Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Digitalisation "...slow and steady..." reassures Digital Transition Secretary, Pete Ugolini amid Parliamentary voting on increased funds.
October 5634



Fort William - Secretary of State for Digital Transition, Pete Ugolini has tried to reassure the press about the status of Luthori's long and arduous path towards digitalisation of its administration and of its economic sector, amid critiques coming from the Opposition that the Government hasn't been pushing this issue during its entire tenure. The Leader of the Opposition, Reginald Weston stated in the Chamber of Representatives that Luthori "..had more chances of becoming a republic than completing its digitalisation program by the end of the century.." and many within the public seems to think that he's right.

The Secretary of State for Digitalisation, Mr. Pete Ugolini, recently appointed by the Prime Minister after his predecessor's resignation, wanted to reassure the public upon the state of their program, aiming among others to reassure the public about the Government's overall effectiveness at governing, during a climate of uncertainty for the National Labour Party and Greens coalition government, dominated by infighting between the Greens and Labour upon the latter's policies on climate change and natural preservation, a key promise of Prime Minister Hall when inaugurated that we still haven't seen yet.

Prime Minister Hall's own approval ratings, standing at 41 % back in August, seems to have fallen at 35 % approval ratings according to a new poll conducted by TPI, that shown the Prime Minister's approval ratings standing at 35 %, as stated earlier, but her own disapproval ratings, standing at 37.5 %, with over 27.5 % of Luthorians having a neutral view of their Prime Minister's job while in office. Mrs. Hall's unpopularity among the Luthorian public forced the National Labour government, in hopes of not receiving the boot from voters in August, to increase calls towards its base, this was seen when Mrs. Hall called for a Senate appointment reform back in August, the recent Luthorian condemnation of Kalistani-Legionnaire talks continued to be in the same trend as well.

Mrs. Hall's leadership being more and more criticised, either by members of her own government or by some big names within the National Labour machine seems to be fuelling the flames of infighting within the Party and benefiting the National Labour's opposition in the Conservative Party, where its Leader, Mr. Weston seems to be very confident on his party's chances of at least "...reducing the current gap in seats in the Chamber [Chamber of Representatives]...", although for now, even with this infighting within her ranks, the National Labour Party's leadership seems to remain quite popular among Luthorians, with the Party sitting with an 34 % voting intention according to a poll conducted by Hooligan.

Mr. Ugolini's address focused around the "...difficulties..." that the digitalisation program "...had to face due to the seeming disinterest of the Brakenbrooke and Rodgers ministries...", he stated that the program had suffered a lot of delays due to the "...conservative governments not putting efforts into it...", but other than accusing the Tories of politicising an issue that they, themselves, helped create. The Secretary preferred to talk about the Government's successes on digitalisation, with according to him, some major breakthroughs that were undertaken by his team during the term. Mr. Ugolini stated that, at least 50 % of Luthori's bureaucracy was digitalised and expected a completion of the program "...during my [his] lifetime...". Mr. Ugolini then announced that the Government would be pushing for the passage of an increase to the Digital Transition Office (DTO) in the Chamber and Senate within the next few days.

Senate Majority Leader, Tom Shanks confirmed that a "co-operative" Bill between the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate's Government groups was currently being drawn in that effect. The Opposition remains cautious, vowing to "...look into details into the Bill and oversee a 'deep reflection' upon the fiscal and long-term ramifications of such Bill...", according to the statement of Life Peer and Senator Thomas Paine-Valérien (C). Meanwhile, as opposition mounts within her own party and outside of it, Prime Minister Olivia Hall's office has been remarkably silent in the last few weeks, some, such as Late Show TV Host, Bryan Constand jokingly remarking that the Prime Minister "disappeared" from the public eye and having launched wanted notices to find her.

@TheGuardian

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Hall dismisses Minister-President Calloway's challenge as being "irrelevant"

November 5634

FORT WILLIAM - Prime Minister Hall seems to have taken the policy of ignoring Mr. Calloway's challenge to the leadership of the National Labour Party, the Minister-President of Erneshire recently announced a leadership election bid, focused around the promise of "...restoring the Party's strength and promises of equality...", a direct critique of Mrs. Hall's leadership during the last five years. Mr. Calloway stated during his candidacy announcement that Luthori had been "deceived" by "Williamite politicians", and stated that his candidacy was to "restore confidence into the Government" and "restore harmony to a broken society".

After this announcement, the NLP released a statement stating that the "normal electoral process for the election of a new Labour leader will be held", meaning that all six aligned parties in provinces would held a convention letting their party members and Labour party members of the provinces vote for the delegates that will be voting, alongside unpledged delegates in the National Labour Party national convention in June. Chairman of the National Labour Party, Martin Hooligan stated that "...the election of our leader is an important part of the democratic discourse and it's important that we hold an election to let the voters choose..."

It is rumoured that PM Hall pushed personally for an long and dragged-on electoral campaign to have a "safe and secure victory" if she comes to win this leadership election, which would reassure her leadership among Labour members if she succeed by a large margin. Meanwhile, the Luthorian Prime Minister has remained silent about the leadership challenge, meanwhile the Luthorian Foreign Secretary stated that the leadership challenge was "...irrelevant to the Government's ability to govern...", Mrs. Hall's supporters remain confident that the PM shall succeed, without much difficulty to defeat her challenger.

