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Thanks for the update!

Hello and Greetings!

His Majesty's Government would like to invite your region to join us in the festivities of celebrating King Edward X's Coronation.
The event will take place on January 12th, 2019 on our regional forum. Anyone may join in the celebration! Please join us via this link here.


Below is the formal invitation:

BBC World Service (January 2019)

NSUK Forum • United Kingdom Region • NSUK Discord

Sovereign: HM King Edward X Prince of Wales: HRH Princess Georgiana WA Delegate: Arthur Jameson Crown Court Judges: Lady Georgiana Stewart, J Jay Dee Bonaparte, J

Prime Minister:Samuel Kohnaarik Deputy Prime Minister:Michael Stewart Home Secretary:Vlaska External Affairs Secretary:Madeline Norfolk Culture Secretary:Longendale Public Services Secretary:Charlie Beckett Attorney General:Jan van Dijk

House of Commons: Jan van Dijk of Newry and Armagh (PA) Madeline Norfolk of Dwyfor Meirionnydd (I) Michael Stewart of Anglesey (PA) Charlie Beckett of Forest of Dean (I)* Samuel Khonaarik of Argyle and Bute (I) House of Lords: James, Duke of York* Klaus, Marquess of Belfast Sacul, Baron Astoria * denotes the presiding officer

The Ballots are in...

The Election for the 58th Session of Parliament voting occurred on December 12th, with eight citizens running for five seats in the House of Commons and three citizens looking to become Prime Minister. The election was nothing short of interesting with MP and PM candidates all advocating for a change of direction in regards to activity. Many citizens noted the nature of the previous term, where activity simply didn't happen and many things had failed to keep the region going beyond forum games. With some MPs returning to the floor in hopes of being apart of the spearheaded change, we also saw a return of an old member of the region as well as two new MPs coming to the House of Commons. A heavily independent race was upon us, with six independents running of the Pragmatic Alliance. Prime Minister candidates were purely independent. Discussions about the future of the region in regards to the Constitutional Convention were a hot topic among candidates. The Magna Carta, a potential replacement of the current Constitution to allow for more efficient regional reform that, according to some, has been hindered due to our laws being too good at covering all the potential issues a region may come across, was sought out to be the solution. One concern which has not been covered by the laws of the region as thoroughly is the tendency of the United Kingdom to go quiet between elections, and each candidate sought to enact legislation and push for better policies to ensure the region is not just alive when it is time to come together and determine the next leaders.

The full results are contained below:

Prime Minister
Samuel Kohnaarik (Ind) 15 votes (51.72%)
Klaus Mikaelson (Ind) 3 votes (10.34%)
Charlie Beckett (Ind) 2nd 11 votes (37.93%)

House of Commons
Samuel Kohnaarik (Ind) 15 votes (14.42%)
Klaus Mikaelson (Ind) 11 votes (10.58%)
Charlie Beckett (Ind) 13 votes (12.50%)
Madeline Norfolk (Ind) 15 votes (14.42%)
George Beckett (Ind) 9 votes (8.65%)
Jan van Dijk (PA) 14 votes (13.46%)
Michael Stewart (PA) 17 votes (16.35%)
Redarmy (Ind) 10 votes (9.62%)

A Cabinet of Variety

Prime Minister Samuel Kohnaarik began his term with announcing his cabinet which he stated: "We have an amazing, all-star cast in our Cabinet this go-around". As time has progressed, there have been a few reshuffling to ensure all positions are properly utilized. Former Home Secretary Redarmy was removed and replaced with current Home Secretary Vlaska. The Prime Minister indicated that while he had hoped the Home Office would be a good place for newer citizens to get their feet wet in how the executive worked, the weight and complexity of the Master Citizenship List proved to require a more experienced hand to ensure it is accurate in information. Culture Secretary Longendale replaced Former Culture Secretary and current Public Services Secretary Charlie Beckett. It was made known that Mr. Beckett preferred that of the Public Services Office and wished to continue his focus there and allow someone else to handle the Culture Office. Longendale, arguably the most active on the forum with his participation in forum games should prove to be a vital component to bringing the Culture Office back to life.
Since the changes, we have seen an uptick in activity from the government, especially from the Culture Secretary in setting up game sign-ups and Daily Quizzes to keep people interested while waiting to post in their spam games!
Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary Madeline Norfolk has been hard at work within Commons to try and finalize her intentions to separate the military from the executive branch and placing it under the control of the Monarchy.

Parliament Discussions

As elections have long past, the holiday season proved to challenge Parliament and the Government to remain vigilant in their Campaign promises. MP Michael Stewart opened a discussion within the House of Commons in regards to the lack of activity and sought to find a solution. Since that discussion, MPs have been taking Parliament into their own hands through bringing proposals to the floor in lieu of the House of Lords taking longer than expected to discuss the Magna Carta and come to a consensus. The Speaker and MP Madeline Norfolk took things a step further and sought a solution to inactivity within both Houses by calling for the removal of particular members of Parliament.
MP Madeline Norfolk called for the removal of MP Jan van Dijk for his inactivity within the House of Commons despite his presence within forum games. MP Dijk asked the House for forgiveness claiming that he indeed had plans to do things for the House and even contacted the Prime Minister of his plans to do things for the upcoming weekend. Following this, other members chimed in with one claiming that attempting to remove an MP for not participating in Parliamentary debates but still remaining active on the forum as a waste of time. The MPs came to a consensus to allow MP Dijk the chance to redeem himself due to all being inactive because of the holidays and the House is one of second chances. Only time will tell if MP Dijk will follow through on his promises.
Speaker Charlie Beckett recently called for the removal of the Duchess of Edinburgh, Elizabeth Stuart, echoing the concerns laid out from MP Norfolk in regards to MP Dijk, but taking things a step further claiming that her inactivity has hindered progress on a particular piece of legislation, the Magna Carta. The Duchess had indicated prior to this call she had an amendment for the Magna Carta which she would bring to the Lords. With time having passed and the amendment not being brought to the Lords, the Speaker called for her removal. After this call, the Duchess appeared in an announcement indicating her absence has not been due to negligence as she had been painted but due to her real life getting in the way due to being in the hospital and recovering from pneumonia. The Prime Minister, MP Norfolk, and MP Dijk indicated that because the Duchess' situation was truly one out of her control, they would likely not support her removal from the Lords. The Speaker has since shot back that had she not been called out for her inactivity, and given her online status within the discord server, she has no excuse for her delay of indicating why she was away. Since then, the House of Commons agreed that removing the Duchess would be improper, and the motion has been withdrawn to be tabled.

