Post by sirdinglefoot on Jan 17, 2008 14:14:51 GMT -5
The Foreign Dispatch from Great Britain and Ireland[/font]
January 2008
16th January 2008
Greetings to all the nations, regions, and readers of the world from the desks of the Foreign Office of His Majesty --Great Britain-- II, King of Great Britain and Ireland and all her Dominions and Colonies. The Foreign Dispatch is written by HM King and Fenchurch, the previous Foreign Secretary, with the assistance of His Majesty's Government, Members of Parliament, distinguished ambassadors and guests, and loyal British Citizens. Please enjoy!
Election Leaves Candidates Hanging
Elections of Members of Parliament[/b]
In what was one of the most interesting elections in the history of Great Britain and Ireland, 12 citizens chose to put their names on the ballot papers to serve the region in the House of Commons. The elections saw new members and some older faces returning to politics running for parliament alongside then current politicians.
While the House of Commons has 11 members, and thus it could work out that only 1 candidate might have missed out, legislation brought into effect earlier this year saw the region electing only 8 members to the House of Commons, with 4 rejected after tying in last place.
In previous cases where there have been ties like this, the law provided for all members who were tied to be elected to the House of Commons as long as the number of MP's did not exceed 13. However during 2007 this was amended to instead state that a by-election must be called after the general election to decide the tied seats. Up until now this legislation had not had a significant effect on the results. Indeed, up until the final minutes of the General Election it was thought that only a by-election would be held for the 11th seat, however a few late voters stopped 4 members from gaining a seat in the last 5 minutes of voting!
Last minute votes changed the situation entirely!The results of the 17th November 2007 General election were as follows:
Fenchurch (Independent) [ 14 ] [9.33%]
donchatryit (Independent) [ 11 ] [7.33%]
Klopstock (Independent) [ 15 ] [10.00%]
Royal Aston (Independent) [ 12 ] [8.00%]
Sir Dingle Foot (Independent) [ 11 ] [7.33%]
Engul (Independent) [ 12 ] [8.00%]
West Antioch (Fascist Party) [ 11 ] [7.33%]
Lethen (Independent) [ 12 ] [8.00%]
King John of Gililand (Independent) [ 17 ] [11.33%]
NatetheGreat (Democratic-Republican) [ 12 ] [8.00%]
The Kingdom of Paquerettes (Independent) [ 12 ] [8.00%]
Janrober (Independent) [ 11 ] [7.33%]
The following were immediately elected to Parliament:
Engul (Independent)
Fenchurch (Independent)
King John of Gililand (Independent)
Klopstock (Independent)
Lethen (Independent)
NatetheGreat (Democratic-Republican)
Royal Aston (Independent)
The Kingdom of Paquerettes (Independent)
Acting as the Interim Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Fenchurch called a by-election for the remaining 3 seats to be held on the 27th of November.
Before this by-election could be held however, another twist in this little election drama occurred. Royal Aston, a very new citizen to the region at the time, had gained a seat in the House of Commons in the general elections, which was brilliant work for a new member of the region, not just to win a seat, but to gain the support which he had from the voters. However citing unfair treatment by other members, Royal Aston resigned his seat as a member of parliament and almost left the region. Afterwards he admitted that what he did was a mistake and signed up for the by-election, but withdrew his candidacy during the voting period.
Due to his resignation yet another seat in the House of Commons was left vacant. At the time, it was assumed that the number of seats could just be raised in the polls, however the by-election was called for just three seats, and the raising the number of seats after calling the election. Candidates then signed up to a lawful by-election which took place on the 5th of December with the following results:
Flake (Independent) [ 13 ] [13.54%]
English Sympathizers (Independent) [ 11 ] [11.46%]
Janrober (Independent) [ 22 ] [22.92%]
Falconio (Independent) [ 10 ] [10.42%]
micktrim (Independent) [ 5 ] [5.21%]
Sir Dingle Foot (Independent) [ 19 ] [19.79%]
Donchatryit (Independent) [ 16 ] [16.67%]
The following were elected to Parliament:
Janrober (Independent)
Sir Dingle Foot (Independent)
Donchatryit (Independent)
Flake (Independent)
Positions in the House of Commons were well contested
Election of the Prime Minister[/i]
The Prime Ministerial contest was just as interesting both in the heated debate and in the overall outcome. This time there were two candidates who put their hand up for the top job. Both represented very different policies and opinions. Their manifesto threads received a great deal of attention and right up until the results of the general election were announced it was very difficult to tell which one of them would win. King John of Gililand had tried twice before to gain the position, but failed at both occasions against Fenchurch.
