Aloria

[moderates]

Gohebydd Dyddiol Aloria
David Drakemouth to resign in 4812
May 4810

Prime Minister David Drakemouth has announced that he will resign in 4812, after ten years in power. He has said that having "different leaders is a sign of democracy. Having one leader continuously for a long time is not a good policy." He said that he is "privileged to have served our amazing country and citizens for so long", and that he "has to tell my predecessor that you are lucky to serve this brilliant country."

He said that he will ask the Conservative Party's National Committee to hold a leadership vote when he resigns, and that he will stay "active in the Senedd and the party" but said that he is "unlikely to return to frontbench politics", though many people have encouraged him to enter regional politics in Caermoel and Cymertraeth, perhaps becoming the First Minister of one due to his popularity in the regions and his ability to maximise the Unionist vote and sentiment.

The Prime Minister had previously said that he would not lead the party in another election, which was meant to be in 4812, but after the early 4809 election due to the Liberal Party's dissolution at a national level, he led the party, saying that "the time was not ripe" for him to resign yet. He has promised to continue serving his Llyr Central seat in the Senedd, saying that "I have served the nation. Now I can serve my constituents, who I have the utmost dedication to."

[moderates]

Gohebydd Dyddiol Aloria
Military budget to be spent on conventional warfare
May 4810

The Defence Minister Sophia von Schalt has said that the military budget's increase will be spent only on conventional warfare, increasing the Military's size and capability. This comes after 5,000,000,000 Aloriks of the Defence budget was spent on researching and trying to build a nuclear weapon. This was widely seen as wasting the budget, as at that time the military was still small and badly equipped, prompting complaints from military personnel and officers.

However the Defence Ministry has pledged to spend the new budget increase solely on improving conventional military equipment and increasing the size of the branches of the military, which is though to need big expansion, though it is now at nearly 70,000 personnel, which makes it a huge increase. The budget was increased by 1,000,000,000 Aloriks in the most recent budget by the Finance Minister. The Defence Ministry has now said that they are aiming to get 100,000 personnel, to make the military "more value for the money we are spending", as despite the small number of personnel Defence is the third biggest budget out of all of the Ministries.

The Defence Ministry is apparently looking to buy more ships from Istalia, saying that the ones they had bought before are "a very big boost to our capability at sea" and that they aimed "to buy more to boost out sea presence." They are also spending more on developing vehicles for land warfare and also fighter planes, and apparently 400 of the planned 500 jeeps have been constructed, meaning that the target is nearly met. The Defence Minister is apparently meeting with the Foreign Minister to try and get joint military pacts signed with other Artanian countries, to increase overseas co-operation and friendship with other countries.

[moderates]

Gohebydd Dyddiol Aloria
Alorian economy growing
October 4810

The Alorian economy is apparently growing, due to government subsidies given to private businesses and job creation schemes. The economy had been somewhat stagnated before now, with little investment by foreign investments and little in the way of government aid packages. It was also helped by the trade pact signed between Dorvik and Aloria, which has increased Aloria's trading by 50%.

The Finance Minister Alison Morgan said that this was "brilliant news" and showed that "the Conservative government is working" before she announced a new wave of tax cuts, though promised to keep public spending levels in vital ministries such as health and defence as the same. Later in her speech, Morgan said that the government was going to continue their ring-fencing of health and defence spending for another twenty years, meaning they are safe from the axe of budget cuts.

Post offices are also getting more regulations, after some apparently charged very high prices, and apparently Alorian Mail, the national post office company, is looking to buy more post office premises, though the government has also promoted private mail companies by providing subsidies and selling off old and unused Alorian Mail premises to the private companies at discounted prices.

[moderates]

Gohebydd Dyddiol Aloria
Taxes being cut in budget
April 4811

Finance Minister Alison Morgan has announced tax cuts in her latest budget, along with some small budget cuts to make it possible. She announced that taxes are being cut on the lowest bands, to give people with less money less tax. The government has said that they will probably cut the Environment budget and the Industry budget, which has taken a few cuts much to the Trade Unions annoyance.

Minister Morgan also announced that corporation tax would not be raised, and neither would luxury tax, which the government are considering cutting, as it is at 37%, something that the government is not happy with. The government has also announced that they will not raise the essentials tax for at least another ten years, as they said that this would "hit the most vulnerable the hardest."

This might run a small deficit, which the FInance Minister said she was "hoping to eliminate with cutting spending on non-essential budgets." This will likely be the budgets mentioned before, as they are considered the most "non essential", as is Transport, though this hasn't been cut in recent years, mostly due to the government's new road building plans. However, now that those plans have been fulfilled, it is possible that the Transport budget may be slashed to help eliminate any possible deficit created by the government's tax cutting plans.

[moderates]

Gohebydd Dyddiol Aloria
David Drakemouth resigns
September 4812

Prime Minister and leader of the Alorian Conservatives David Drakemouth has resigned both posts, and will now be in them in an acting capacity whilst his successor is chosen. So far, only one candidate, Edmund Price, has declared his intention to run, and the Modern Conservatives are still thinking about who to run. However it is likely that Drakemouth's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alison Morgan will run for the position, since she is popular and experienced.

Mr Drakemouth has spent ten years as Prime Minister and announced his resignation in order to get a "fresh face" in power, and announced that he will continue on as a backbench MS, and also said he hopes to help his successor "pass many good laws to make Alorian's lives better", and also said that he would be helping Unionist groups in Caermoel and Cymertraeth campaigning.