The Duchess has been in an indefinite LoA as she recovers from pnemonia. Her husband, the Marquess of Belfast, Klaus Mickaelson was called to take her place for the time being. The Marquess has already proven to be a strong force within the House of Lords by appearing on time and supporting the changes coming to the Lords. Prior to his appointment, the Marquess was a voice within the Stranger's Gallery, ensuring that both Houses were aware of potential issues with changes suggested.

Aside from discussions of removals, the House of Commons has received a small flurry of proposals from Prime Minister Kohnaarik and MP Norfolk. These proposals include amendments to current laws to remove the Defence Secretary, with the intention to have the Military independent of the umbrella of the government, bring use back to the University, clean up the Judiciary, and much more!
The Magna Carta has since returned to the floor of the House of Commons, and discussions on what to do next have begun. The hottest topic has been the discussion of who ought to oversee elections, and how exactly elections should be handled on the new forum. Due to issues around the polling system of proboards, citizens can change their votes, which has sparked controversy among more traditional citizens who believe that changing the vote is unfair to candidates. In addition to the ability to change votes, if the settings of the poll are set a certain way, one can see the vote before voting, and see how changes occur in real time, as opposed to zetaboards which forced you to vote and then see the results, but you were unable to change your vote. His Majesty opened the discussion as the Commons continues to debate the topic. Some believe it is a good thing to allow people to see the numbers and change their vote, that way if their first choice is unable to win, then perhaps their second choice has a better chance. Others have argued the unfairness of vote changing, where it can potentially rob citizens of being able to be in Parliament because votes are lost to ensure others are or are not in office. In the end, the question still remains, should citizens be able to see the results as voting happens? Or should they only see the results after polls close to prevent changing votes?

Honours, Honours, and More Honours!

Following the End of the 57th Session of Parliament and beginning of the 58th Parliament, a few honours were given to various longstanding citizens of the region. Given the timing of everything, we received two notifications of distributions of Honours, one for the New Year and one for the Coronation! Below are the excerpts from both awards announcements:

Per my previous notice on restoring titles to former Monarchs, I am pleased to return the Dukedom of Northumberland to Alexander W.G. Stewart. As I previously noted, I believe those who have served such high distinction as that as Sovereign, and the wealth of offices that come before that, are worthy of such recognition. Alec certainly is, with his dedication to the United Kingdom, passion for our affairs and long contributions ranking him highly in our most esteemed members. I am pleased to also welcome to Duke of Northumberland to the Privy Council where I shall benefit from experience.
 
Longdendale, is created an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) and is entitled to wear the ribbon and medal of said Order. Longdendale has been a member of the United Kingdom for several years, becoming one of our top posters and a common face in the Penny Arcade for newcomers. He has also served with distinction in public office, including terms as Deputy Culture Secretary and Culture Secretary, and three terms as a Member of Parliament. Since receiving the Order of Merit in 2017 for his cultural work, Longdendale has continued to contribute and is more than deserving of joining the distinguished citizens who have received the Order of the British Empire.
 
The last honour goes to Sacul Astoria who is also created an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) and is entitled to wear the ribbon and medal of said Order. Since joining the United Kingdom, Sacul has contributed to various aspects of political and social life in Government, Parliament and as a Citizen. Of particular note is his dedication to regional activity. Through serving multiple terms as Culture Secretary to engaging in culture events and media work, Sacul has displayed a great effort to keep the region active. He is the epitome of the model citizen and long deserving of an elevation to the Order of the British Empire.

With my Coronation following the New Year, I was aware I would have two honours lists should I follow the tradition of the events, which is something I was keen to do. I decided to consider all the honours I wished to issue and save one Honour for the distinction of my Coronation. I'm pleased to say that goes to the Father of the House of Commons, Michael Stewart.

Since joining the United Kingdom over two years ago, Mike has excelled in getting involved in many areas and he has risen from a humble newcomer to one of our most experienced Citizens. With two terms as Prime Minister under his belt and service to many Governments Mike has been one of our most prominent members over recent years, all while making contributions to cultural life as well. Today he serves his 11th consecutive term in Parliament. Whether he wants to settle for a tie with myself or go for a 12th term, I don't know, but I'm pleased to ensure that for one term at least, he will be deservingly noted as "Sir Michael Stewart" in the Commons Hansard, through my pleasure today to knight him a Knight Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

A Winter Festival and a Coronation!

This last month has been full of celebrations, and we have been happy to have so many of our allies involved! A Winter Festival was conducted from December 23rd to January 2nd, celebrating several things from honouring our former King to hosting a State-Visit with LKE. It was a pleasure to have our allies from LKE join us for a brief state visit. The Prime Minister of the LKE addressed Parliament with a heartwarming and inspiring speech celebrating the 5 years of friendship our two regions have shared, with hints at many more to come in addition to bettering our relationship with one another through military and culture. It was a pleasure to host the State Visit and we look forward to see what more will stem from our relationship with one another!
During the Coronation celebration, many citizens took part in the games such as "What would your royal name be?" and "Why should you be King?" meanwhile Sacul reigned supreme in the Avatar Contest by simply being the only one brave enough to submit his avatar! The winning image happened to be Tyrion Lannister sitting on the Iron Throne, and if you ask me, nothing could possibly top that! In addition to games, speeches from citizens and foreign dignitaries flooded Westminster Abbey to Honour our King on his coronation, unsurprisingly, the most liked and arguably most meaningful speech came from none other than Sacul Astoria. It is without a doubt the people and allies of the United Kingdom have faith in the King's abilities to make the region great. Below is Sacul's speech to Akillian, the more serious of the two.