King John of Gililand placed heavy emphasis on strengthening diplomatic ties with other regions, and training and using the military more often, whilst Donchatryit campaigned with a policy of peaceful expansion, community focus and recruitment.
Both candidates also had a good deal of experience in the game of Nationstates. Gililand had been a citizen of GB&I since the early days and had held many a position including Home Secretary, Lord Chief Justice and First Sea Lord, while Donchatryit had previously been the Secretary General for the ACCEL, Minister of Community and Foreign minister of GB&I.
Both candidates were also able to attract support for their bids, with many prominent MP's, Lords and citizens offering support to their preferred candidate. Amongst the supporters for Donchatryit were Windsor-Bainbridge (the Earl of Durham and a former Prime Minister), Klopstock (a former Prime Minister) and Sir Dingle Foot (a former Minister of Community). King John of Gililand meanwhile garnered notable support from R3naissanc3r (the Duke of Cornwall and a former Prime Minister), Fenchurch (the outgoing Prime Minister) and Lethen (a former Foreign and Defence Secretary) gave their support to King John of Gililand.
However as was stated earlier, Donchatryit failed to gain a seat in the General election and like Gililand's bid for Prime Ministership two terms ago this prevented him from being able to run for the regions top position.
The Great British and Irish Government
The State Opening of Parliament
After the House recommended to the appointment of King John of Gililand as Prime Minister to the King, the State Opening of Parliament was completed by His Majesty the King, on the 26th November 2007. His speech can be viewed here.
The Prime Minister then announced the Cabinet:
"Deputy Prime Minister: Lethen: His experience and commitment to the region will serve us well in my stead, if need be. Also, I'll be announcing some new
initiatives soon for which he'll be responsible, as DPM.
Foreign Secretary: Fenchurch.: Her experience here and her contacts abroad make her the perfect choice for this position.
Home Secretary: NatetheGreat: His vigor and enthusiasm will bring new ideas to the table, especially in the areas of immigration, naturalisation and recruitment.
I expect great things of Nate.
First Sea Lord: --Great Britain II--: His extensive experience in the military, his tremendous esteem here in GB&I and his understanding of the means in
which the Royal Navy can benefit the region are just a few of the reasons why he is the perfect choice to lead our forces.
Minister of Community: Engul: A thoroughly proven Cabinet minister with a very bright future, he has decide to spread his wings and I believe this will be a prime place to do it, both for himself and the region."
The appointment of HM King as First Sea Lord met with mixed opinion in the region. Many feel that his majesty should not be able to take on a government role while he serves as Monarch, while others do not feel that the position does the region any harm and that his Majesty is the best man for the job.
Nevertheless in a mid-term Cabinet reshuffle a replacement First Sea Lord was appointed in the form of the Earl of Westminster, Stony Stratford, a player with great experience as Chief of the Imperial General Staff of the Great Britain and Irish military for several months in 2005. The Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister were also swapped, with Fenchurch additionally being appointed Leader of the House of Commons. In a further reshuffle near the end of the term, caused by the resignation of Lethen, Sir Dingle Foot was appointed the third Foreign Secretary within a single term on the 14th January 2008..
New Alliance Forged
On November 6th, 2007 the then Prime Minister Fenchurch and the foreign affairs advocate of Gatesville, Emperor Lexus signed an important treaty.
Gatesville is well known for being one of the largest player created regions in the game, and also one of the oldest. With brilliant military and intelligence capabilities which are envied throughout Nationstates, it was an honour to sign an alliance with them. After a trouble-free period of negotiation, the two parties, consisting of Emperor Lexus and Gates from Gatesville, and Fenchurch and Donchatryit (then Foreign Secretary) for Great Britain and Ireland, emerged with the document which is now known as the Treaty of Oxford.
This treaty is a basic military and intelligence sharing alliance similar to the treaty of Cambridge which was signed by GB&I and Catlandatopia. However the signing of this document means that GB&I is now allied to yet another great power in the Nationstates world. With other allies such as The Pacific, Catlandatopia and the members of the Congress of Sovereigns, it can definitely be said that Great Britain and Ireland continues to maintain close diplomatic ties with some of the most powerful and respected regions in the game.
The Treaty can be viewed here.
Foreign Office Developments
The Foreign Office
In this current term, the Foreign Office has undergone some restructuring in terms of ambassadors, in order to relieve some of the burden from overworked members of staff and also to assess the regions that we currently have embassies in, ensuring that they are all still alive and active.
The current Foreign Secretary, who was earlier this term the Head of Diplomatic Service, Sir Dingle Foot, has wasted no time in producing a new ambassador roster which redistributed the workload a little more evenly and he will continue his efforts to reorganise the roster in his new role as Foreign Secretary.