Mr. Calloway remained optimstic, stating that the PM's "over-confidence" would "...eventually cost her dearly...", while also stating that his campaign is meant to "...restore hope and faith to our broken system..."

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Prime Minister's Chief of Staff resigns, supports Calloway. Minister-President Finckley supports PM as Calloway sweeps Northriding delegation.
January 5635

Fort William - The countdown to the 5635 general election is slowly coming to an end as the National Labour Party's leadership election continues to bitterly divide the Party. After the announcement of his candidacy, Mr. Calloway's example was followed by other Labour politicians that have been critical of the Prime Minister's record during her time in office, such as Labour backbencher MP, Tom Hopes which had, back in April, criticised the Prime Minister's leadership following a disappointing performance of the National Labour Party at the Senatorial election, he moreover criticised Mrs. Hall, when she called for a reform of the appointment procedure in the Senate, stating that "...it's not with blain promises that the Party's confidence among the Luthorian people will be restored...", other candidates includes former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Dennis Brookman, former Women and Equalities Secretary Lydia Simpson and former Labour acting leader, Theodore Macaw.

These five candidates, alongside the Prime Minister, were spotted campaigning in the Grand Duchy of Northriding's Labour-aligned electoral delegations, that would be choosing the number of delegates, in a purely proportional sense that each candidate would receive out of the large 410 Northriding delegation to the Labour Congress. Prime Minister Hall was seen in Northriding, speaking with Labour activists and local leaders in a move to secure their support before the big date, other candidates were also spotted speaking to Labour branch and communities in the Duchy. Mr. Calloway was seen campaigning in the Northriding countryside among farmers to explain his platform of a "new, greener, prosperous Luthori".

Nevertheless, when the results came, it was a total surprise for pretty much everyone. The former Minister-President of Erneshire, whose campaign had been dismissed as being 'irrelevant' by the Prime Minister's allies, had secured a majority of the vote in Northriding, winning a good portion of the Grand Duchy's delegation. Winning 33.4 % of the vote, this puts the Minister-President ahead of the Prime Minister in terms of delegates, with him having 137 delegates compared to the PM's 116 (28.4 %). Small candidates secured some parts of the vote in the Grand Duchy, with Hopes winning 12.1 % of the vote, equal to 50 seats, Simpson securing 39 seats with her 9.5 %, Brookman securing 8.5 % of the vote, meaning a delegate count of 35 seats and finally, dead last, Macaw, with 'only' 8.1 % of the vote and 33 seats.

While a victory for Mr. Calloway, this wasn't a complete sweep of the region either, as pointed out Mr. Calloway during his victory speech, where he stated that "...while we secured our victory for our movement today, we shouldn't forget that the road will be long and arduous and while our victory here in Northriding is a great start, we shouldn't get overconfident...". Prime Minister Hall released no statement after her defeat in Northriding, but inside sources tell that the Prime Minister is "...fuming.." or "...struck..." by her defeat in Northriding, yet remains committed at winning her party's confidence to remain as leader for the foreseeable future. Other candidates have reacted to the results of the Northriding primary with former Chancellor stating that the result was a "testament that we [the Party] needed renewal", other candidates focused on thanking their supporters and preparing for the next round in Orange, with the largest delegation of 596 members, one where the Prime Minister or Calloway seems to wish to give a death blow to one another.

Social media has already reacted to the Calloway's victory with memes mocking the Prime Minister's team's condescending tone towards his campaign with one user stating that: "Dark Horse Calloway beats the sh*t out of that c*nt Hall! So much for an 'irrelevant' isn't it?". Mrs. Hall's popularity ratings, while remaining low, have risen to 31.15 % mostly due to a feeling of activity coming from the Government, with bold expensive reforms being planned, while still unpopular among Luthorians, the PM remains the leading figure in electoral polls of party leaders compared to figures such as Reginald Weston, of who only 25 % of Luthorians says they have a positive opinion of him, a fact that may play right in the PM's favour during these leadership elections.

Although, while may help, Mrs. Hall's Chief of Staff has announced his resignation after the publication of the results and announced his support for Mr. Calloway's leadership bid stating that "2 years to work for an inactive and unhelpful administration told me that the nation deserved better.", before announcing his rejection of a party offer to run in a constituency in the next general election. In reaction, the Minister-President of Orange, Thomas Finckley (WPO) which was silent during the whole ordeal announced that "Prime Minister Hall is the best choice for our Party and nation and it is wholeheartedly that I support her as our party leader", other national figures such as the Minister-President of Shipleyriding and Middenriding and Labour-aligned union organisations remains silent as of their prefered choice of party leader. The support from Finckley may tilt the Workers Party of Orange towards Mrs. Hall, although this would need to be confirmed on election day.

@TheGuardian

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Hall stands triumphant in Orange as Calloway finishes in disappointing 3rd place; vows to continue "the fight against the establishment"
March 5635



Fort William - After her disappointing result in Northriding, where the Prime Minister found herself standing at second place against Mr. Calloway, former Minister-President of Erneshire critical of her methods of governance and her record as Prime Minister. After this surprise defeat, Mrs. Hall seems to have taken Mr. Calloway's challenge more seriously, after previously dismissing it as being "...irrelevant...", as one of her aides once told the press in his subject. Due to this, Mrs. Hall was seen more campaigning in Orange, where the next provincial leadership would be held after the January Northriding caucus. But she wasn't the sole candidate spotted working to increase its share of the Labour vote in Orange, Mr. Calloway was spotted in the Principality, at one of the new towns, Harrington where he was spotted discussing with voters and holding a town hall meeting with voters and listening to their concerns about the future. 