I've already given a lengthy (and amusing) enough speech a couple of weeks back, but I can hardly not say a few words, so here is a shorter (more serious) version! It will self-destruct within several hours, of course, couldn't leave this evidence lying about.

I can without a second thought say that Akillian is my best NationStates friend, and the person I have most respect for on the game. We are about equally old in NS terms, and have known each other from close to the start. I have worked for him, he has worked for me, we have worked beside each other. He has been a motivating boss, a hardworking employee, a dedicated colleague. He can keep his head cool and think straight in any situation, putting aside personal grudges and not acting in the passion of the moment, something that can be said about very few people I have come across on NS. We have experienced regional dramas together in which he showed patience and self-control beyond what I have seen from anyone else. I don't know about his work in Balder and the LKE, but in the KGB there were times where he pulled us through situations that would have seen the region crumble without him, in Arda he was instrumental in writing the constitution and other legislation as well as being at the centre of cultural life, and here in the UK he has shown us some of the most active premierships I have witnessed in my time here. He has served - and excelled - in any position given to him, be it legislative, executive, judiciary, or otherwise. And beyond all of these things, he is also kind, compassionate, and loyal. Altogether, everything we need in a King!

I am confident that you will do an excellent job. I am lucky to have the opportunity to experience your reign, even if it is from a jail cell in the Tower of London.

Long Live the King!

Three Cheers for King Edward X! Long may he reign and long may the United Kingdom prosper under his leadership!





Thank You for Reading!

His Majesty's Office for External Affairs is proud to provide this edition of our monthly major update.

Thanks for the update, and congrats on your election as Prime Minister!

BBC World Service: May 2019 Foreign Update
UK FORUM ~ UK REGION ~ UK DISCORD

The Monarchy Sovereign: HM King Edward X Prince of Wales: HRH Prince George WA Delegate: JayDee Bonaparte Crown Court Judges Lady Georgiana Stewart, CJ

His Majesty's Government Prime Minister: JayDee Bonaparte Deputy Prime Minister: Michael Stewart Home Secretary: Edward Grey External Affairs Secretary: Sir Henry Norfolk Culture Secretary: Madeline Norfolk Public Services Secretary: Michael Stewart & Sacul Astoria World Assembly Secretary: Richard Hamilton Attorney General: Vlaska

House of Lords Klaus, Marquess of Belfast George, Earl of Clarence* Samuel, Baron Clarent House of Commons Renée Fontaine of Oxford (LD) Madeline Norfolk of Dwyfor Meirionnydd (SF)* Grace Crawley of York (CP) Sir Henry Norfolk of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (SF) Edward Grey of Worcester (BUP) * denotes the presiding officer

[size=150]Parliament: Hard at work![/size]

With the 60th Session of Parliament now well underway and in its second half, both chambers continue the work of passing legislation that either aims to bring our laws up to date with the newer ways of United Kingdom, or implement new reforms that aim to take United Kingdom in a new direction.

Currently before the House of Commons is an amendment written by the Prime Minister that would implement staggered elections within United Kingdom, separating Prime Ministerial elections from Parliamentary elections. The amendment was quick to spur debate from both sides of the argument and it’s expected that it will continue to face debate both in and out the Houses of Parliament in the coming days and weeks.

Other legislation that has been brought forth in Parliament included the Discord Administration Act that would regulate the amount of administrators within the discord server, the Election Regulation Amendment that established the new position of Deputy Election Commissioner when the EC is unable to be present for elections, and the Executive Summons Act which changed the way in which Prime Minister’s Questions are held, with PMQs now becoming a weekly event.

With half of the term to go, there remains a lot to be done and you can expect to hear more about Parliament in further updates!

[size=150]Celebration Time! NSUK-KoGB Easter Festival[/size]

[img=300x200]https://images.theconversation.com/files/116365/original/image-20160324-17851-1yv9q70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=926&fit=clip[/img]

This past April, citizens from United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Great Britain gathered on our regional forums for a fun celebration surrounding the Easter holidays.

The project of Culture Secretary Madeline Norfolk included multiple exciting activities including egg design contests, avatar contests, some tricky counting games, and even some fantastic egg-citing puns that don’t fail to deliver every year. Big winners from the festival includes George, Prince of Wales, Charles Lancaster of KoGB, and our very own Prime Minister Bonaparte. The easter festival did not fail to deliver and it proved to be an exciting event for our citizens and for the development of our friendship with one another.

United Kingdom was very excited to welcome our friends from the Kingdom of Great Britain and we look forward to seeing some further activities with both KoGB and other regions in the near future!

[size=150]Foreign Affairs in full Swing[/size]
[size=150][/size]

[size=75]Following the joint NSUK-KoGB Easter Festival, negotiations between both regions began in an effort to bring our regions closer together, for the prosperity of our citizens and our regions.
[/size]

[size=75]Both regions were pleased to introduce a Pact of Non-Aggression to their respective legislatures, in an effort to lay the foundations for our friendship, and build upon it in the future. The Pact of Non-Aggression would seek to bring the regions together by ensuring our cooperation with one another, and the opportunity to allow our respective militaries to take part in operations alongside one another. [/size]

[size=75]With the act now having passed each region’s lower chambers, it now moves to the upper House of Lords where further consideration and debate is expected. We look forward to enacting this Pact and beginning the progress of once again opening ourselves up to great alliances across Nationstates.[/size]

[size=150]Thank You for Reading![/size]

[size=150]His Majesty's Office for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs is proud to provide this edition of our monthly foreign update. [/size]

Thanks for the update! The summer lull always sucks, but from what I've seen it seems to be lifting, so things should be more active everywhere going forward.

