Wiltshire Labour Party

Labour logo

Progressivism

The **Wiltshire** **Labour Party** (German: **Wiltshire Arbeit Partei**) is a centre-left political party in Wiltshire that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party is the largest constituent party of the Social Democratic Bloc, which is the primary left-wing political party in Wiltshire.

The party was formed in February 3019 during the administration of Conservative Prime Minister Audrick Hill. Hill had led his party to a majority victory at the general election in the previous month, with the Socialist Party Leader Rita Smith being ousted for the election loss. However, her replacement, Harry Melbourne, was widely considered to be "too radical" for the party to retain electoral prospects. Smith's leadership, in contrast, helped to continue the mould of Frank Eddington's socialist government. Melbourne's first act as Leader was to disassociate the party with the trade unionist movement; a decision which caused outrage within the party. In his statement, Melbourne called the trade unions "positive but distracting", stating that they were driving the party away from "a socialist vision" for Wiltshire. In response, several members of the Wiltshire National Assembly resigned from the party, including Smith. At a trade union conference in late February, Smith declared the creation of a "party for the working class" and announced an alliance of trade unions to form a political party: the Labour Party.

Smith's early Labour Party was dominated by the formation of strong unionist sentiments. Her leadership became a national story, with many considering her the "unofficial leader of the opposition" (the actual title being held by Walton Baker of the Communist Party, due to the split in the Socialist Party reducing their number of seats below that of the Communists). She gained national attention, advocating for a return to universal healthcare and a reformed worker's settlement, including a raised minimum wage. In the election of April 3019, Labour was able to win the most votes, making it the first time since September 3009 that a party other than the Conservative or Socialist parties won the most votes and seats. Rita Smith formed a coalition with the Socialist Party, which had massively reduced support since before the split, and formed government. Rita Smith became Prime Minister.

The first Labour government was riddled with problems from the offset, however. The biggest issue of her premiership was the Novanite Federation. The NF had just elected a new president in Franklin Morris and there were serious debates over whether Wiltshire should continue within the NF given the rapid rate of its growing control over member states. The government remained mostly neutral on the issue, deciding not to support a second referendum on the issue. However, many Socialists despised such a refusal. In addition, some Labour members were adamantly in favour of the NF. This made for a rocky coalition, in which little was able to be agreed. Smith was unable to pass a restoration of universal healthcare or any major legislation. The most notable work of the first Labour government was the Representation of the People Act, which introduced the MMP electoral system that Wiltshire still uses to this day. Smith's inability to gather a parliamentary majority for her agenda, on top of her Novanite position, made for a difficult election in June 3019.

The June 3019 general election saw the most divided National Assembly in Wiltshire's history. Rita Smith's Labour Party was the largest party but fell well short of an overall majority. Labour's allies in the Socialist Party had lost a significant proportion of their vote and seats. In response, Smith attempted to form a multi-party coalition with the Green Party and the Liberal Alliance Party (two parties which benefited significantly from the MMP electoral system), in an attempt to block Wiltshire First from forming government (Wiltshire First won second place in the election). However, both the Green Party and the Liberal Alliance Party were anti-Novanite. Because of this, the party formed a national coalition with Wiltshire First in order to deliver Wiltshire a referendum on independence from the Novanite Federation. Labour was returned to opposition.

For the next several months, the party remained behind the new National Party with Directors Fillmore Grey and Jim Balfour forming governments. However, with the September Revolution and the social depression of Autumn 3019, the entire Wiltshirian government collapsed. Jim Balfour was deposed and Ludwig Kohl, the Governor-General, formed a caretaker government. In response, the Wiltshirian people elected a Labour government led by Henry Campbell-Trenneman. This government, elected with a strong mandate to introduce universal healthcare, Homes for All and a real Trade Union bill, became the foundation for Labour's policy for the next year. Despite a bold agenda and a strong electoral mandate, the government was deposed when the NCR invaded and conquered Wiltshire.