PM Hall was in Fort William discussing with high-ranking Labour-aligned political leaders in the Principality, such as Minister-President Finckley, who openly supported her since the Northriding primary, who also campaigned on her behalf in the Principality, discussing with Labour voters about their concern during a large meeting event in Fort William where both the Prime Minister and the Minister-President were present, discussing with voters of their issues with Mrs. Hall's leadership and questions about the future, this event was remarked to be "quite peaceful" according to journalist Emily Humphrey, who wrote in the Times that "apart from the usual heckling that every politician has to face during their meetings, Prime Minister Hall and Minister-President Finckley's meeting was surprisingly peaceful and, seems to have swept through the room with faithful Hall supporters"

Other candidates, such as Tom Hopes were spotted campaigning in Orange, but not in Fort William, mostly touring the Principality to meet with potential voters and to spread his message to another crowd that the Williamite crowds. Mr. Hopes stated to us that campaigning in the Orange countryside was "...a refreshing moment, meeting with real, hard-working people is brash of fresh air in our politics, listening to their concerns should be our utmost priority as politicians, but it seems that the current government isn't doing that at all..", other candidates such as Dennis Brookman, Lydia Simpson and Theodore Macaw were also spotted campaigning in the region, with Mr. Macaw even meeting with the Prime Minister during a campaign stop, the two exchanged brief words before continuing on with their respective campaigns.

At 8.00 PM (UTC-8: Fort William Time), the first results came in to the press after a day of voting on February 25th, and when they came, it was a clear and hopeful victory for Mrs. Hall and the continuation of her leadership candidacy. The exit poll stated that the Prime Minister had sweeped through the Orange delegation, winning 41.3 % of the vote in Orange, and as such winning 246 delegates, bringing her total number of delegates to 362 (246 from Orange, 116 from Northriding), in a surprising twist, Mr. Calloway hasn't even finished at second place as expected by most, instead taking this spot was the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Brookman, who came fifth at the Northriding election and is here coming second with 24.8 % of the vote and 148 delegates, bringing his total numbers of delegates from a small 35 delegation to a large 183 delegation.

Mr. Brookman reacted to his upsetting victory in Orange with a great satisfaction, stating that "...Orange chose the road of the moderation and concilliation from the forces of division and fear that some of my opponents have used during their respective campaigns..", meanwhile, Mrs. Hall's main opponent, former Minister-President Calloway found himself at 3rd place, winning 17.5 % of the vote and 104 delegates at the National Convention, brining his total number of delegates to 241, still at second place but with Hall now having a 121-delegate lead over him. Mr. Calloway still showed a fighting and hopeful spirit during his meeting with his supporters in reaction of the results, he stated that "...while the 'New Left' was today defeated in Orange, it is nonetheless a message to never surrender in the face of adversity and continue fighting against the current establishment for a better future, for us, for Luthori and our children...", other candidates received less than 10 %, with Mr. Hopes winning a disappointing 8.6 %, winning only 51 delegates, bringing his total number of delegates to 101, remaining 4th in the race, Mrs. Simpson won only 5.2 % securing 30 delegates, winning at large 75 seats, and finally, again dead last, Mr. Macaw, former acting leader of the National Labour Party, winning only 2.6 % of the vote and securing 15 delegates, bringing his total number of delegates to 48.

After this disappointing result, Mr. Macaw announced that he was withdrawing from the ballot elections in both Shipleyriding, Middenriding and Erneshire, and withdrawing from the race to the Labour leadership, this disappointing performance, combined with the previous lacklustre performance in Northriding seems to have convinced the former Labour leader that he wasn't welcomed in the leadership anymore. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister alongside the Minister-President of Orange were expressing their "genuine" satisfaction with the outcome of the vote, where the Prime Minister was put in a comfortable position ahead of the maritime provinces' vote next month and the Erneshire primary in April. Mr. Macaw expressed support for the Prime Minister's candidacy stating that "even though we have differences in policies and agenda, I feel like that what the nation needs today is a steady hand, and that's why I'm expressing support for the Prime Minister...", the Macaw delegation count is expected to assemble tomorrow to vote for another candidate.

@TheWeeklyTelegraph

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Hall and Calloway both sees disappointing results in maritime provinces; results likely to be known in Convention.
April 5635



Fort William, Luthori - The 5635 general election is coming slowly and steadily, yet one of Luthori's largest political party is still searching for its leader. The National Labour Party is currently embarked into a bitter, divisive campaign for the Party's leadership, taking most of the Party's resources while her rivals in the Conservatives are currently winning points in the polls, with the National Labour Party still ahead at 30.4 % in a last poll, while the Tories under Reginald Weston are picking up points, being at 28.2 %. Nonetheless, Luthori seems very interested and addicted to the leadership election in the Labour Party, as seen during the campaign in both Middenriding and Shipleyriding, both provinces have Labour-aligned majority governments, although both provinces' Minister-President have remained neutral on the divisive issue of the National Labour Party's leadership.

