Foreign Update || May 2020
King: Henry IX
Prince of Wales: Charles Lancaster-Stuart
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Prime Minister: William Rhys Lancaster
Deputy Prime Minister: Crushita T. Telcontar
Internal Affairs Secretary: Madeline Norfolk
Foreign Secretary: John Laurens-Wessex
Roleplay Secretary: William Rhys Lancaster
Attorney General: Alistair Brandon
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World Assembly Delegate: Charles Lancaster-Stuart
Captain General: Madeline Norfolk
A Brief Recap of the House of Commons
At the end of the election, we had the following folks elected:
Arthur E. Somerset (BRP) MP for Grey (Australia)
Crushita Telcontar (LIB) MP for Sault Ste. Marie (Canada)
William Rhys Lancaster-Stuart (BRP) MP for Bath (England)
Peter John de Vitre (BRP) MP for Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (France)
Bailian Lucullus Somerset (BRP) MP for Lagan Valley (Ireland)
Theodore Bedford (BRP) MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Scotland)
Josephine Telcontar (LIB) MP for Wrexham (Wales)
Arthur is arguably the longest serving Member of Parliament. He started back when he won his first election in January of 2019 and since then has made a name for himself in the House as the father of the House, taking over that position shortly after Alistair Brandon took a holiday in the House of Lords before returning to Commons once again. Arthur has written many proposals and has also served as Deputy Speaker a few times before finally taking the mantle this term as Speaker of the House of Commons. He has become a model for the House on how to act and how not to act, avoiding some controversies that have plagued the House of Commons over the last year.
Crushita is one of the oldest members of the Kingdom of Great Britain and with that, can be trusted to know what he is talking about. Crushita has also become the region’s resident grammar fixer because grammatically correct legislation is better legislation! Known by many for the reason why Larry is enshrined by Executive Order and threatening to marry a barrel of cream cheese, Crushita is a breath of fresh and new air for the House of Commons and is projected to do quite well this term as the unofficial leader of the Opposition.
William Rhys or Reece is our current Prime Minister, securing his ballot for a second term, many know Reece as a people person and a people’s compromiser. If you ever wanted to know what people think about you, you can ask Reece and he will tell you, within reason. This skill of his has transferred well into his Premiership but not without some hiccups. Balancing the job as the people’s compromise and Prime Minister has put a toll on his delivering of legislation. In his interview with the BBC, Reece indicated that he didn’t really have any plans for legislation, and preferred working with others to make their legislative ideas a reality. Reece’s hopeful big legislation accomplishment will be the implementation of the Economy, if the Lords ever get around to passing that item, but more on that later.
Peter has been our on again off again Member of Parliament that for a long time we would only see often for a month and then not see him again until six months later. This unfortunate circumstance is attributed mostly to IRL coming to him like a sack of potatoes and knocking him out, but happily returning to welcoming and open arms every time. Since his most recent term, Peter has been an active contributor to the region through many of his comments and ideas made known within the Citizens’ Assembly. With Parliament beginning to dabble in an area that was originally seen as just an Assembly thing, Peter will be able to provide much insight and improvements to whatever proposals come through the House of Commons!
Bailian or Bailey is a returned Member of Parliament and another long time citizen of the region like the previously mentioned Members of Parliament. Known for being Deputy Prime Minister under his father, Edward Somerset, and Home Secretary under his mother, Madeline Norfolk, Bailey provides important insight into the best ways to protect our citizens as well as support the government without agreeing with everything that is done having already shown he will put his ideals first before falling into line with the party.
Theodore is also a returned Member of Parliament, having taken a break from all things politics after failing to be reelected for the 38th term of Parliament. Theodore then took an interest in the church and assisted in setting up the internal legislature within there. With his return, there is excitement as to what he shall be bringing to the table. Theodore will be able to provide perhaps a more moral point of view as well as another new perspective to break up the current mindset in the House of Commons.
Josephine is the last Member of Parliament to be mentioned here and is also a returned Member of Parliament. Josephine has been serving in the House of Commons for a while now as well as in the government until the decision was made to allow for her to focus on Parliament as well as Deputy Chairperson of the Assembly. Josephine has also seemingly switched political parties, which should provide an interesting perspective in the mix of the House of Commons.
Plans for the House of Commons this term includes more laws about Criminal and Civil Offenses, Committees, Constitutional Reform, and much more!
Overall, the House of Commons has been a spitfire of interest and with MidTerm Polls fastly approaching, we at the BBC are excited to see what the citizens have to say about their elected officials.
Government in a Snapshot
The Government so far has been one of the most successful governments this region has seen in a long time.
