JoeL1994

**JoeL1994** (often known as **Joe**) is a former MP for the Labour Party, a former Chairman of the Liberal Party and has served as a Cabinet Minister in 4 governments and in 4 different roles.

## Early Career and UKIP (December 2014 - July 2015)

Joe joined UKIP in December 2014 but remained relatively inactive until February 2015, taking on a role as a proxy MP before getting the post permanently. He authored several bills that were sent to the House in his early months of activity although caused controversy being the initial author of the 'Aphgate' motion. Although he later described it as his greatest achievement, the motion caused tensions to flare up in the House and has now been known as Aphgate I. As UKIP gained momentum in the House, Joe was made the party's Chief Whip by then-UKIP leader, adam9317.

## LUG Coalition & The Liberals (July 2015 - August 2015)

An outspoken advocate of the Green - UKIP - Liberal (commonly referred to as LUG) coalition government, Joe took on the role of Secretary of State for Defence after the original government was removed through a Motion of No Confidence in July 2015. JoeL1994 also jointly served as Government Chief Whip, along with adam9317. As the term progressed, Joe became highly critical of the Liberal and Green inactivity. He was one of the main supporters of adam9317 taking the reins as Acting Prime Minister before the coup by the then Green Deputy Leader Aph as part of Aphgate II.

After seeing his first statement of intent in a Cabinet post dictated by his party, Joe became disillusioned with the shift to the right that UKIP displayed during the latter stages of the Government as well as the lack of an appointed proxy MP during a time of leave. He therefore voted for the Motion of No Confidence called against his Government and it passed with ease. The then-Speaker, Birchington, suspended Government for the rest of the term in response to this. With the failing of the Government and Joe's views no longer being compatible with the majority of UKIP, he defected to the Liberal Party after discussion with leading Liberals. This was a surprising move to most, who had not seen a defection within a coalition before.

## Early Liberal Career (August 2015 - December 2015)

Shortly after the collapse of the LUG coalition, Liberal Leader Airmed and Liberal Deputy Leader Green\_Pink both resigned from their positions. Joe supported PetrosAC in the subsequent battle for Leadership, which was eventually won by Jarred. He then stood against PetrosAC and itsdancross in the Deputy Leader election to provide a fair contest. Joe took some time off after the election, leaving itsdancross to stand unopposed in the Chairman election. itsdancross later stated that he had expected Joe to stand and had expected to lose to him.

Jarred and Petros led the Liberals back into Government with Labour, with a much increased vote share (winning 9 seats). On Joe's return, announced by the submission of the Sunday Trading Act (Repeal) Bill 2015, he was given the role of Secretary of State for Education. Despite his apprehension and hesitation on taking the role, Joe started work on some legislation related to the position. During the term, Jarred became inactive and Joe lead the call for PetrosAC to propose a Motion of No Confidence. With Jarred returning just before the vote and the vote being tied, Joe continued to support PetrosAC in his bid for Leader in the new Leadership election. In November 2015, itsdancross resigned as Chairman and JoeL1994 was elected as his replacement.

## Start of Foreign Secretary Tenure (December 2015 - April 2016)

With PetrosAC becoming Party Leader, the Liberals continued in the Labour - Liberal coalition. After a Cabinet reshuffle, Joe became the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Describing the role as relatively unimportant, Joe became tired of writing meaningless statements and convinced the Government to submit a statement which declared ISIS a sovereign state and called for a full invasion of Syria. Needless to say, the tongue-in-cheek statement was defeated by a narrower margin than expected. Seeing out the end of term relatively quietly, Joe was one of the more vocal members of the Liberal Party who felt under pressure by the Labour Party to deliver unrealistic targets. After a lengthy discussion lasting weeks with Airmed and Petros, Joe was convinced to stay in the current Government under the premise of remaining out of a future coalition after the General Election. In March 2016, he temporarily left the Liberal Party to stand in By-Election VI as an independent candidate. However, he only gained 18.8% of the vote and came last.

## Dismissal from Cabinet (April 2016 - July 2016)

At the 23rd General Election in April 2016, the Liberals won 8 seats and coalition negotiations began. Reminding Petros of his vow to keep the Liberals out of Government, Joe was resistant to the idea of any deal being made. Increased friction during this period was exacerbated by newer members of the Liberals displaying increasingly extreme views, despite remaining inactive with regards to bills and motions. Convinced by PetrosAC and Airmed to support the Conservative - Liberal - National Liberal coalition, Joe retained his post as Foreign Secretary.

With Liberal activity lacking and increasing friction with the Liberal leadership over accepting bills without prior party discussion, Joe voted against several Government bills. The final straw came when Tanqueray91, the Government Chief Whip at the time, issued a whip from the Prime Minister Life\_peer to vote against a bill protecting workers' right to strike. Joe refused and was dismissed in disgrace from his role in the Cabinet, along with Joep95, who had also voted against the bill. With a strained relationship with the Liberal Leadership and critically describing its inactivity, Joe announced his resignation. Taking immediate effect, Joe cited overall dissatisfaction with the Liberal leadership's activity, values, backbench productivity, and increasing left-right division.

## Joining the Labour Party (July 2016 - present)

Shortly after his dismissal, Joe began talks with the Labour Party leadership, whom he had collaborated with on several occasions during the Labour - Liberal coalition, Joe formally requested to join the party. On acceptance, Joe set about repairing his relationship with Quamquam123, whose former leadership of Labour he had been critical of from Day 1, whilst working on bills for his new party. Joe applied for and took over the vacant post of Head of Recruitment on Quamquam123's selection, who was then serving as Chair. Joe was stood as Labour's candidate for By-Election VIII, which he won, getting 45.3% of the vote in the process. Between August 2016 and October 2016, JoeL1994 took on the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

With the sweeping Labour victory at the 24th General Election in November 2016, Joe was appointed as Secretary of State for Health in RayApparently's Labour - Socialist Cabinet. During his time in the role, he produced a statement of intent that, among other things, saved money on NHS prescriptions, expanded occupational therapy departments, and invested more money into mental health. JoeL1994 stepped down from the position in February 2017.