When asked, Minister-President Gauthier of Middenriding stated that about the leadership election, his support towards "any candidate" would be "unwelcome", and repeating that the leadership election is a matter for the Labour membership, not something that he would wish to handle, being far more "busy" with "governing the Grand Duchy". While not supporting the Prime Minister in her leadership bid, Mr. Gauthier still hasn't backed any candidate in her opposition, State Secretary for the Interior, Matilda Bryan, widely considered as number 2 of the Middenriding Government, hasn't followed in her boss' policy, announcing her support and campaigning for the Prime Minister. Hall reacted to social media praising Mrs. Bryan's intelligent decision and vowing to win with all of Luthori's Labour Party support.

Meanwhile, Mr. Calloway, campaigning in both regions after a disappointing performance in Orange, was desperately trying to secure a victory to restore confidence into his campaign, which has seen a decrease in support ever since his defeat in Orange, and his campaign's moral has been decreasing ever since. Minister-President Calloway was seen meeting up with high-ranking Labour leaders in both Shipleyriding and Middenriding, like both Minister-Presidents, leader of Middenriding and Shipleyriding's Labour-aligned political parties, meeting dock workers and industrial towns, all in an effort to reassure supporters that he, and his campaign wasn't yet dead as some would like to think.

The Luthorian Prime Minister mostly remained in Fort William, with campaign surrogates campaigning for her in the two Grand Duchies, supporters such as Orange Minister-President Finckley, Middenriding Interior Secretary Bryan and Erneshire Opposition Leader, Thomas Park campaigning on behalf of the Prime Minister in both Middenriding and Shipleyriding, with quite some success, due to the popularity of the sitting Gauthier Administration in Middenriding, and Mrs. Bryan's support for the Prime Minister helped her campaign in both duchies to fight against Mr. Calloway's more "in-touch" approach to campaigning. Of course, the National Labour Party's leadership transformed into a two-way race, mostly, as the Luthorian people are expecting either Minister-President Calloway to secure the nomination as party leader and Prime Minister or Prime Minister Hall to successfully destroy her opponent's bid and remain party leader and Prime Minister.

This, of course, forced the party's other candidates to continue to campaign harder than the two leaders compared to their campaigns in Orange and Northriding. At 9.00 PM (Alchester Time), results came for the Grand Duchy of Middenriding, with Prime Minister Hall securing a close victory against Minister-President Calloway, the delegation of Middenriding is composed of 457 delegates and the delegation of Shipleyriding of 423 delegates, in Middenriding, Mrs. Hall secured 37.7 % of the popular vote, securing 172 delegates to her delegation at the Party's national convention, adding to the 362 delegates that she already have, Mrs. Hall was projected after Middenriding to secure 534 delegates at the Party's convention in June. Mr. Calloway secured 32.1 % of the popular vote, securing 147 delegates, adding to 241 delegate count that he already have, Mr. Calloway sat at 388 delegates after the announcement of the results in Middenriding.

Other candidates, such as Mr. Brookman who unexpectedly came 2nd at the Orange caucus, had some disappointing results, for example, Mr. Brookman secured only 16.4 % of the popular vote in Middenriding and secured 74 delegates, adding to his already large delegation of 183 delegates, bringing it at 257 delegates before the Erneshire caucus next month and before the announcement of the results in Shipleyriding. As of 10.00 PM (Alchester Time) - 9.00 PM (Central Luthori Time) - the number of delegates was as follows:

• Hall - 534 delegates (172 from Middenriding, 246 from Orange and 116 from Northriding) +146 delegate lead
  
• Calloway - 388 delegates (147 from Middenriding, 104 from Orange and 137 from Northriding)
  
• Brookman - 258 delegates (75 from Middenriding, 148 from Orange and 35 from Northriding)
  
• Hopes - 140 delegates (39 from Middenriding, 51 from Orange, 50 from Northriding)
  
• Simpson - 93 delegates (24 from Middenriding, 30 from Orange, 39 from Northriding)
  

It's indeed a good performance from the Prime Minister in Middenriding, although one that is still disappointing in regards to the resources spent by the Prime Minister's campaign in this specific region, for Mr. Calloway, it meant that his campaign needed a much-needed boost in Shipleyriding, where he, as a person was quite popular among Labour supporters in the region, the campaign of Mrs. Simpson was beginning to crumble after this defeat and the candidate was looking towards retiring from the race and supporting another candidate for Labour leader. It's also to be said that Mr. Macaw's campaign delegates that have voted today in the same time as the Middenriding and Shipleyriding caucus to support another candidate. This means that in addition to the 423 delegates of Shipleyriding, 48 other delegates are in grasp for any candidate.

At 9.00 PM (Fort William/Central Luthori Time), the results came in for the Grand Duchy of Shipleyriding, where Mr. Calloway secured a victory with only 35.1 % of the vote, far from the margin of Mrs. Hall's victory in Middenriding, there, the former Minister-President secured the support of 148 delegates, closing in the gap between him and the Prime Minister, even passing ahead before the Prime Minister's score were known, Mrs. Hall secured 30.7 % of the vote in Shipleyriding, securing 131 delegates, which is still a decent result, even though the margin between her and Mr. Calloway is closing in at 128 delegates. Mr. Brookman came fourth at this primary, winning 11,2 % of the vote and 47 delegates, while the third spot was taken by Mr. Hopes who record an enormous success for his campaign in Shipleyriding, winning 15.8 % of the vote and 67 delegates at the National Convention. Finally, again dead last, Mrs. Simpson won only 7.2 % of the vote and 30 delegates for the National Convention, at least passing the 100 delegates bar. Here are the results as of now.

