Wiltshire

The Province of Wiltshire is a member of the Novanite Federation in the south of Doggerland comprised of the city of Wiltshire and the township of Walkerton.

Wiltshire is a historically powerful regional nation, with ties all the way back to the Terran Federation. Former Federation President Jaresh Inyo was the first Prime Minister of the then city state, which went onto enclose neighbouring towns and villages. In December 3018, the major city of Washington E.R joined to form the Federal Republic, however since February 3019, the Wiltshire has been a member of the Novanite Federation, dissolving the Federal Republic, as a result of the NNF Membership Referendum. This has contributed to the 2019 Wiltshire Political Crisis.

History

Formation

Following the collapse of the Terran Federation, many refugees under the leadership of ex-president Jaresh Inyo settled in southern Doggerland. The decision to settle there was due to its naturally flat land and easy access to fresh water reserves from the Almere Valley, making agriculture a lot easier. In addition to this, mass oil reserves were found beneath the second major settlement in Alphenland, making it an oil rich nation, however in recent years the value of this has been diminishing.

Depression

The Economic depression hit Doggerland hard, however Wiltshire was spared much of the pain due to the isolationist policies of Prime Minister David Loynd. Loynd's Conservative Government followed the Jellico-Doctrine of economic independence and self-sustainability.

Though the nation still saw economic hardship, it was nowhere near as devastating as in some parts of middle-Doggerland. Wiltshire's position coming out of the depression made it the most economically stable and strong nations in Doggerland.

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, 9 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 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 for a record three years in office, however the success of his early administration did not continue. Eddington suffered from poor health and in 3017 had a stroke, followed by another in early 3018. Eddington became a lame duck. Many wanted to see a new Socialist Leader take over, however the party was severely divided. No new leader could take the reigns without the other half of the party breaking away. Eddington was the only one to lead the party to continued success, and in 3018 he won his last General Election, this time falling short of an overall majority.

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.

In late 3018, Prime Minister Eddington resigned due to poor health. The Socialist Party fell into utter chaos. The leadership was no longer able to command the support of the National Assembly. Audrick Hill, the leader of the opposition, became the first Conservative Prime Minister in three years and formed a minority government, without a general election.

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.

Many expect the Political Crisis to end with the April 3019 Wiltshire General Election. However, this may continue it if the outcome in uncertain.

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
1	Jaresh Inyo	National Party	October 3008	July 3008 until May 3009
2	Thomas Shore	Socialist Party	May 3009 December 3009	May 3009 until July 3010
3	Jaresh Inyo	Conservative Party	July 3010 February 3011	July 3010 until June 3011
4	Edward Jellico	Conservative Party	October 3011 January 3013	June 3011 until March 3013
5	Renly Stork	Socialist Party	N/A	March 3013 until May 3013
6	Martin Banks	Conservative Party	May 3013 November 3013 October 3014	May 3013 until January 3015
7	David Loynd	Conservative Party	May 3015 September 3015	January 3015 until January 3016
8	Frank Eddington	Socialist Party	January 3016 May 3016 September 3016 February 3017 June 3017 October 3017 February 3018 July 3018 November 3018	January 3016 until January 3019
9	Audrick Hill	Conservative Party	January 3019	January 3019 until February 3019
10	Samantha Schrӧder	Conservative Party	N/A	February 3019 until March 3019

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
1	Samantha Schrӧder	Conservative Party	N/A	March 3019 to April 3019
2	Rita Smith	Labour Party	April 3019	April 3019 to June 3019
3	Fillmore Grey	National Coalition	June 3019	June 3019 to present

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 Fillmore Grey of the National Coalition (Wiltshire First, Liberals and Greens).

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.