Hail, Britannia

Ask and thou shalt receive

I’ve had this sitting around for ages, but finally got round to finishing the write up. Hope you all enjoy it.

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The 2015 British imperial election was held on 12 November 2015 to elect, under the mixed member proportional representation system, the 868 members of the Imperial House of Commons. 434 members are elected from single-seat constituencies, with each Home Nation guaranteed at least one seat, with the other 434 seats being allocated to closed party lists as "top up" seats based on each party's share of the popular vote. It was the first election at the end of a five-year Imperial Parliament since 1973.

The Party of Imperial Social Democrats and Progressives, led by incumbent Prime Minister Sylvia Lim of Singapore, and their coalition partners the Alliance of Imperial Liberals and Reformists and the Imperial Greens, led by Hillary Clinton of the Ohio Country and Elizabeth May of New England respectively, successful won a mandate for a second term in office. However they made a net loss of 16 seats, reducing their size in the House from 497 to 481 seats, with the Social Democrats losing 8, the Liberals losing 12 and the Greens gaining 4 seats. The governing coalition was re-elected handily due to the growth in the British economy, increased investment in the NHS and British Imperial Rail, as well as a moderate approach to international diplomacy and relations with post-coup Iran and Venezuela. However many pundits attributed the loss of seats for the Social Democrats and the Liberals to over-confidence among voters about their re-election chances, and the surge in the Greens vote was due to their environmental credentials.

The opposition Imperial Conservatives, Democrats and Unionists, under leader Mitt Romney of New England, made a gain of 2 seats and replaced the Liberals as the second largest party in the House. However despite strong showings in opinion polls prior to the election, the Conservatives performed poorly in the popular vote, a fact attributed to Romney's lacklustre performance in the debates against the more eloquent and charismatic Lim and Clinton. Romney was also heavily criticised for undertaking an international trip to the Levant, Texas and the European Union which many considered to fall outside of his remit as opposition leader, as well as repeatedly making "off the cuff" remarks that seemed insensitive and crass. The Conservatives also suffered over their campaign pledge to reduce government spending and the budget deficit by cutting non-essential expensive programs, however they scored positively in their promise to reduce British military involvement in Nigeria and gradually replace it with a West African-led force.

British Heritage, the right-wing, socially conservative nationalist party, had recently elected Sarah Palin of Oregon as leader, replacing Tom Tancredo of Missouri. Despite Palin's popularity amongst the party membership, she failed to capitalise on the differences between herself and her predecessors, namely being a young woman, and her debate performance was heavily criticised for failing to convey a clear and consistent message. The broad-tent Alliance of Regions, which is made up of the various centre, centre-left and left-wing regionalist and nationalist parties across the Empire, saw significant gains at this election, mainly across Florida, Louisiana and the Ohio Country, with many calling it the "generational up-swing in support for devolution". Spokesperson Nikolai Szilagyi of Alaska was credited with the result and his successful treading of the fine line between those member parties seeking independence, and those seeking stronger regional powers.

The moderate conservative and socially liberal Imperial Progressive Conservative Association, led by John Tory of Canada, saw a surge in support across the Empire, largely trading off the growth in their affiliate parties in England and New England. Their campaign centred around balanced budgets, increased protections for minorities and a pledge to gradually cut non-essential government programs and reform of the state welfare system. The Libertarian Party of Great Britannia went into the election battered and bruised after a leadership spill replaced Bob Barr of Carolina with Marie Ruwart of the Ohio Country, a surprise given the party's tendency for long serving leaders. Ruwart's campaign never really got off the ground, and a pledge for tax reductions was seen as a blatant vote grabbing strategy, which completely collapsed when Elizabeth May demanded she explain how that would affect social security and the welfare state. Ultimately the party saw a disappointing election night result, although Ruwart has remained as leader, a fact many have attributed to there being no obvious successor, although rumours have suggested that Rand Paul of Virginia may mount a leadership bid in the future. The left-wing Imperial Socialist Labour Party, under new leader Donald Ramotar of the West Indies, made modest gains at this election although nowhere near the heights of the party's founding in 1973. The SLP campaigned on a platform of increased taxes for the top 1%, whilst reducing those affecting the poorest in the country, a plan to reduce homelessness and get people back into work and a pledge to introduce a "living wage". They also continued their support for trade unions and worker's rights, as well as pursuing eco-friendly policies and a pledge to reduce the government's carbon footprint.

The right-wing populist People's Alliance for Democracy, under long time leader Nigel Farage of England, gained two seats at this election as they played to their conservative base. Farage's rhetoric on immigration, Islam, and relations with the European Union, among other things was heavily criticised by the leaders of the other parties, although Sarah Palin refused to outright condemn his comments on Muslims. Team Trump, the right-wing political vehicle established by businessman and Imperial Councillor Donald Trump, failed to enter the Imperial Parliament, being excluded from the leader debates, although Farage and Trump both appeared to support the other's position on numerous issues. The British Republican Movement, which advocates for the abolition of the monarchy and its replacement with a republic, had both MIPs re-elected and saw a minor upswing in their share of the popular vote, however this was attributed more to the personal popularity of individual candidates rather than a minute shift in support for a British republic. Co-leaders Dennis Murray (Sandusky) and Sebastian Teo (Northwest Singapore) both returned to the Imperial Parliament.

Spoiler: And here is a larger version of the constituency map.

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