[size=150]BBC World Service: August 2019 Update[/size]

UK Forum   UK Region

[/hr]

The Monarchy
Sovereign: HM King Edward X
Prince of Wales: HRH Prince George

Crown Court Judges
Lady Georgiana Stewart, CJ
Jay Dee Bonaparte, J
Jacob Stewart, J

WA Delegate: JayDee Bonaparte

His Majesty's Government

Prime Minister: Lucas Stewart
Deputy Prime Minister: Madeline Norfolk
Home Secretary: Richard Hamilton
Foreign Secretary: Chris Mikaelson
Culture Secretary: Samuel Clarent
Attorney General: Klaus Mikaleson

House of Lords
Michael, Baron Stewart*
Henry, Baron Norfolk
Vlaska, Baron Vlaska

House of Commons
Madeline Norfolk of Dwyfor Meirionnydd (SF) *
Klaus Mikaelson of Inverness (SF)
Michael R.E Stewart of East Londonderry (SF)
Richard Hamilton of Peterborough (SF)
Lucas Stewart of Brent (The Liberal Party)

* denotes the presiding officer

[/hr]

Discussions:The Future of the United Kingdom

The defining issue of the August General Election was the growing sense that changes should be considered to improve the community of the United Kingdom.  Prime Minister Lucas Stewart clearly heard those calls and responded by launching a survey, allowing the government to get a sense of which areas of the region needed improvement.  The results are still in the process of being tabulated.

On the political front, Sinn Fein have launched their own party conference called “Sinn Fein Ard Fheis”. The conference aims to discuss and develop measures aimed at reforming the political environment of the United Kingdom. Change UK and the Liberal Democrats have recently merged to revive the Liberal Party, with the aim of spearheading change for the region.

 

Games & Battles

Every weekend in the United Kingdom is always spent being glued to our mobile and computer screens (Psss…we know it’s not healthy…But with Brexit round the corner, it’s not safe to go outside.). That’s because of Weekend Games! Every weekend, the region is introduced to an online browser game which we play to compete against each other. We’ve so far played, War in Space, Doodle Jump, Agar.io and that all time classic Pacman!

Constituency Battle makes its return to our region’s culture scene once again.  This time with a new concept in place, instead of the usual spam games and werewolf. The Culture Office decided to go all out with a quiz based approach to Constituency Battle. Participation helps your team last for the long run and so far it looks like the England team is dead last.

Crown Court Case: Constance St. James vs Lucas Stewart

The Crown Court of the United Kingdom was called into action recently to decide whether the Executive Simplification Act was unconstitutional. The act aimed to give the Prime Minister greater flexibility to structure the composition of their cabinet with less bureaucracy involved. However, this piece of legislation was controversial as it was felt to have violated the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of government.

During the course of the case, it was discovered that the Act give the lower house of parliament; the House of Commons the rights to veto the decisions of the Prime Minister regarding their cabinet composition. This was a direct violation of the constitution as it neglected to consider the upper house of parliament; the House of Lords which is included as part of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The Crown Court ruled that in its existing form, the Executive Simplification Act was unconstitutional. However the court did remark that the act can be considered constitutional, provided that parliament amend proposal to give both houses of parliament (Commons and Lords) veto powers over the composition of the cabinet.

This is not the end of the story though. Ms Constance St James who initiated the case against the government is seeking for the case to be reconsidered by a larger five judge panel. The panel upheld the decision that the Executive Simplification Act was unconstitutional. However instead of ruling it unconstitutional on the grounds of a technicality, it supporting her argument that it would have violated the separation of powers under the constitution.

Garden Party Surprise – Honours List

A Garden party was recently hosted on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. HM King Edward X took that opportunity to announce his Honours list. The following citizens of the region were awarded honours for their contributions to the United Kingdom:

Sir Michael Stewart was made Baron of Wrexham.
Lucas Stewart was made a KBE.
Jay Dee Bonaparte was made a KBE.
Samuel Clarent was made an OBE.
Madeline Norfolk was awarded the Order of Merit.
Richard Hamilton was awarded the Order of the Companions of Honour.[/align]

Hamilton Removed, Fraser Elected

Following nearly two weeks of absence from regional life,
the House of Commons removed James D. Hamilton (LAB),
Member for Brigg and Goole, from the Chamber
on 22/12/19. While posting a leave of absence
on Dec. 9th, all other Members recognized
the need to have a fully participating chamber
to represent the citizenry of NSUK.

“I belive that due to James' lengthy absence
he leaves us no choice then to dismiss him from the house,”
said Johannes Maayst (BPU), MP for Gower and Llaneli.
Following the vote for removal, the Speaker Samuel Clarent (SF)
sent a PM to the Sovereign with a request to call a
by-election to fill the vacant seat.
Wasting no time, His Majesty King Edward X issued a writ of election
the same day for the 26th of December.

Jumping into the race were two former PMs and dedicated
 public servants, both just reviving their own activity:
Home Secretary Andrew B. Fraser (BPU) and Sir Henry Norfolk (CON).

Fraser, just one of many old-timers to return,
applied for citizenship on Dec. 8th, and was
tapped by Prime Minister Alec Stewart to replace
 Hamilton in HMG as Home Secretary.

Norfolk had resigned as PM in the summer citing
RL concerns before returning and registering the C
onservative and Unionist Party on the 19th of this month.

Sinn Fein and the Liberal Party did not
field candidates. While the Liberal Party stayed
relatively quiet, SF came to support Sir Norfolk in his bid.