• Hall - 665 delegates (131 from Shipleyriding, 172 from Middenriding, 246 from Orange and 116 from Northriding) +129 delegates lead
  
• Calloway - 536 delegates (148 from Shipleyriding, 147 from Middenriding, 104 from Orange and 137 from Northriding)
  
• Brookman - 305 delegates (47 from Shipleyriding, 75 from Middenriding, 148 from Orange and 35 from Northriding)
  
• Hopes - 207 delegates (67 from Shipleyriding, 39 from Middenriding, 51 from Orange, 50 from Northriding)
  
• Simpson - 123 delegates (30 from Shipleyriding, 24 from Middenriding, 30 from Orange, 39 from Northriding)
  

While the Prime Minister's lead was reduced to only 129 delegates compared to the 146 delegates that she enjoyed after the results for Middenriding were announced, her team remained hopeful because the Prime Minister continues to lead this race as of now, a fact that was increased after the announcement at 11 pm of the results of the ballot election held within Mr. Macaw's delegates, 48 delegates which were up for grab for any potential candidates and the results were as follows. Mrs. Hall which was backed by Mr. Macaw after his defeat in Orange received of 29 delegates out of 48, meanwhile, Mr. Calloway received the support of 10 delegates out of 48 and finally Mr. Brookman received the support of 9 delegates out of 48. While not an extreme boost to the three candidates' respective campaigns, it's a "welcomed" development according to a staff for Mr. Brookman's campaign.

Mrs. Simpson, faced with a demoralised campaign and a lack of funds announced that she would suspend and leave the contest for the party leadership, allowing her 123 delegates to "choose wisely" which candidate they are going to vote for, the expected date for the vote for Mrs. Simpson's former delegates is expected to be in May, at the same time as the Erneshire leadership election caucus, like what happened with Mr. Macaw. Likewise, Mr. Hopes, which was widely expected as a front-runner in the beginning of this election announced his decision to end his campaign and announced supporting Mr. Calloway for his bid as Labour leader, like Mrs. Simpson, the vote is expected to be held at the same as the Erneshire caucus. As of now, the Guardian can project the following delegate numbers for each candidates.

• Hall - 694 delegates (29 from recall election [Macaw], 131 from Shipleyriding, 172 from Middenriding, 246 from Orange and 116 from Northriding) +148 delegate lead
  
• Calloway - 546 delegates (10 from recall election [Macaw], 148 from Shipleyriding, 147 from Middenriding, 104 from Orange and 137 from Northriding)
  
• Brookman - 314 delegates (9 from recall election [Macaw], 47 from Shipleyriding, 75 from Middenriding, 148 from Orange and 35 from Northriding)
  
• 330 "Free Delegates", formerly supporting either Hopes or Simpson (123 from Simpson and 207 from Hopes) - election to be held on May 14th
  

While the Erneshire caucus is important for the national race, it is expected that the National Labour Party new leader will only be known at the Convention hall in June.

@TheGuardian

[Ligbruderkrieg]

"Dark Horse" Brookman crashes both Hall and Galloway's expectations in Erneshire - Galloway faces humiliating loss in home ground.
May 5635



Fort William - After the primaries in both Northriding and Shipleyriding, the three last contenders to the Labour leadership that are, Olivia Hall, James Galloway and Dennis Brookman fought a month-long bitter campaign in the last Grand Duchy to organise its primaries, the Grand Duchy of Erneshire. The second most-populated region in Luthori with 502 delegates up for grab, the region is highly important for any delegates to secure a victory in the convention. Erneshire is also an highly symbolic Grand Duchy, it's the home province of Mr. Galloway, former Minister-President of the Grand Duchy, so a victory for either Mrs. Hall or Mr. Brookman would score an important victory before the national convention in Fort William.

Knowing the status of his home province, Mr. Galloway organised a high-intensity campaign in hopes of securing a key victory in Erneshire, which, if decisive enough, could put him ahead of Mrs. Hall for the rest of the leadership campaign. Both candidates opposed to Mr. Galloway's campaign, Mr. Brookman and Mrs. Hall also organised a high-intensity campaign in the Grand Duchy, in hopes of secuing enough delegates before the National Convention. The Luthorian Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) announced, in collaboration with New Luthori Broadcasting (NLB), the organisation of a debate between the three candidates to the leadership of the National Labour Party.

The debate was moderate by LBC journalist Kelly Matthews and NLB journalist Taylor Maxwell, during which the three candidates spoke their programs for Luthori if they are elected as party leader and Prime Minister, Mr. Galloway stated that "...the Empire needs a compassionate government at its helm to fix the issue related to poverty, inequality and the environment..", the former Minister-President chose to campaign as a populist left candidate, as he stated during his candidacy announcement, it was to draw a "different" path from the centrist to left agenda as proned by the Prime Minister during her first term, Mr. Galloway criticised Mrs. Hall as being a "LINO" a "Labour in name-only", the Prime Minister dismissed his critics as being "unnecessary" and criticised her opponent for his lack of etiquette, saying that: "Mr. Galloway, if that's how you're behaving in the debate, I would how you would fare in the Chamber", Mrs. Hall stated that the priority would to enact "emergency" defence funding increase to face off against the "Kundrati menace", something that was highly controversial among the panel.