Between the State Opening of Parliament and the Prime Minister’s first address, a dilemma was hit within cabinet when it was discovered the planned Culture Secretary would be unable to fulfil their duties in the upcoming term. This led Prime Minister Reece to call a cabinet meeting to discuss the options and potential replacements. The idea was then brought forth to combine the two offices into the Office of Internal Affairs which, while not very British in name, has stood out within the region through creating Minister positions below the Secretary and bringing some life back into the Home and Culture Office as a whole. Meanwhile in the Foreign Affairs Office, there is a revitalization in the usage of the World Assembly and further changes to the diplomatic corps to make it more than simply citizens who post updates for the government.
The Attorney General has been hard at work with his Constitutional Committee in revitalizing the Constitution to bring more clarity as well as cut out some of the fat that simply doesn’t need to be Constitutionally enshrined.
A few weeks into the term, it was announced that the Roleplay Secretary would be stepping down to learn more about the office, and the Prime Minister then took over the office. For the first time since the inception we have seen another roleplay be created under this department, and a forum roleplay at that! The theme around this surrounds the events starting in 1947.
The Internal Affairs Office also recently announced the Residency Program, aimed to entice new and returning arrivals of KoGB to get involved in the non political side of the region before committing to citizenship, while also ensuring that citizens who prefer roleplaying can maintain citizenship without necessarily meeting the forum requirement that has led to some citizens losing their spots on the roleplay in the main discord server.
The Residency Program allows for members of the region to participate in Societies, the University, Constituency Battles and soon the roleplays offered by the Government. Over the next week and into MidTerms, we should see more progress made and more integration methods implemented to get citizens and residents in all the knowledge needed for being the best they can be!
Cabinet is Currently:
Crushita Telcontar as Deputy Prime Minister;
Madeline Norfolk as Internal Affairs Secretary ;
John Laurens-Wessex as Foreign Secretary;
William Rhys Lancaster as Roleplay Secretary;
Alistair Brandon as Attorney General;
Another Round of Name Changing, Let’s Hope It Sticks?
A Royal Decree was passed by the King to hopefully better clarify who is where in the ever growing House of Stuart as well as add some needed class and stature to the name. The Royal Family was split up into five sub groups, which are NOT to be confused as branch houses. Each group is still required to follow the rules of the family and receive permission from the Patriarch for any and all marriages and adoptions.
Edward, and his spawns are known from here forward as the Somersets. With Edward taking a leave from the region, his son, Alec Norfolk-Stuart, assumed the position as first heir, with his brothers Bailey Somerset and Albert Philip Somerset as well as his nephew Arthur Somerset following suit. William Rhys or Reece, and his spawns are known from here forward as the Lancasters, with his only child and beloved son Elisha Lancaster following suit. Crushita and his spawns are known from here forward as the Telcontars, with his eldest son Gatto Telcontar and his daughter Josephine Telcontar following suit. Alistair and his spawns are known from here forward as the Brandons, with his son Philip Brandon following suit. Finally, Juris and his spawns are known from here forward as the Bedfords with his son Theodore Bedford following suit. In addition, Juris’ wife and daughter of Edward Somerset is known as Sarah Bedford. The Prince of Wales and nephew to the King remains known as Charles Lancaster-Stuart, and the other members of the family who hold an HRH or higher are given the allowance to use the name of Lancaster-Stuart at the discretion of the Crown.
If you are still with us, let’s do a quick explanation for why this happened.
It is no secret that NS families tend to grow like weeds in regions, especially when families make friends with other people and like the idea of everyone sharing names. The unfortunate consequence of this is that the House of Lancaster-Stuart also holds some of the most active citizens in the region, with the recent adoption of Theodore Bedford being no exception to this. As a result the header on the forum was plastered with over 20 entries of “Lancaster-Stuart”, this forms a perspective as a citizen can be off putting and make one believe that to be relevant, they must be a part of the family, which is simply not true. The other issue that arises from this is the idea that the Crown is ultimately not as impartial as they may appear to be, which can lead to further issues within the community and in politics in general. As a result of this name changing Decree, the header itself has become one that is more inclusive and hopes to allow for citizens as well as members of the Royal Family to feel more free to be involved without whatever implications one acting under the name “Lancaster-Stuart” can indicate.
We look forward to what the future will bring, and pray to the great Potato that we see no more name changes! We’re still recovering from the Arche to Roth to Kensington move.
MidTerms is approaching next week, which means post MidTerms the government should have a more clear path for the remainder of the term, we ever so look forward to showing you more that we have to offer!
Question for our Friends Abroad:If you could eat a potato product of your choice (potato bread, baked potato, mashed, fries, etc etc) to eat for the rest of Quarantine, what would it be and why? Bonus if you provide a picture! The citizen tasked to provide this update should have provided their answer below this post!