Both Candidates highlighted their long tenures
of public service in NSUK as well as their unwillingness
to begin proposing legislation, while seeing need
to comment on those before Parliament or
decrying the “over legislation” of the Region.

“Over-legislating in this region is going to kill this
region. I have returned, and the amount of new law
is genuinely daunting, and I’m not even a newcomer,” said Fraser.

Overall, the election was close from beginning to end,
with Fraser edging out the vote over Norfolk, 14-12.

Conceding defeat, Norfolk said, “I will always spend my
time in United Kingdom working to make sure I
always earn your vote, your trust, and your
confidence, all in an effort to see our great region succeed.”

Fraser joins Klaus Mikaelson, Samuel Clarent, Alec Stewart,
 and Johannes Maayst in the Commons, officially
tipping the British People’s Union into the majority
and delegating Sinn Fein into the Opposition.

By: Sam Clarent


Other News:

Speaker of the House of Commons Samuel Clarent has filed a Legal Question with the Crown Court over the Constitutionality of the Executive Branch Reform Act given the new Amendments to the Constitution from the previous General Election, which saw Parliament stripped of its ability to provide for Cabinet Offices via Law, instead transferring that power to the Prime Minister via Executive Order. The Question is currently before the Court.

The House of Lords has just returned another Amendment to the Commons concerning the status of the House of Lords within the regional Judiciary. Passed by the Commons last session, the same Amendment must now be re-passed and is currently under debate in the Commons.

Early Last week just before the Christmas Holiday, representatives from the Land of Kings and Emperors traveled to NSUK for an official visit with the Government, Parliament, and the Monarchy. Prime Minister Erica von Clair-Arcadia made an address to Parliament and Guardian Counselor John Spencer-Talleyrand. Both stressed the importance of continued cooperation and praised the unique relationship shared between the two regions.
Message from the Prime Minister:

I bid you greeting. Here we stand once more, on the edge of another year. The struggles and strife, the trials and tribulations, and indeed the celebrations and joyous occasions of the year are now behind us and the slate is wiped clean. We must forge ahead with full hearts and steadfast spirits into 2020, without allowing the events of this year to define us. This of course is no easy task. The very prospect of carrying on another 365 days seems agony inducing to some, and laborious to those in the daily grind of what is modern living; particularly those living hand to mouth on yesterday's bread.

While we celebrate through the festive period and the renewals of New Year and Hogmanay let us cast our minds first to the struggles of others. As all people instinctively do, I look first to the problems that I have faced in 2019. As a carer of another human I faced great trials in relation to Mental Health and Wellbeing and watching another person suffer, and I did alongside them, one I cared so deeply for, and it changed me from my deepest core. I look also to those I know around me or have read about or seen on the television who have faced serious illness, cancer, AIDS, loss of bodily functioning. I look to war-torn countries, to Syria, Iraq & Kurdistan, Israel & Palestine, to the African Nations, to the Ukraine, and I look closer to home when I look at the issues that continue to be faced in Northern Ireland and divisions throughout our realm and Europe. I also look at famine across the globe, and the resource depletion of mother Earth and the starving in their hundreds and hundreds of millions.

For all of these things I weep, and I pray.

I weep and I pray but also I pledge myself to do more in 2020. Lord knows I did my best in 2019 for those in my life. But in 2020 I would renew my pledge of the previous year and I would seek to go out and do my best for all of those things I've listed above. If I manage to have just one small impact on one individual I will be content, and I hope if everyone else who is lucky enough now to speak from a seat of relative comfort follows the same pattern then that could be hundreds and thousands, if not millions of people who are impacted by the kindness of those who can. Are you one of those who can? If you are, I'd strongly urge you to take up this pledge with me. For a better world of tomorrow.

Speaking now not as your Prime Minister, but as a Christian man and fellow citizen of this region. There is only one surefire, tried and tested way of keeping toxicity and negativity at bay. The answer of course is love. Love is simple. It has no borders. It has no dividing line. No -- no mans land. No demilitarised zone. No peace wall or iron dome or dead mans switch. It can dwell within all things and even those that are not sentient bear the hall marks of love. You water a plant in the ground and tend and care for it, as Jesus tells us, "Consider the lilies, how they grow", and in it you will reap the rewards of having shown it love and kindness. It will be a beautiful flower and blossom before you in a biological thanks to say "I'm healthy now, I've grown, you did this!" Love conquers all. Soldiers in battle stop firing bullets when they love the person they're looking down the scope at. The homeless are helped to their feet and given shelter. The war planes are taxi'd back into their hangers and the tribes of one nation meet the tribes of another and they break bread and they sing. All cultures. All colours. All castes and creeds and classes. Love is the enemy of evil. All it takes is for People to love People.

So for 2020 all I say to you now is love people. As many as you can, as much as you can. I feel that God challenges me to do this, and I'm challenging you.

God bless you, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr.
Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Duit.
Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda.
 

In service always,
+Alec Stewart

@Samuel Clarent: Thank you for the update. The Prime Minister's elegant and personal message really resonated with me...in a world where its seems like hardly anything is going right, I hope that in the new year we can all overcome strife, hatred, and despair with hope, love, and gratitude for the things that we do have. I hope that we will work to improve the lives of others, and in doing so improve our own lives. I hope that we will strive towards a world where love truly conquers all, through empathy, acceptance, and caring.

Elections! Elections? Elections!

Britons went to the polls on January 21st to elect a new Prime Minister and Parliament. For the first time in NSUK history, the House of Commons passed a resolution to dissolve itself and petition His Majesty for an election. At the same time, Prime Minister Alec Stewart had advised the King to call for elections across the board.