While the Prime Minister and her main challenger fought off during this debate, Mr. Brookman, the eventual winner came out relatively untouched. Something that was revealed to have played in his favour when the votes have been counted in the aftermath of the caucus of Erneshire, after the counting was done, it was projected that Mr. Brookman had secured 41.3 % of the vote in Erneshire, winning 207 delegates out of 502, Prime Minister Hall came second with 36,5 % of the vote, securing 184 delegates, finally, in a humiliating loss for him in home ground, Mr. Galloway won only 22.5 % of the vote, winning only 111 delegates. In the aftermath of this caucus, here are the current delegates counts for each candidates before the vote of both Mrs. Simpson and Mr. Hopes' delegations.

• Hall - 878 delegates (184 from Erneshire, 29 from recall election [Macaw], 131 from Shipleyriding, 172 from Middenriding, 246 from Orange and 116 from Northriding) +221 delegate lead
  
• Calloway - 657 delegates (111 from Erneshire, 10 from recall election [Macaw], 148 from Shipleyriding, 147 from Middenriding, 104 from Orange and 137 from Northriding)
  
• Brookman - 521 delegates (204 from Erneshire, 9 from recall election [Macaw], 47 from Shipleyriding, 75 from Middenriding, 148 from Orange and 35 from Northriding)
  
• 330 "Free Delegates", formerly supporting either Hopes or Simpson (123 from Simpson and 207 from Hopes)
  

Then the recall for the rest of the so-called "Free Delegation" was held, where both delegations that were in favour of Mr. Hopes or Mrs. Simpson would get to choose, democratically, their preferred candidate for the Office of National Labour leader. At 8 PM (Alchester Time), the results were as follows: Mr. Galloway had received the support of 154 delegates, Mrs. Hall of 140 delegates and finally, Mr. Brookman had received the support of merely 36 delegates.

As such, we are confident enough to project that Mrs. Hall would secure a plurality of all 2,434 delegates, winning 1,018 delegates out of the 2,386 available, her direct opponent to the party leadership, Mr. Galloway secured for his part, 811 delegates out of 2,386 delegates available, and finally, Mr. Brookman secured 557 delegates. It is likely from now on, that the Prime Minister will be re-elected as Labour leader in the next national conference, except if a great twist comes to jeopardise the Prime Minister's position. The final results here.

1. Hall - 1,018 delegates (184 from Erneshire, 169 from recall election [Macaw, Hopes and Simpson], 131 from Shipleyriding, 172 from Middenriding, 246 from Orange and 116 from Northriding) +207 delegates win - plurality. (Likely to be re-elected)
   
2. Calloway - 811 delegates (111 from Erneshire, 154 from recall election [Macaw, Hopes and Simpson], 148 from Shipleyriding, 147 from Middenriding, 104 from Orange and 137 from Northriding)
   
3. Brookman - 557 delegates  (204 from Erneshire, 45 from recall election [Macaw, Hopes and Simpson], 47 from Shipleyriding, 75 from Middenriding, 148 from Orange and 35 from Northriding)
   

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Former Prime Minister MacGregor dead at 61, family announces to IPC.
June 5635



Fort William - Tragic news from Alchester today as the nation awakes with only four Prime Ministers being still alive today. It has been announced by the family of former Prime Minister Harold MacGregor (5615 - 5625) that the former Premier had died yesterday, June 8th, 5635 at 9:34 PM, Alchester time, at 8:34 PM (Fort William Time). Ever since his resignation and eventual replacement by Matilda Brakenbrooke, his Chancellor of the Exchequer, the former Prime Minister's health was a source of concern, with the Prime Minister fighting against throat cancer that greatly hindered his capabilities during his retirement. Politically, the MacGregor administration is widely recognised as one of Luthori's most impactful administration in recent decades.

Indeed during his tenure, the MacGregor administration launched numerous programs aiming at alleviating Luthori's stagnant economic condition, it was during his term that the Luthorian Government launched initiative that are continuing into the present day such as the Habeck Plan aimed at alleviating the Luthorian people's issue with housing conditions and the housing crisis and the Flecher Plan, a long-term strategic initiative aimed at increasing the share of nuclear energy in Luthori's electrical grid compared to fossil fuels.

Most of Mr. MacGregor's plans have been continued by its successor governments, with Prime Minister Hall commenting today on Mr. MacGregor's death: "Life's sometimes too short for good men", while also praising Mr. MacGregor's leadership and personality, saying of him that "Luthori owes a lot to this great sir". Conservative opposition leader, Reginald Weston spent the great deal of his time in Parliament stating an eulogy to the deceased Prime Minister. Mr. Weston knew and worked with the Prime Minister as an Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister's Office during the final years of Mr. MacGregor's term in office. Other political representatives sent letters of condolences to the family of Mr. MacGregor and commented on the death on social media and Parliament, with Green leader, Tommy Phillon stating that "While we have our political disagreements with fr. Prime Minister MacGregor, he is, without a certain doubt, one of the greatest Luthorians of the 57th century".

