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Henry Campbell-Trenneman

From TCH Archive


Henry Campbell-Trenneman (30 September, 2976 until 9 December, 3019) was a Chinese Wiltshirian politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Wiltshire and Leader of the Wiltshire Labour Party in late 3019. While first elected on a mandate for social change in the face of the late-3019 economic and social depression, Campbell-Trenneman's premiership is most remembered for his surrender to the New Corporate Republic during their invasion of Wiltshire in December 3019. His government's flagship proposal, Homes for All, was never acomplished due to the NCR occupation of Wiltshire which lasted until Gaius Selan secured Wiltshirian independence in January 3020.

Campbell-Trenneman was first elected to the Washington City Council in October 3018 to serve as the Socialist Member for City South-6th district. During his tenure, he became known as a relatively moderate Socialist, supporting the government of Socialist Prime Minister Frank Eddington. He sponsored bills in the City Council to increase conservation sites and to increase housing construction to tackle the homelessness issue. In March 3019, Campbell-Trenneman defected to the newly formed Labour Party due to the division of the Socialist Party on the basis that the party, under Harry Melbourne, had become too left-wing and unelectable. In April 3019, Campbell-Trenneman was elected to the Wiltshire National Assembly, representing Washington's City Centre-South electorate.

As a backbench AM during the government of Rita Smith, Campbell-Trenneman was a relatively unknown figure within the party. He supported the introduction of the Mixed-Member Proportional electoral system and championed universal healthcare, as well as encouraging Smith's government to enact greater homelessness policies. Following the June 3019 election, Campbell-Trenneman was re-elected to the Assembly - this time in opposition - and was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet of Ioannis Kruger in the position of Shadow Minister for Housing. In this role, Campbell-Trenneman gained national notoriety with his publication of the "Homes for All" policy paper in August 3019. The paper recommended a national housing policy, surpassing the City Governments, to construct enough homes to eliminate homelessness, rough-sleeping and giving renters the opportunity to buy property for the first time at reduced prices. The policy was set to build on top of Eddington's social housing push, in which the government funded the construction of over a thousand social-housing units in Wiltshire. Commonly known as "Eddington blocks", the social housing apartment blocks became a staple of Wiltshirian poverty in the light of the 3017 Corporate Depression. Despite the negative image, the policy did help to significantly reduce homelessness in light of the depression and Campbell-Trenneman's policy paper sought to "finish the job".

Following the disappearance of Jim Balfour and the restoration of governance in Wiltshire following Hurricane Sarina and the riots of the September Revolution, Ioannis Kruger resigned as Leader of the Labour Party. In a statement, he confirmed that his leadership "was unsuitable for the challenges we face as a republic". Quickly, Campbell-Trenneman was elected the new Labour Leader and was thrust into a general election campaign on the basis of reconstructing a broken nation. Campbell-Trenneman made Homes for All a key campaign promise.

In the general election, Campbell-Trenneman won the most votes and the most seats. While he fell slightly short of an overall majority, his Labour Party was by far the most dominant party in the National Assembly. As such, he formed a Labour minority government and became Prime Minister. His government started to plan the policies promised in the election. However, within weeks, Wiltshire was under attack by the NCR. The Wiltshirian Armed Forces were severely depleted after fighting the September Revolution and, within days, large segments of Wiltshire started to fall to the NCR. On 9 December 3019, the NCR military took control of the Wiltshire National Assembly building in western Juneville. Hours later, Campbell-Trenneman gave the order for Wiltshirian forces to surrender to the NCR, ending the invasion with an NCR victory. He was assassinated by Chancellor Steinbauer during the Culling of Parliament, in which dozens of other politicians were killed.