By-election, March 2016

By-Election VI took place in March 2016. It was triggered after the then-Speaker, RayApparently, stripped the Green Party and the Liberal Party of a seat each due to the results of a Voting Review. The approach whereby the voting percentage of the seat rather than the individual was measured made for a stricter review.
== Candidates ==
In the ensuing by-election, there were four candidates:
- TeeEff, endorsed by the Conservative Party, had resigned as a Conservative MP just the week before to any new eager member to become an MP if they wished. His manifesto described how he had previously served as both Shadow Chancellor and Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party, and he pledged to maintain an excellent turnout and fight to hold the Labour/Liberal Government accountable.
- Hydeman, endorsed by the National Liberal Party, was representing the party in their first ever election. In his manifesto, he promised to introduce 'pragmatic policies' in the areas of education and health, and to support environmentally progressive legislation.
- JoeL1994 was standing as an independent. He had recently left the Liberal Party. Among other things, his manifesto promised to slowly but steadily increase the size of the armed forces, reform the immigration system and renew Trident until 2030, unless a more suitable option becomes available.
- Socialist backbencher Gladiator12345 was hoping to win the votes of 3 different parties. He used the Socialist manifesto from the 23rd General Election, which pledged to build more council houses, strengthen trade union rights, clamp down on tax havens and expand the student grant system.
== By-Election Process ==
The Conservative Leader at the time, Life_peer, was highly critical of the Socialist Party. He claimed that party's decision to allow Gladiator12345 to use their General Election manifesto 'violated the regulations concerning by-elections' and that their candidate should be disqualified. He also highlighted the fact that Gladiator12345 had never made a post in the House before. The then-Socialist Commisar for Internal Affairs, TheDefiniteArticle, defended Gladiator however, stating that the Guidance Document did not mention such a rule.
In addition to this disagreement, Aph complained that The Financier's signature (which told people to vote for him) was against the spirit of the game. The Financier defended his decision though, arguing that 'a signature is harmless, is nowhere near as intrusive as a PM and can be ignored if they wish.'
The Labour Chair at the time, cranbrook_aspie, explained that the Labour party had planned to submit a candidate for the by-election but the member in question had withdrawn their candidacy at the last minute.
Just over a week later, RayApparently released the by-election results which revealed that TeeEff and Gladiator12345 had been elected as MPs.
== External Links ==
* By-Election VI Notification Thread
* By-Election VI Debating and Voting Thread
Category:MHoC
Category:By-Elections