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The Republic of Wiltshire (as it is formally know, the Third Wiltshire Republic, or as it is commonly known, simply Wiltshire) is a country in the south-eastern region of Doggerland - on the coast of the south-eastern sea - comprised of the townships of Juneville, Walkerton, Minevgrad and Washington E.R.
Wiltshire is a historically powerful regional country, with ties all the way back to the United Federation of Planets. Former UFP President Jaresh Inyo served as Wiltshire's first Prime Minister (3009-3010, 3010-3011). In 3015, Washington E.R. merged with Wiltshire (which was just Juneville and Walkerton at the time) to form the Federal Republic of Wiltshire. This Federal Republic was the official government of Wiltshire until early 3019.
3019 saw major political turmoil come to Wiltshire and this was triggered by the Wiltshire NNF Membership Referendum - in which an extremely slim majority voted to join the Northern Novanite Federation (NNF). The NNF later formed into the Novanite Federation - in which Wiltshire was a member (as a Province).
This came to an end when, in September 3019, Wiltshire declared independence from the Novanite Federation during the September Crisis and the Enterprise Mutiny.
History
Formation
The Federation/C.E. war came to a conclusion in 2998 when Chisel Enterprises conquered the Terran holdings of the Federation and took over Washington E.R. (the capital of the Federation). This caused the largest refugee crisis of the 30th century. Nearly three million Federation citizens were displace - most of them attempting to go off world.
However, pockets of refugees were unable to. Deposed President Jaresh Inyo refused to leave Terra and led a group of less than one-hundred thousand refugees to the bountiful flatlands of Wiltshire in south eastern Doggerland. The area was selected by Inyo for its naturally flat land - which made it easier for cheaper construction - and its fresh water rivers coming directly from the Almere valley.
Inyo's settlement (which would become Juneville) was established in October 3007. A number of other settlements were also established in late 3007 and early 3008. By the end of 3008, over two million people lived in the eleven settlements (the two largest being Juneville and Walkerton).
The First Assembly of Wiltshire was convened in Juneville on September 30, 3008 to discuss matters that affected every settlement - most notably rising sea levels to the east - however, there was no discussion of a formal unification until the Second Assembly of Wiltshire (in March 3009).
The Second Assembly of Wiltshire proposed the idea to the eleven settlements, where it was decided to begin exploring the possibility of unification. Three months of discussions and negotiations led to the signing of the Wiltshire Constitution - forming the First Wiltshire Republic (led by Jaresh Inyo).
Growth and Prosperity
Wiltshire experimented with socialism in 3010 with the election of Thomas Shore as Prime Minister. Shore's Socialist Party was based on the left-wing philosophy of a growing state presence. Despite him winning the election against incumbent Jaresh Inyo convincingly, he was unable to make a success of his far-left ideas and so was ejected from office when Inyo returned with his new Conservative Party. The Conservatives would win every election between 3010 and 3016.
The Conservatives' leadership of Wiltshire came in the leadership of four Conservative Prime Ministers. Jaresh Inyo, Edward Jellico, Martin Banks and David Loynd. The governments of Edward Jellico and Martin Banks are considered Wiltshire's golden age - with great economic prosperity and growing international influence.
Prime Minister Jellico created the Jellico Doctrine - a policy of a strong military and stronger diplomatic policies which turned Wiltshire into the most powerful regional nation at the time.
In addition, during his premiership, the economy boomed. This was continued under Prime Minister Martin Banks, who's economic policies delivered the Conservatives a large majority in the National Assembly. While prosperity grew, there was a growing division between the richest and the poorest. The middle-class developed during this time - and saw great prosperity. However, the lower class never saw much prosperity and, places like Walkerton, continued on with little or no economic assistance from the ever growing north.
This was one of the root causes of the 3015 Economic Depression - which went onto be a major contributing factor in the 3017 Corporate Depression.
Depression
Depression in Wiltshire hit two-fold. Firstly, the crash of the Wiltshire Stock Exchange on December 19, 3015. This became known as the 'Panic of December 3015' where unemployment rose by over 20% - to its highest point ever. In addition, this period was nicknamed the "death of the middle class" as Wiltshire's proud middle class were thrown under the bus by corporate and private sector executives attempting to save their firms and businesses.
Prime Minister David Loynd bailed out the Wiltshire Oil Company and the Central Wiltshire Bank (CWB) in an attempt to stabilize the economy on New Years 3016. However, Bank of Doggerland and the Wiltshire Maritime Trading Union (WMTU) both collapsed, along with thousands of other smaller businesses.
The depression had massive consequences on Wiltshire for years to come and the Conservative government at the time attempted to follow the Jellico-Doctrine approach of economic independence and self-sustainability. However, this was now unviable as the economy was in dire need of intervention and proper regulation.