Parliamentary Elections saw the Liberal Party, British People’s Union, and Sinn Fein almost contest the election, but the last minute dropout of Lucas Stewart (Lib) ended up bringing the candidate number to 5, the size of the elected House of Commons. “I’m actually quite confident in the field of candidates that we have. Likewise, I’m confident in my own ability to be a part of the parliamentary process,” said Stewart. Samuel Clarent and Klaus Mikaelson of Sinn Fein returned to parliament with Johannes Maayst (BPU). New members of the Commons include Elisha Parks (BPU) and Speaker John Laurens-Wessex(Lib).

In the contest for the Premiership, regional veteran Samuel Clarent (SF) squared off with relative newcomer Elisha Parks (BPU). “This is a very serious election. Recently we’ve seen a downswing in activity during parliamentary terms, going back to well over a month ago. We’ve seen debates stalled, ideas perishing, and the fraternal spirit that built this region being whittled away,” said Parks in his opening speech of the campaign trail. Kicking off his bid, Samuel Clarent said, “Every election, we are at a crossroads. Over the past year, things have looked bleak, but we have continuously risen up to the challenges laid before us...The region deserves a domestically active government, and that is exactly what I hope to deliver.”

The end result didn’t shock many Britons. Mr. Clarent secured 10 Downing by a vote of 19-7.
Prime Minister Clarent quickly assembled a big-tent government of Klaus Miakelson as Deputy Prime Minister, Henry Windsor (CON) as Home Secretary, John Laurens-Wessex as Culture Secretary, and Elisha Parks as Foreign Secretary.



Constitutional Court Case: The Mathematical Result

After being passed the Commons, Passed by the Lords, Then sent back to the Commons, a Constitutional Amendment to remove the House of Lords as the Highest Court of NSUK was set to head to referendum, but few concerned Citizens had questions about the final vote in the Commons. As Andrew Fraser MP was of a Leave of Absence due to RL reasons, the final vote came down to 3-1 with Prime Minister Alec Stewart casting the sole negative vote. Under the NSUK Constitution, Constitutional Amendments must have the support of ⅔ of each House of Parliament. Taking the LoA Mr. Fraser, the Speaker Samuel Clarent considered the Amendment duly ratified as the available members had voted as ⅔ in favor of the Amendment. As Election Commissioner Sir Jay Dee Bonaparte was about to present the Amendment for referendum, Mike Stewart and Constance St. James sued the Commissioner and the House of Commons over whether or not the Commons had properly ratified the Amendment

After a long Court Case with both sides arguing the validity of applying the precedent established in Silver Steps vs. HM Government (that the Court can overturn unconstitutional Parliamentary Procedure) and the definition of “chamber” as it applies to legislative bodies and personnel. The biggest surprise was in the Court Order that the Amendment was properly ratified as the mathematically proper handling of ⅔ as it relates to the 5-member House of Commons necessitates the rounding down of 3.3333 to 3. Lady Georgiana Stewart as Chief Judge ruled, “The Judiciary Constitutional Amendment Act received 3 votes in favor, 1 against and 1 absent, with the final tally being 3 out of 5. With the new calculation, the aforementioned bill received an absolute two-thirds majority and can, therefore, be presented to the people. I, therefore, rescind the injunction against the Elections Commissioner in this matter,” allowing the Amendment to go to the British People.



Devolution Revolution!!! New Era for NSUK

A new idea to spark regional activity and citizen engagement has gripped NSUK!!! After conversations sparked by Klaus Mikaelson, Samuel Clarent proposed the Potential for Devolved Administration Act, which would pave the way for citizen-led governments to have jurisdiction over areas of the Forum that contain private properties. The Prime Minister was summoned by the House of Lords for questioning when they considered the bill. Mr. Clarent responded to the Duke of Northumberland, “I hope that it is clear that myself and HMG is pro-devolution in the broadest and widest sense.” The Bill passed unanimously in both Chambers.

With a recent influx of antsy citizens and seeing the prospects for devolution, citizens have resurrected old estates and applied for properties at a remarkable pace. The Prime Minister issued Executive Order LVIII that lays out how the Forums will be reconfigured to provide for the mechanics of devolution!

In the past, NSUK had the London City Council which was composed of all citizens having democratic control over an area of the forums. With that faring relatively unwell, the new idea is aiming to prevent the Tragedy of the Commons event and let citizens really feel their impact on decision making in NSUK, beyond the bi-monthly election. Final preparations are being made, and the program is set to go live on February 28th.

Address from the Prime Minister

Greetings friends and allies,

There is nothing greater than the sense of community we can create through forums, RMBs, and Discord servers! I am proud to once again rise to the office of Prime Minister of NSUK, a long-lived region of our humble gameplay community. Friendship and cordial relations breed stability, both within and among regions! I am indeed greatly privileged and indeed overjoyed to lead a fantastic region and to work with all of you and your leaders.

Above all else, we are indeed stronger when united and weaker when petty personal squabbles engulf the Foreign Relations of regions in turmoil. NSUK has long sat on the sidelines of Foreign Involvement, sustaining a sense of inherent neutrality and individual circumstance as cornerstones of our Foreign Policy. While I have no intention to fully overturn our Foreign precedents, I have consulted with my Foreign Secretary and earned the support of the British people in the last election to roll out a new service to our fellow regional leaders!


While we do have specified treaties with select Allies, NSUK is proud to offer mediation and arbitration services to regions in strife or conflict. NSUK recognizes the overlapping citizenships of many, and indeed wants nothing more than to ensure that citizens of every nation feel that their regions have the opportunity to grow without chains of conflict. Any region can reach out to us with an issue, and we will reach out to the other region(s) and attempt to come to decisions that are mutually beneficial to all involved. NSUK has embraced neutrality for many years, and we have not utilized it to help better the entire NS community. That is what we want to change and we are open to doing so together with all of you!


Godspeed,

Rt. Hon. Samuel Clarent
Prime Minister of United Kingdom

Hello all! Just dropping by to deliver the June 2020 foreign update from United Kingdom.