The Foreign Office has also welcomed back Windsor-Bainbridge to his old office of ACCEL Director. W-B will be replacing the inactive Olde Delaware in order to provide an active GB&I presence in the final days of the centralised ACCEL alliance. W-B is this regions longest serving ACCEL Director, and is one of the authors of the final non-aggression pact which is hoped will continue to harbour the spirit of the current ACCEL agreement without the centralised alliance system. Among the important points are military and intelligence sharing and a commitment to promoting the values of capitalism to the NS world.
To view the current treaty of ACCEL, see here.
To view the proposed non-aggression pact between the members of the current alliance see here.
The Foreign Minister had also appointed a Commonwealth Commissioner in the form of Donchatryit, however just days after he was appointed he resigned saying that he did not believe that he and the FS could work profitably together. The Founder of the Commonwealth Club emailed members of the region to declare his departure from Nationstates during early January 2008, and although he is still officially a Member of Parliament, he has not posted on the forums since then.
"New Year" Honours
On January 12th 2008 the King announced a comparatively short list of Honours, although after the granting of four Dukedoms amongst other peerages and honours in October, by the Late King –Great Britain—I, this is to be expected.
"Dear Citizens of Great Britain and Ireland,
Cabinet has unanimously authorised me, as King of GB&I, to award honours to those whose service to Great Britain and Ireland has been deemed exemplary. In some cases they are widely apart in terms of political views, and some of them have been aware of their appointments for some time, but now we officially honour them publicly before the entire region. They are:
For long-standing service and membership of the region, and considerable contribution to the government and military of GB&I over the past two and a half years, Olde Delaware is hereby made the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery . This peerage is given to Olde Delaware as thanks for the service and time he has given to GB&I.
For excellent service in the political aspect of Great Britain & Ireland, as well as being a long-standing member of the community, Riddim is hereby made Viscountess of Carlisle. Riddim has served in government notably as Home Secretary, but she will also be known as the longest and most successful UN Delegate of Great Britain and Ireland.
As a further vote of thanks, Olde Delaware is hereby made a Knight of [the Order of] the British Empire. He returned to the government office after serving for a long time in the House of Lords, and although eventually defeated by a lack of time his commitment and efforts did not go unnoticed.
Ever yours,
--Great Britain—II,
King of Great Britain and Ireland."
The Arms of the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery
The GB&I Peoples Awards
During this time the people of Great Britain and Ireland were also voting for the 8th volume of the Peoples Awards. While the original idea came from former Prime Minister Westmorlandia, the bulk of the work has been done by the Duke of Cornwall, R3naissanc3r. Collecting and counting the ballots is a lot of work and very time consuming and sadly the Duke announced while giving the results that he would not be able to produce another volume of the awards until Easter next year at the earliest. However MP's Klopstock and the Kingdom of Paquerettes have offered to step in and take charge of this fantastic event which has become an important part of regional traditions in the region.
In this volume there were several more categories to vote for. The full results, and some very entertaining commentary can be found here.
Other Regional News
The forums are past the 160,000 post mark after several months of reasonable activity levels. The regional population stands at around 160 currently, down from 190 at the start of the current term. The region recently celebrated its 3rd anniversary of the foundation of the forums on the 24th December 2007.
The establishment of the Citizens Panel as a venue for formal debate to create regional policy on non-Nationstates issues proved successful, and a new Constitution is now being produced to expand the Panel's oversight into scrutiny of legislation and holding Ministers to account, giving ordinary citizens a chance to have their voice heard.
In the High Courts, the Lord Chief Justice, Killtron; the Earl of Enfield, found Momochine guilty of unacceptable public behaviour and Falconio guilty of holding multiple citizenship accounts. Both were issued cautions, and no appeals were made against the verdicts.
The following Britons have recently became Citizens:
Ad Nihilo
Woolcott
Renshin
Flake
Falconio
Janrober
Micktrim
The Kingdom of Paquerettes
The following regions or organisations have recently had embassies opened in GB&I:
Nova Imperium
New Liberalia
Nova Atlantica (reopened)
Hampshire
Europeia
The Youngworld
Land of Dragonia
La Mafia
Wexford
Riddim continues as UN Delegate for the region, having served for nearly 500 days, and the results of voting can be viewed here.
Latest News
On the 14th January, Prime Minister King John of Gililand called a General Election for the 26th of the same month. The citizens of Great Britain and Ireland can submit their candidacies for the House of Commons until the 22nd January, when the poll will be opened.
The future of GB&I remains bright.
Goodbye from the Foreign Dispatch Team for now. The Foreign Dispatch is no longer a regular publication, but you should continue to receive Foreign Office Press Releases at regular intervals.
God Save the King!