Both Empress Katherine and Emperor Richard II tried to persuade the former Prime Minister to accept a peerage as a reward for all his services towards "Crown and Country", but the former Prime Minister, in a great show of humility, always refused to take up a title, with him saying during his last recorded interview in 5633 that a peerage was "unnecessary", adding "I've already everything I need today, I have a family whom I love dearly, I have a house that I'm taking care for a while now, I don't need a peerage at all, nothing that this would add would be necessary for my life.."

Emperor Richard II sent a letter of condolences to the Prime Minister's family and met with the Prime Minister's widow Kate Lonming-MacGregor (58). His Majesty also announced a week of national mourning before the Prime Minister's funeral that is to be held in 19th of May.

@TheWeeklyTelegraph

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Olivia Hall confirmed as National Labour Party leader; dissolves Parliament for election on August 4th.
June 5635

Fort William - In what seemed like an inevitability after her victory at the regional primaries, Mrs. Olivia Hall has been today confirmed as the National Labour Party leader after a close contest, facing off a challenge from her left with Mr. James Calloway as a front figure, and from her right with Mr. Dennis Brookman as the front figure. The Prime Minister represented the centrist wing of the National Labour Party, calling for moderation yet also for a commitment to progressive values and economic moderation when it comes to the reform of Luthori's economy towards a welfare state, privileging a "slow and steady path", compared to the left's immediate action plan and the right's economically liberal agenda.

Mrs. Hall, 45, has been proclaimed as duly elected as the Leader of the National Labour Party in the aftermath of the National Convention, which has been called to elect that said leader. The Prime Minister has been challenged by a left-wing insurgent challenge posed by former Minister-President of Erneshire, James Calloway, who then proceeded to run as a "left-wing populist" candidate, as described by the media. After the organisation of the regional primaries, out of 2,434 delegates available, Mrs. Hall secured the support of 1,018 delegates, Mr. Calloway received 811 delegates and finally Mr. Brookman received 557 delegates.

Due to the electoral deadlock that was this election, even though Mrs. Hall received more delegates than both of her challengers, the National Convention would be the place where the 2,434 delegates would choose their party leader in a secret ballot, the candidate which receives the less votes is eliminated and the two best candidates are passing through to a second round of voting. In the first ballot, obviously, nothing changed, the same candidate received the same number of delegates that they've received, but due to the election being held in the Convention, Mr. Calloway was officially eliminated after this first round of voting, leading to his delegates becoming "Free Delegates".

The Party Chairman, Jon Brown announced a 4-hour wait between the first and final ballot, the decisive one that would settle, once and for all, who is the Leader of the National Labour Party and who would lead the Party in the August election. Mrs. Hall and Mr. Calloway spent these hours trying to convince the "Free Delegates" to choose their candidacy over the other and when the voting finally came, it was likely that Mrs. Hall's surrogates had convinced more delegates to vote for her than for Mr. Calloway, who looked worried about the state of the vote.

Unsurprisingly and as many political newspapers projected ever since the end of the Erneshire primary, Mrs. Hall has been re-elected as the Leader of the National Labour Party and confirmed as Prime Minister, remaining party leader to lead her party to the 5635 Luthorian general election, which would let the people their 400-seat representatives in the Chamber of Representatives and the current Hall ministry is expected to lose ground to the right-wing opposition led by Weston's Conservative Party.

Mrs. Hall was re-elected with 1,314 delegates, having received the support of 296 delegates from Mr. Brookman, who congratulated the Prime Minister on her re-election while her challenger, Mr. Calloway received 1,072 delegates, having received the support of 261 delegates from Mr. Brookman in total. Mr. Calloway took his defeat "well" according to many, congratulating the Prime Minister after her victory and calling for a "united party" after a notable divisive primary, which exposed the deep divisions within the National Labour Party.

Mr. Calloway is now expected to either fade into retirement or pursue the choice of choosing to present himself in the Chamber of Representatives, either as a member of the proportional list or in a constituency with a Conservative incumbent or a Labour MP retiring from the Chamber of Representatives. Nevertheless, if he choose that path, Mr. Calloway, as the de facto leader of the National Labour Party's left-wing block will have a high influence in the next Labour-led administration, as either a Cabinet minister or a backbencher pressuring the Government towards more left-wing policies.

After her announced victory, Mrs. Hall celebrated her "coronation" with the rest of the Party, but chose to make a speech focused around the party's unity before the next election, vowing to take "...all opinions of the Party into account for the next general election and the next government...", and called for the NLP to remain "focused" on the task ahead, the next general elections, where she vowed to "take the Party to another victory", she criticised the Conservative Party's leadership and manifesto, stating that they "will destroy the welfare state and bring Ramsay-Hayden's dream of a full liberalised Luthori to reality, we cannot as a Party which prides itself as being the voice of the lower classes, accept that happening"

The Conservative leader stated that this address from the Labour leader before the election was "full of lies aimed at deceiving the Luthorian people before the election", and added "the Luthorians aren't fools, madam, they are seeing right through your lies and will choose a government which works for them in the first place".

The Emperor of Luthori has received the Prime Minister after her election and confirmed that Parliament (Chamber of Representatives) would be dissolved and elections called for the August the Fourth, as expected. The Writ of Election has been announced in the City of Fort William by the Lord Great Chamberlain as per tradition.

