chancellor Gavin Thompson oversaw the largest expansion of economic output in Wiltshirian history in the months of December 3025 to May 3026. As such, the fiscal position of the Labour government was to conserve economic gains as much as possible by restocking reserves, investing in key infrastructure, and supporting the private, corporate-sponsored reconstruction of Juneville.

Thompson resisted calls from within the government to reduce the rate of UST and instead kept it at 27.5%. This, along with funding from the Balancín Kingdoms, helped create a budget surplus, which Thompson used to restock the national reserve, allocate a new discretionary fund, and endow the pension fund. This was also helped by welfare reforms, which reduced the welfare budget.

While the government did not cancel the previous government's plans to build a city at Carnal Bank in Walkerton, it did eliminate the vast majority of the state funding. Instead, the Carnal Bank project was opened to corporate sponsors in much the same way as the Juneville reconstruction project was. This had the benefit of actually boosting funding for the project, as well as diversifying the planning.

The Public Corporation

See Wiltshire Public Corporation.

Following the spring statement, interior minister Jack Abbott announced that she would be exploring options for the creation of a publicly-owned, privately-run corporation for the management of state utilities and land management. The idea was that profits generated by the public corporation would be invested back as dividends to Wiltshirians, who would be balloted regularly as traditional stakeholders. Abbott's vision was for the public corporation to eventually consume management of many currently state-run operations, allowing for a hybrid social democratic-corporatist model for government.

The Public Corporation bill was introduced to the National Assembly, but was rejected by the Covalence and Republic parties. Abbott and Rivers said the proposal would become a key component of Labour's manifesto at the next general election, arguing that it would reduce bills, increase competition, and give Wiltshirians a stake in their utilities.