Known colloquially as
"the Coalition," the alliance of the conservative Federalist Party, the libertarian Reform Party, and the right leaning Francophone party, Rally for Freedom, the coalition is the primary right of center force in American politics. Like their rivals in the Alliance, the Coalition uses a primary system in which candidates from member parties compete for the Coalition's endorsement. Though each member of the Coalition sits as a member of their respected party, the Coalition effectively binds it's three member parties under a National Committee which regulates internal and external competition in federal elections. The bulk of the Coalition's MPs are from the Federalist Party, though the Reform Party of R.E. Cruz and Maxine Bernier's RFL both hold a significant share of the Coalition's seats on the whole. Recently, the Coalition's monopoly on the center-right has been threatened by America First! and the American Heritage Party, though the leader of the coalition and opposition, Paul Ryan, has dismissed these fears.
The Alliance is the electoral compact encompassing the Labor, Liberal, and Union Populaire; like the coalition, the Alliance uses primaries in which the three member parties compete for the Alliance's nomination in that seat. This system allows internal disagreements to be decided at the ballot box by the members of the three parties, while also working to unite around a specific candidate in the afternoon. In certain key seats, such as the Prime Minister's riding in western Virginia, the other member parties would not contest the primary in normal circumstances. Since it's foundation in 1967, the Alliance has evolved from a loose supply and confidence deal into an organized and well funded organization.
The
Labor Party was launched in 1941, after the EPIC (End Poverty in the Commonwealth) movement led by Upton Sinclair formally merged with the AFL-CIO to form the Labor Party. With strong ties to the labor movement, the party is the leading social democratic movement within the country and is the dominant force of the Alliance. Led by Carte Goodwin, who current serves as Prime Minister, the Labor Party's political role is only half of their role; since the 1940s, the Labor Party has been active outside of politics in the worker's and civil rights movement.
The Federalist Party is the oldest active political party in the Commonwealth; traditionally, the party was in favor of confederation, and sought a stronger central government to oversee the administration of the Commonwealth. Fiercely royalist, the Federalists were considered to be the more conservative faction of the first party system, and have overtime evolved into the modern form of Conservatism. Though the party is increasingly moderate on social issues, they maintain a sizable evangelical wing and have promoted a foreign policy that is assertive on a global level.
The Liberal Party is the traditional historic rival of the Tories, though the rise of the Labor Party and the subsequent Alliance has left them as the "third" force in the Commonwealth's politics since the 1970s. Having not been in power since 1930, the Liberal decline is in part due to their transition from classical to social liberalism. Descended from the Whigs, who believed in free trade, provincial rights, and a more agrarian inclined economy, the party split in the 1860s after disagreements between the northern and southern wings, with the northern faction rebranding itself as the Liberals. The party followed a Gladstonian line all the way through the 1930s, advocating for capitalism and free trade. When the Great Depression began, many voters who traditionally supported the Liberals flocked to the EPIC Party, blaming the policies of the party for the economic downturn. Relegated to a distant third in the 1933 election, the party slowly embracing a new ideology of "social liberalism" that reversed their decline and stabilized themselves as the junior partner in the Alliance.
The Progressive Party emerged at the twilight of the 19th century, and were until the 1930s the main left of center party in the Commonwealth. Their emphasis on preserving the natural ecology of America was matched by their anti-corruption drives and efforts to effect social reform. Though the modern social welfare programs known today were not established until the EPIC and Labor governments in the forties, the Progressives remain firmly committed to preserving a social safety net while maintaining fiscally conservative positions on issues like the deficit. Invited to join both the Coalition and the Alliance, the party chose to remain independent and still garners support in certain pockets of the country.
The Socialist Workers Party is one of America's oldest running political parties, but also one of the newest additions to Parliament. Despite a history dating back to 1910, the Socialist Workers Party only won their first seat in the House of Commons in 2013, when economics professor Kshama Sawant was elected to parliament in a by-election. In 2015, she was joined by Randy Bryce, a Wisconsin MP who won an upset victory. As the most outwardly leftist party elected to Parliament since the EPIC era ("End Poverty in the Commonwealth,") the party advocates for nationalizations of industry, redistribution of land, and most controversially, they are staunchly republican in their outlook on the monarchy. The party has also turned heads for their support of left-leaning liberation movements in the past, and the party for years has been accused of "entryism" by Labor, particularly after a group of SWP members organized around a group of leftists known as "the Waffle" in a failed attempt to elect Professor James Laxer as party leader at the 1977. Today, the party has been focused on expanding their reach to a new generation of voters more willing to embrace socialist policies than ever before, and are a frequent presence at anti-racism protests. Some have accused the party of looking the other way on political violence, with some right-leaning outlets like Sun News accusing the party of being a front for anarchists, antifa, and republican agitators.
The Green Party was formed in 1979, following the near meltdown at Three Mile Island. Originally an ecology party that was similar to the Progressives in terms of general policies, the party has dramatically shifted to the left in recent decades under the leadership of Ralph Nader and his successor, Elizabeth May. Supporting "eco-socialism" as their ideology, and campaigning on combating climate change and implementing the "Green EPIC" (named for the End Poverty in the Commonwealth public works campaign during the Great Depression), the Greens have built a steadily growing presence in the House of Commons in recent years.
America First! is the political party organized by populist real-estate mogul Donald Trump in 2015, running on a nationalistic platform of "Making America Great Again." After a whirlwind media tour promoting his party, his numbers in the polls rose rapidly, outpacing both the American Heritage and the Reform parties to become the single biggest threat to the coalition. Within a matter of weeks, the party scored high profile MP defections when former NYC Mayor (and current MP) Rudy Giuliani and fellow New Yorker Peter King became his first two to sit in parliament under his banner. Trump then went on what political commentators deemed "a stadium tour," speaking to packed arenas of supporters who in some cases either waited outside for days or have traveled hundreds of miles. So powerful was Trump's effect on the Coalition base that he began to pull in new candidates and supporters with the force of a magnet. In West Florida, the Coalition's Federalist nominee Matt Gaetz bolted the party just days after winning the primary, forcing the Coalition to scramble for a candidate. Afterwards, longtime West Florida Coaliton MP Jeff Miller and freshman MP Neal Dunn joined the party as well. The domino effect gave America First the momentum it needed to break through in the 2015 election. Trump, despite uncountable controversies, plans to soldier on into the next election, which he predicts he will win, and will win "bigly."
NOTES: Sun News is TTL's version of Fox News. Basically the same hosts, same guests, same anchors, same agenda, but with a new name and logo.