@TheTimes

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Imperial Household announces engagement of Emperor Richard and Duchess Valeria.
April 5636

Fort William - The Emperor may finally have his Empress and the Nation may finally breath a sigh of relief as the Imperial Household Ministry, alongside the Orange Palace announced the engagement of Emperor Richard II with Duchess Valeria Mondragon of Egelion. The Emperor's (32) unmarried status caused worry within the Government, who feared that without an heir, Parliament would be left scrambling for a heir. The Emperor's many failed relationships with numerous other women further consolidated this worry within the highest spheres of power. Fortunately for the nation, the Emperor seems to have found his bride-to-be in the person of Valeria Mondragon-Astures, daughter of the current Counsellor Veronica Mongradon in the King of Egelion's executive council.

The King, who is the Emperor's second cousin first removed through the marriage of King Amadeo and Queen Alicia (Alice in Luthori), Alice being the niece of the late Empress Katherine and Romulo being linked by blood to the House of Orange-Villayn in Luthori.

Prime Minister Hall offered her "warmest congratulations" to His Majesty during their private meeting in Rottingham Palace, where the Emperor and future Empress are currently residing for the week. Emperor Richard II is expected to come back in Fort William on Monday to preside over the State Opening of Parliament, which will take place on Tuesday morning.

The Luthorian Government has announced that the Emperor and Duchess' marriage would be held on Monday, July 5th, 5636 at the St-Richard Cathedral during an Luthorian ceremony presided by the Archbishop of Oalapo (the Luthorian Church's highest representative), Mgr. John Arwen. The Holy Luthori Church has also blessed both groom and bride before the weeding, blessing their union for it to be "the most successful possible for both of them", stated the Archbishop of Fort William, Mgr. Paul Eldewin.

The Orange Palace has communicated that preparations for weeding celebrations throughout the nation are currently being planned alongside the weeding parade after the Ceremony, both newly-weds would then, likely appear on the Orange Palace's balcony as per with tradition. One interesting note, it will be the first time in a very long time at least, that a reigning monarch would get married. Usually, upon ascending the Throne, Princes and Princesses of Orange are already married, but, noting Emperor Richard's ascension conditions, it wasn't the case for him.

As Luthori prepares for another royal wedding, the Imperial Household Ministry has communicated that invitations have been sent throughout the world for royals, presidents and other personalities from foreign nations attending the weeding.

The Imperial Household Ministry announced that both the Emperor and (at that time) Empress would later on visit both Luthori and Mordusia in September, touring both of their realms following their wedding in hopes of allowing the Empress to "link up and meet up with her subjects in both Luthori and Mordusia".

[Ligbruderkrieg]

5635 General Elections: Labour-Greens losses majority in Chamber; Conservatives and Liberals makes gains.
August 5635

Fort William - As something that was widely expected by most analysts, the sitting Hall government has retained its majority in the Chamber of Representatives, after a bitter dividing leadership election campaign that left Hall as the sole, undisputed leader of the National Labour Party. Immediately after her victory, Mrs. Hall announced a dissolution of Parliament and elections to be held in the 4th of August, as was, again, widely expected.

Before the election, Mrs. Hall's National Labour Party went in this election with a serious disadvantage compared to her rivals. The Party, although polling first, was still under threat from the Conservative Party of Mr. Weston, who was wholeheartedly taking advantage of both the death of popular former Premier MacGregor and the instability within the National Labour. The decisive factor in this election, according to many, came during the leaders' debate organised by NLB (New Luthori Broadcasting). During this debate, the Prime Minister's incumbency proved to be a boost when defending her administration's records on economic and defence policies, two subjects in which the Prime Minister was constantly attacked by her opponents.

Prime Minister Hall's overall strong performance in the debate seems to have been the deciding factor in the vote of many Luthorians, who threw their hat with the National Labour Party and the Greens, although, the Government still lost its absolute majority in the Commons and will not be able to effectively "govern the House", so to speak. The election saw the Labour Party lose 25 seats and pass from 182 seats in the Chamber of Representatives to 157 seats. While it was a respectable performance from the Prime Minister amid the recent criticism from her own party, the National Labour Party still lost 7.4 pp at the national popular vote. The Labour Party's coalition partners in the Greens lost 5 seats and seeing a loss of support among voters as well, although not as hard as the loss of support for the Labour Party.

The Conservative Party on the other succeeded in taking 10 seats from both the National Labour Party and the Greens, while also losing ground to the Moderates, a centre-right party which won 29 seats in the Chamber of Representatives, picking up seats from both Labour and the Tories. The Liberal Party saw a rebirth, surpassing the Greens as the third-largest party and caucus in the Chamber of Representatives, with 42 seats, finally, the Hosian Democrats secured 14 seats and the Radical Democrats secured 6 seats, down from 17 and 7 seats respectivelly.

Prime Minister Hall thanked the Luthorian public "for their steadfast support", although lamenting the loss of her majority in the lower house, the Prime Minister begun negotiating with other parties to form a new administration with either confidence and supply from another party to the current government or another ministry. Both the Liberal Party and the Moderates have been contacted by the Prime Minister to form a new government. It is speculated that the Conservatives may be trying into forming another government, although the largest stable combination of political parties alongside the Tories is sitting at 190 seats (Conservatives-Liberals-HDA-Moderates), although the prospect of seeing the Moderates and HDA working together is quite laughable at best right now.