Dennis Drakeford

Dennis R. Drakeford in 3019

Former member of the Wiltshire National Assembly

**Dennis R. Drakeford** (born 20 February 2951) is a Wiltshirian writer and retired politician who notably served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 3016 and 3019. As the longest serving Chancellor in Wiltshirian history, Drakeford served as Chancellor under all three years of the Eddington governments and is remembered for his legacy of social democratic funding to welfare programs, including universal healthcare, universal basic income, and pension protections. Drakeford is often referred to as the "father of the welfare state". As a member of the Socialist Party, Drakeford was a member of the National Assembly from 3011 until 3019, retiring when Eddington left office as Prime Minister. Drakeford is a social democrat, joining the Social Democratic Bloc in 3023.

Drakeford spent much of his early life as a journalist and political writer. He was an editor for the Washington Tribune in the early 3000s and later went onto write the dramatization of the election of Grand Tarkin, called 'Tarkin: The Rerise of a Hero'. When he was elected to the National Assembly in 3011, he was a vocal supporter of moderating the Socialist Party. He opposed policies such as unification with the Almere Socialist Republic and encouraged free trade. He served as Work Minister during the brief premiership of Renly Stork, in which he wrote the Socialist Party's policies on welfare. During his brief tenure in the Work and Pensions Office, he increased benefits for working families and made plans for the creation for a new child benefit. This was eventually adopted during his time as Chancellor.

When Frank Eddington was elected Prime Minister in 3016, Drakeford was appointed Chancellor. Drakeford became Chancellor at a time of great economic uncertainty. With the Panic of 3015, Wiltshire was in the midst of a harsh recession with worsening prospects. 3015 was the first year in Wiltshirian history which saw the economy shrink and, upon his appointment, Drakeford announced plans to reform it. Firstly, he introduced the National Insurance and Pension Protection Act 3016, which put a triple lock on all state pensions. In addition, his work in creating the Banking Regulatory Reform Act helped protect Wiltshire against the harshest parts of the 3017 Corporate Depression. During his time as Chancellor, Drakeford oversaw the largest reduction in child and general poverty in Wiltshirian history as Wiltshire's economy boomed.

The fall of the Eddington government throughout 3018 was, in part, linked to many of the decisions made by Drakeford. Many have attributed the decision to scrap the Universal Basic Income policy to Drakeford, who strongly and publicly argued against high spending in light of the 3017 Corporate Depression. However, despite a U-Turn on UBI, most economists concur that Drakeford's economic policies of 3016-17 helped protect Wiltshire against the depression itself. When Frank Eddington resigned on 1 January 3019, Drakeford was reportedly considering a bid for the leadership of the Socialist Party. In his 3021 book, Drakeford confessed to being "violently opposed" to the prospect of Rita Smith becoming the new leader of the Socialist Party. Eventually, Drakeford decided not to run for the leadership and endorsed Harry Melbourne. Drakeford later confirmed regret over the decision, stating he believes he "could have avoided much of the heart ache of the 3019-3020 period".

In his post political career, Drakeford avoided commenting on the political affairs at the time. He left the National Assembly in January 3019 and did not make any public comment on the creation of the Labour Party, the Novanite Federation, or the eventual independence governments of Mark Edwin, Jake Simpson, or Catherine Morgan. In late 3021, Drakeford released his autobiography, in which he discussed his views on the previous three years in politics. In 3023, Drakeford endorsed Ramsay Bowell for Prime Minister and formally joined the Social Democratic Bloc.