Though Wiltshire experienced hardships during the first depression, it arguably left Wiltshire more able to handle economic issues in the future, which put it in a prime position to weather the effects of the second wave; The 3017 Corporate Depression. This second depression was not caused by a failure in Wiltshire and Wiltshire was only suffering from the consequences of a far larger economic crisis.
Despite this, Wiltshire was able to weather much of the issue dur to the heavy regulation and much of the work of Frank Eddington's Socialist government. The affects of this second depression are considered one of the main reasons behind the founding of the Wiltshire First political movement.
Eddington and Socialism
Following the Depression, Wiltshirians were shown a very gruesome reality of life in Wiltshire. While the nation as a whole was able to strongly survive the depression, many in the lower classes were not so fortunate. Starvation, homelessness and absolute poverty were just some of the issues caused by the depression, and at the lowest point, 1 million were considered at risk of starving to death.
This leapt many into action. Frank Eddington was elected the leader of the Socialist Party in 3015 and changed the image of the party from a stale old ideology that hadn't won an election in years to a new, bold and progressive party. Adopting many policies that were extremely popular with the electorate.
In early 3016, Prime Minister David Loynd was defeated by Frank Eddington's Socialists in a landslide election. Wiltshire became a semi-socialist state, becoming closer with states like the Almere Republic. Eddington began to implement social reforms never before seen in southern Doggerland. Universal Healthcare, universal basic income, free social housing and the establishment of the largest welfare state in history.
Eddington continued his popularity - even through the hardships of the 3017 Corporate Depression (which Wiltshire was able to weather far more affectively due to Eddington's regulatory and economic policies). However, this began to break down. Despite his popularity maintaining, it began to slowly fall after the depression. 3018 saw the rise of the Wiltshire First movement. Immigration started to rise and Wiltshire saw the highest net-immigration income of any Doggerland country. This caused many to turn against Eddington's Socialism and vote for alternatives.
By July 3018, the Socialist Party had lost its majority in the National Assembly and continued in the form of a minority government. However, far less affective as before. The Socialists continued to suffer loses and in November, fell far short of an overall majority. This very unstable minority government completely collapsed when, in December 3018, the Socialists lost two seats in two by-elections - causing the Conservative Party to become the largest party. Frank Eddington resigned and Audrick Hill formed the first Conservative government since early 3016.
The debate continues, with many claiming that Socialism has failed Wiltshire (due to the rise of economic and social problems) and others claiming it saved the nation from a hole too deep to climb out of.
3019 Wiltshire Political Crisis
The 3019 Wiltshire Political Crisis began with the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Frank Eddington. Eddington's resignation caused multiple seat losses for the Socialist Party, resulting in the Conservative Party (led by Audrick Hill) to form a new government. This government was the first Conservative led government since January 3016 and three years in opposition had changed the Conservative Party, so many were unsure about what to expect from the party in government.
Audrick Hill oversaw the first ever government shutdown. This was a result of the government's attempts to reform healthcare and abolish the Universal Healthcare Act to end socialised medicine. The Conservative allies in the Liberal Party abandoned the Prime Minister, leaving him unable to pass the legislation and subsequently a new budget. The government shutdown lasted for several weeks and only ended when Prime Minister Audrick Hill called for the January 3019 Wiltshire General Election. Hill won the election, defeating then Socialist Leader Rita Smith in a historic victory.
Audrick Hill now controlled a parliamentary majority and wished to push forward his fresh Conservative agenda. He firstly repealed the Universal Healthcare Act and introduced new legislation to help boost the economy from the stagnant state it was in under the Socialist Government (because of the depression). Hill then called for a referendum on Wiltshire's membership of the Northern Novanite Federation. This was a newly formed political union and many within the Conservative Party did not support joining. However, with a join victory in the referendum, Wiltshire became the fourth member. This caused Audrick Hill to resign as many in the Conservative Party called on him to ignore the referendum result and not join. Hill resigned in early February and Samantha Schrӧder replaced him as Prime Minister.
Schrӧder led the negotiations for Wiltshire's membership, however was caught up in numerous sex scandals which plagued her administration. Schrӧder was instrumental however in the massive reforms that came to the Novanite Federation, leading to the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Wiltshire to become a province of the Novanite Federation. Schrӧder became the first Provincial Director (essentially the same role as Prime Minister) and the public began to accept their new position within the Federation.
This angered many. The argument was that "the NF isn't the NNF". People were resentful towards Samantha Schrӧder for making this decision which led to the April 3019 Wiltshire Legislative Elections. These elections saw her Conservative Party defeated in favour of Rita Smith's newly founded Labour Party. The Labour Party would end the political uncertainty when they formed a coalition with the Socialist Party.