(Within it, you'll find news about the Coronation of HM King George VIII! We'd love to see you there.)

Click here to read the update! (PDF Format)

Thanks for the update!

In case anyone else is struggling with the URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J4k9y-6OkHN6yYeGWzWdb7LBoXGWT-OK/view?usp=sharing

60th Premiership of the United Kingdom	Regional Information Centre	71st Session of Parliament
His Majesty's Government Prime Minister: Josephine Stewart Deputy Prime Minister: Victor Stewart Home Secretary: Angus Baker-Mountbatten Foreign Secretary: Akillian Talleyrand Local Government Secretary: Remile Talleyrand Culture Secretary: Longendale Chancellor of the Exchequer: Henry Stewart Crown Court of the United Kingdom Crown Court Chief Judge: Sir Jay Dee Bonaparte Crown Court Judge: Michael Stewart Crown Court Judge: John Spencer-Talleyrand	The British Monarchy Sovereign: HM King George VIII Prince of Wales: HRH Prince Michael Founded: November 10th, 2005 Ruling Family: The Royal House of Stewart United Kingdom NationStates Page -- -- -- -- United Kingdom Regional Forums -- -- -- -- United Kingdom Discord -- -- -- -- A Guide to NSUK	The House of Lords Mithrandir, Baron Olórin John, Baron Spencer-Talleyrand Madeline, Baroness Mikaelson (Speaker) The House of Commons Akillian Talleyrand (PUP) of Linlithgow Angus Baker-Mountbatten (PUP) of Sevenoaks Matthew Stewart (PUP) of Glasgow Central Duncan A. Bracey-Bauheim (LAB) of Bolsover Scott Cahill-Mountbatten (TIG) of Kensington Henry Stewart (SF) of East Londonderry (Speaker) Remile Talleyrand (SF) of Warwickshire HM Government: No Organised Majority HM Loyal Opposition: No Organised Opposition

 
Britons Head To The Polls!

After a productive session of Parliament, the King of the United Kingdom, HM George VIII, signed a Writ of General Election to allow for a new election for the Office of Prime Minister as well as seven members of parliament, to be held on January 23rd 2021. The incumbent Prime Minister, Akillian Talleyrand, announced that he was standing down as leader of his party, the Progressive Unionist Party, and would not be seeking reelection. This led to an open race for Prime Minister, which quickly filled up with candidates from four parties. From the beginning, the main point of contention in this election cycle of military policy and advocating for changes to the Defence Act.

The first of these candidates was Josephine Stewart, the deputy PM to Akillian, who was the PUP candidate running on a campaign focusing on foreign relations and the creation of a World Assembly Affairs department. The second candidate in this election was Klaus Mikaelson, the candidate for Sinn Fein, the longest standing PM in the region's history. His campaign was focusing on offering a candidate that would not be divisive and would offer change where he deemed it necessary. The Independent Group, a new party in this election cycle, put forward Scott Cahill-Mountbatten. Scott’s campaign was set around policies that they believed were devised on common-sense and backed on evidence, with a focus on a strong economy and robust military. Duncan A. Bracey-Bauheim stood as the Labour candidate but withdrew before voting started. Josephine Stewart won the election with 53% of the vote and was therefore elected as Prime Minister for the first time.

Looking at the elections for the House of Commons, this was the first election of 7 MPs, 4 of them directly elected, and the other 3 coming from an at-large election. Seat one had the least number of candidates of all of the seats, contested between Akillian Talleyrand of PUP and Henry Stewart of Sinn Fein. Both members ran very successful campaigns, however Akillian was elected after voting closed with 68% of the vote. Moving on to look at seat 2 there were four candidates, one from each of the main parties. These were: Duncan A. Bracey-Bauheim (Labour), Matthew Stewart (PUP), Richard Wright (TIG), and Anish Reddy (SF). After voting ended, Matthew Stuart was the clear winner, being elected with 55% of the vote.

Seats 3 and 4 of the election were both closer than the previous two and both went to runoffs. Seat 3 was contested between Angus Baker-Mountbatten (PUP), Klaus Mikaelson (SF), and Scott Cahill-Mountbatten (PUP). This election was very tight and went to a runoff between Angus and Klaus. However, in the runoff, Angus was elected with 57% of the vote. Finally, seat 4 was contested between Remile Talleyrand (SF), Aaron Reynolds-Bauheim (TIG), and Victor Stewart (PUP). Since none of the candidates won over 50% of the vote, it went to a runoff between the PUP and SF candidate. After the runoff Remille was elected with 66% of the vote.

With regards to the at-large election, SF, TIG, and Labour all gained an MP in Henry Stewart, Scott Cahill-Mountbatten, and Duncan A. Bracey-Bauheim. Therefore, the new House of Commons is composed of three members of the Progressive Unionist Party, two members of Sinn Fein, and one member from both The Independent Group and Labour meaning that no party had an overall majority.

 

Election Analysis - BBC News

Voters clearly expressed great support for the PUP agenda once again as they acclaimed Josephine Stewart for executive office. Although her position as the successor to the highly-popular Akillian Talleyrand likely helped her campaign to some degree, the approval of her work in Cabinet last term was likely a bigger factor in making her a popular choice among voters. The contentiousness surrounding the opposition candidates in the campaign, with issues such as TIG's ill-fated line of attack over the Operation Boom Beach and the fallout from the failed Labour-Sinn Féin coalition, also likely provided Stewart with a boost, particularly once Labour candidate Duncan A. Bracey-Bauheim dropped out of the Prime Ministerial race to endorse Stewart.

