Conservative Union

The Conservative Union are a right wing, socially conservative party in Veldenland that advocate free market economics, a religious devotion to government, hostility to immigration and patriotism. The Party is currently the third largest party in Veldenland and led by Aidan Smith. The Party's base of support is in rural towns and villages, and the party claims to speak for the rural voter, who has traditionally been inclined to back them.

## History

#### Rise of the Conservatives (1920-2015)

The Conservative Union are an historically inconsistent party in Veldenland's history. The party has existed officially since the 1920s, however it was always a minor party, with the party rarely getting more than 5 Members of Parliament. From the 1980s, the party began to decline nationally, as the National Party became far more dominant and would hold onto Government for 25 years (1980-2005). In 2005, a breakthrough for the Conservative Union takes place as around half the National Party seats are lost, mostly to Social Party, but a small number of rural seats back Conservative candidates. From then, the 2010 election saw the Conservatives wipe out the National Party, winning 9 seats in the 2010-2015 Parliament. In the 2014 Local Elections, alongside the Green Party and Solidarity, the Conservatives made their largest breakthrough yet, winning the most Councillors across Veldenland and setting them up for a victory in the 2015.

#### Short time in Government and Decline (2015-2019)

The Conservative Union won the 2015 Parliamentary Elections, winning 19 seats in total and successfully getting 28% of the popular vote, the most successful result for the Conservatives to date. The Conservatives, Veldenland First and Dutch Nationalist Party formed a coalition government, the first administration not to be run by the Social Party or National Party since 1900. The Government was seen as dominated by the junior partners. One of the few accomplishments was the creation of the Brabant Parliament. In 2016, midway through the Government's term, the Conservatives endorsed a VF government which led some commentators to note the Conservatives were slowly losing their identity. After Alyssa Moritz became President, the Dutch Nationalists who had won their parliament, pulled out of the coalition.

The 2017 Parliamentary Elections saw challenges for the Conservatives who were led by Sebastian Kurz, a man described as having 'no presence' in politics. The Conservatives emerged from the 2017 Parliamentary Elections far weaker. They had dropped from 28% to 18% and had just 10 seats. Throughout the 2017-2019 Parliament, Conservatives were seen as weak and unable to make a breakthrough. In 2018, Sebastian Kurz made a run for President, winning just a single state and this was seen as a humiliating defeat. The Conservatives dropped from polling at 23% just before the Presidential Election, to polling at just 15% as Phoenix, a new centre-right party, formed.

#### Stabilization and a New Direction (2019-)

A victory in the South Seafolk by-election by Aidan Smith was seen as a consolidation of the Conservatives as the only ideologically conservative party left after the disbanding of the Social Patriots and Veldenland First. Aidan Smith within months of his election, couped Sebastian Kurz and took the reigns of the party. He put religion at the forefront of the party, and made headlines by backing policies that went against some of the Conservatives achievements in Government such as the Brabant Parliament. He rebranded the party as fiercely unionist. In the 2019 Parliamentary Elections the Conservatives dropped another 5 points to 13% of the Popular Vote, however the party was able to not make a net-loss of seats, with no other conservative party to split the vote of rural seats.

Following a year of informally saying that the party would abstain on the question of Confidence, in February 2021, Aidan Smith announced the party would no longer abstain. He used the opportunity to lay out a plan to move the party to the right and attacked the 'encroachment of socialism' in Veldenland.

## Voter Base

   One of the key reasons that the Conservative Union Party have been able to survive their decline is because of a strong voter base that has consistently backed the party in rural constituencies. South Ramseyshire, South Seafolk, Helmegen and Dogger Hills have become Conservative hegemons of power, particularly in the Bible Belt of Southern Veldenland where the border area with Brabant has a number of strongly conservative areas: Seafolk, South Ramseyshire, Heerschotten and Helmegen.

Conservatives have traditionally been the second party in the North Coast, however since 2019, this role has been taken on by the Phoenix party, who took the last Conservative constituency in this part of Veldenland - Randhavn. Since 2019, Conservative support has also waned in the Commuter Corridors - the 4 seats along the South Eyne that have more liberal tendencies - as the party embraced social conservatism more strongly.

In Brabant, Conservatives have taken up the mantle of strong unionism and made two safe seats out of this in the border region, but have been decimated in Hoogerheide and the South West Coast. The Conservative Party in general has been beaten out of all major cities, falling in Shorestone and Barkestone the two traditional cities they could rely on putting a strong fight in.