Following this, the National Coalition was able to be formed in the subsequent election as Fillmore Grey formed the Grey Ministry (Wiltshire). This ministry has scheduled the Wiltshire Independence Referendum and the Wiltshire Flag Referendums.
List of Prime Ministers
There have been 10 Prime Ministers in Wiltshire's History, from the political parties of National, Socialist and Conservative. Here is a list of all Prime Ministers;
| No. | Prime Minister | Political Party | Election | Term date | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jaresh Inyo | National Party | September 3009 | July 3008 until January 3010 (18 months) | Inyo Caretaker Government
First Inyo Ministry |
| 2 | Thomas Shore | Socialist Party | January 3010 | January 3010 until July 3010 (7 months) | Shore Ministry |
| 3 | Jaresh Inyo | Conservative Party | July 3010
February 3011 |
July 3010 until June 3011 (11 months) | Second Inyo Ministry |
| 4 | Edward Jellico | Conservative Party | October 3011
January 3013 |
June 3011 until March 3013 (21 months) | First Jellico Ministry
Second Jellico Ministry |
| 5 | Renly Stork | Socialist Party | N/A | March 3013 until May 3013 (3 months) | Stork Ministry |
| 6 | Martin Banks | Conservative Party | May 3013
November 3013 October 3014 |
May 3013 until January 3015 (20 months) | First Banks Ministry
Second Banks Ministry |
| 7 | David Loynd | Conservative Party | May 3015
September 3015 |
January 3015 until January 3016 (12 months) | Loynd Ministry |
| 8 | Frank Eddington | Socialist Party | January 3016
May 3016 September 3016 February 3017 June 3017 October 3017 February 3018 July 3018 |
January 3016 until January 3019 (36 months) | First Eddington Ministry |
| 9 | Audrick Hill | Conservative Party | January 3019 | January 3019 until February 3019 (2 months) | First Hill Ministry |
| 10 | Samantha Schrӧder | Conservative Party | N/A | February 3019 until March 3019 (1 month) | First Schroder Ministry |
List of Provincial Directors
Since Wiltshire's membership of the Novanite Federation as a province, the position of Prime Minister has been abolished. The head of the Wiltshire city government is the Provincial Director (which is essentially the same position as the former Prime Minister). Currently, the Director is Fillmore Grey of the National Coalition.
| No. | Director | Political Party | Election | Term Date | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samantha Schrӧder | Conservative Party | N/A | March 3019 to April 3019 (1 month) | Schroder Ministry |
| 2 | Rita Smith | Labour Party | April 3019 | April 3019 to June 3019 (2 months) | Smith Ministry |
| 3 | Fillmore Grey | National Party | June 3019 | June 3019 to September 3019 (3 months) | Grey Ministry |
| 4 | Jim Balfour | National Party | September 3019 | September 3019 to present (0 months) | Balfour Ministry |
Politics
Provincial Assembly
The Provincial Assembly of the Republic of Wiltshire is comprised of 120 elected Assembly Members (AM). Here is the current make up of the Provincial Assembly as of (24/6/19)
The current Government of Wiltshire is led by Jim Balfour of the National Party.
Elections
Elections in Wiltshire are held every four months, or whenever the government deems it necessary. However, the Government cannot wait longer than four months. There are 38 Assembly Districts which each elects one Assembly Member (AM).
In order to form a government, a party leader must command a majority of the National Assembly. However, it is rare that parties win overall majorities in elections. This results in coalition building. The party that can get a majority of the Assembly to support them in a vote of confidence can form the government.
The last election resulted in an extremely divided assembly, with the Labour and Socialist Parties forming a coalition.
Here are the results of the Last Election by constituency.
City Governments
Due to Wiltshire's membership of the Novanite Federation, the former city governments have been abolished and their work taken up by the Provincial Government, led by the Provincial Director. However, the city of Washington was made the capital city of the Novanite Federation and so jurisdiction was placed in the Provincial Government of Washington.
Head of State and Governor-General
The Head of State is the President of the Novanite Federation, currently President Franklin Morris of Novenae. However, the position of Governor-General has been maintained under the federal system.
The Governor-General is a position that is given the power to grant civil and military titles and awards such as OOS (Officer of the State) and LoH (Legion of Honour). The Governor-General is appointed by the National Assembly and, since formation, has been the longest serving member of the Assembly (who hasn't refused).
The current Governor-General is 70 year old Ludwig Kohl. Kohl was appointed in late 3018 for the term starting on the first of January 3019, to serve a 1 year term. Kohl was a Conservative member from Walkerton and was the second ethnic German to serve as Governor-General.