Repeating her intention to "unite instead of divide", Stewart was swift at work on Sunday, announcing her Cabinet before Parliamentary runoffs had even concluded. In particular, she announced a focus on the Foreign Office for her term, appointing Talleyrand as her Foreign Secretary. Half of her appointees come from PUP and a majority of them have been elected to Parliament, drawing ire from Mikaelson in an editorial for The Advocate, in which he criticized the lack of "diversity" in her Cabinet picks. Nevertheless, her non-PUP picks are all notable; independent Longdendale, the undisputed Spam King, received a well-earned spot as Culture Secretary, while Sinn Féin's own Remile Talleyrand and ex-PUP defector Henry Stewart both received nominations.

It is worth noting that Stewart is the first female Prime Minister in eight years, the last being Constance St. James, and the fourth female Prime Minister in the United Kingdom's entire history.

Stewart's agenda-setting powers in the House of Commons, despite the clear majority for her executive mandate, are nevertheless still up in the air. Under the new mixed-member proportional representation system proposed by Talleyrand and former MP for Belfast North Mayim Emanu-El—Bauheim, the regional election resulted in a hung Parliament after runoffs. PUP won three constituency seats out of four with Akillian Talleyrand, Matthew Stewart, and Angus Baker-Mountbatten, while Remile Talleyrand won the last constituency seat for Sinn Féin. With party list apportionment, this resulted in one at-large seat for Sinn Féin (Henry Stewart), one for the Independent Group (Scott Cahill-Mountbatten), and one for Labour (Duncan A. Bracey-Bauheim).

It is currently unclear who will enter opposition against PUP. However, Sinn Féin and The Independent Group's notoriously chilly relations with PUP make it unlikely that either will prop up Stewart's party to make for a parliamentary majority. Although Labour's Bracey-Bauheim also has had numerous bones to pick with PUP's governance over the past term, his relations with Sinn Féin and TIG are arguably just as bad, as evidenced by numerous Discord battles during the electoral campaign between Bracey-Bauheim and figures such as Klaus Mikaelson and Mithrandir Olórin-Mountbatten. It is thus not outside the realm of possibility that Labour, the fourth-placed party, will nevertheless hold the balance of power. Speaking in #regional-politics on Sunday, Bracey-Bauheim stated his belief that the lack of parliamentary majority would make this Parliament "very effective at promoting cooperation".

 

Government Gets To Business

After the elections had concluded in the United Kingdom, the Rt. Honourable Josephine Stewart was sworn in as the Prime Minister of The United Kingdom by His Majesty the King. The Prime Minister then travelled to 10 Downing Street and appointed the Cabinet. The Hon. Victor Stewart, having previously served as the Local Government Secretary was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister. The Hon. Angus Baker-Mountbatten was reappointed as the Home Secretary of The United Kingdom. The Hon. Akillian Talleyrand, who had served as the Prime Minister last term was appointed as the Foreign Secretary. The Hon. Remile Talleyrand, one of the most active citizens and incumbent BBC Director-General, was named as The Local Government Secretary. An active spammer, the Hon. Longdendale was named as the the Culture Secretary for this term, a role he has served several terms previously. The Hon. Henry Stewart who had recently led his company Cloud 9 to success in the regions new economy has been named The Chancellor Of Exchequer.

The Prime Minister has started work as soon as she entered into office, announcing a few executive orders and also re-starting the junior ministry programme. A new office for the World Assembly has been established and economic reforms announced. Not long into the term, Deputy Prime Minister Victor Stewart announced his intention to leave NationStates. He was replaced as Deputy Prime Minister by Home Secretary Angus Baker-Mountbatten, who was replaced as Home Secretary by Vlaska.

Within Parliament, the first piece of business for the House of Commons was the election of a Speaker for the new session of Parliament. Incumbent Matthew Stewart sought re-election and was challenged by Henry Stewart. Both members ran solid campaigns and after a vote of all MPs, Henry Stewart was elected as Speaker of the House of Commons. Member of Parliament have debated several pieces of legislation so far into the term, including new laws relating to the creation of political parties and standards of activity for businesses. Members of Parliament have also been debating legislation relating to Freedom of Information, economic crimes, and changes to legislation governing the University of the United Kingdom.

 

Constituency Battle Concludes
After the success of the Constituency Battle in past premierships, former Prime Minister Akillian Talleyrand made it a priority revamp and restart the cultural activity game for the previous term, making it an even playing field by resetting the scores. As the battle got under way Northern Ireland took an early and dominant lead thanks to the spamming prowess of Longdendale and Mayim. Despite some spamming by Scottish players and wins in the Cultural games, including the Music Quizzes by Sacul Astoria, Scotland could only finish in second place. England finished in third and Wales rounded up the pack in fourth.

Activity soared in the battle to be the best constituency with posts topping 1700 post in a day thanks to the posting activity of Constituency Battle players. The next competition between the four Constituency Nations will take off soon and we will see if Northern Ireland can maintain their crown.

After the success of the Constituency Battle in past premierships, former Prime Minister Akillian Talleyrand made it a priority revamp and restart the cultural activity game for the previous term, making it an even playing field by resetting the scores. As the battle got under way Northern Ireland took an early and dominant lead thanks to the spamming prowess of Longdendale and Mayim. Despite some spamming by Scottish players and wins in the Cultural games, including the Music Quizzes by Sacul Astoria, Scotland could only finish in second place. England finished in third and Wales rounded up the pack in fourth.

Activity soared in the battle to be the best constituency with posts topping 1700 post in a day thanks to the posting activity of Constituency Battle players. The next competition between the four Constituency Nations will take off soon and we will see if Northern Ireland can maintain their crown.

 

News Flash

- Hunger Games simulator begins; tributes start registering

- Champions League football competition begins; Celtic already making excuses

- Valentines Festival gets started; region prepares for another dozen marriage ceremonies

- Parliament debates legislation; biggest conflict over the ice cream flavours in the Member lounges

- King George VIII denies he is disowning his son Henry, just expresses extreme dislike