We will continue to update and report on the leadership contest, which should take a month or two at the most, and then we will have a new Prime Minister, and a new cabinet of Aloria.

[moderates]

Gohebydd Dyddiol Aloria
Leadership candidates confirmed
March 4813

The leadership candidates for the Alorian Conservatives have been announced. Alison Morgan, the current Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the Modern Conservatives, and Henry Himmen, also from the Modern Conservatives, have confirmed that they will run, and were the only other people to do so before the nomination period ending, so it will be a three way race.

With the Modern Conservative faction making up more than three thirds of the Party Senedd Members and normal members, there is very little choice that right-winger Edmund Price will win. Alison Morgan is the favourite for pundits, as she is popular among the party's MS and members, and has ten years experience as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Henry Himmen also has experience, but only in lower level cabinet roles, and he is considered to hold more economically liberal views, whereas Morgan advocates regulation of certain industries.

Acting Prime Minister David Drakemouth didn't say who he was voting for, as that would be "unfair" and could "tip the results", but it is highly likely that he'll vote for his Deputy Prime Minister Alison Morgan.

[IntruderEmerald]

Conservative Party sets out radical constitutional reform

As expected, the governing Conservative Party is setting out its radical agenda for reforming the Alorian Constitution following on from its victory in the election. The party ran on a campaign to abolish the monarchy, stating traditionally Aloria has not had a monarch. Furthermore, changes will be made to the national anthem and motto. The Constitutional Monarchy was only established in 4760, with the country being a republic before that. Conservative Leader Guto Barnes says he acknowledges the monarch has personally done a "great job" of representing Aloria on the international stage as a symbolic figure, however he has stated it is not in line with Aloria's traditions to have a monarchy.

The Constitutional Reform Bill looks set to pass through the Senedd fairly comfortably with the current Conservative majority. In addition to the abolishment of the monarchy, there are other major reforms contained in the bill. These include a reduction in the length of a parliamentary term to 4 years, down from 5, and an increase in the number of seats to 600. Furthermore, the bill proposes a change to laws dictating who can form a cabinet. Now, only the prime minister will be able to form a cabinet.

[IntruderEmerald]

Government announces economic plan as economy shrinks again
Newly-elected Conservative government faces uphill struggle as new figures show GDP has shrunk whilst unemployment rises

Prime Minister Barnes and Chancellor Neirin Probert have outlined their plans to stimulate economic growth after their election victory. This comes after more bad economic news today showing GDP has fallen by more than 0.5% and unemployment is up to nearly 8%, with inflation continuing to outstrip wage growth. Today, the chancellor announced the budget proposal, which looks to cut public spending by 5bn ALO. Controversially, this includes an 8.5bn ALO cut to healthcare and 3bn cut to education spending. This is offset by an increase to spending on policing and a 6bn ALO increase to infrastructure and transport spending, with the government expected to announce the Great Rebuild Programme in the next few weeks. There are also cuts to the foreign affairs budget and science spending.

Alongside this, the chancellor has announced 19bn ALO worth of income tax cuts as well as cuts to sales tax on luxury goods from 37% to 25%. Furthermore, corporation tax has been cut from 25% to 20%. However, to offset these cuts the government has proposed a sales tax on essential goods of 10%.

The chancellor is hoping the combination of increased infrastructure spending along with tax cuts will stimulate economic growth. There is also a hope that the national infrastructure projects set to be announced will help reduce unemployment. Despite this, some economists have expressed concerns that the government's plans don't do enough to bring inflation under control. Inflation is currently outstripping wage growth by more than 4%.

Alorian Economic Tracker

[IntruderEmerald]

Great Infrastructure Programme announced
Government unveils plans to revitalise economy through big infrastructure projects but concerns remain about funding and the north-south divide

The government has announced their Great Infrastructure Programme, which plans to help Aloria's economic recovery from the ongoing recession. The government believe large infrastructure spending can speed up the economic recovery and help reduce unemployment.

The plans covers four key areas - road, rail, energy and education. The biggest ambitions outlined in the plans mainly centre around upgrading the nation's railways. On a national level, the Department for Transport is planning to build a new high-speed rail line linking the north with the south, running from Port Freiheit to Rhuddem Cape. There are also plans to upgrade the western section of the nation's current high-speed rail line which runs from Sildar Urbem to Craigtref. Furthermore, a major rail exchange is to be built in Mansfield due to its strategic position, linking the north-south high-speed line with the east-west line. More funding will also be given to regional authorities in order to expand local public transport routes.


Proposed new north-south rail line with transfer hub in Mansfield

Another major announcement is the plan to build a second runway at Sildar International Airport. The government says demand at the airport has exceeded capacity, however many environmental groups are outraged by the decision. The government has now commissioned a report to examine the potential economic benefits of building a second runway.

In terms of energy infrastructure, the government has announced plans to expand offshore wind farms off the coast of north-west Sildar, as well as building new offshore farms near the coast of Cymertraeth. This is part of the Conservative's drive for green energy. Furthermore, the government has proposed plans to build more grammar schools and technical colleges in deprived areas of the country. Education attainment levels in deprived areas, particularly in the south, are far lower than in the prosperous cities of northern Aloria. Prime Minister Barnes has said this is a sign that the Conservative Party cares for the whole nation, aiming to attract those "left-behind" voters before the next election.

Critics of the government have took issue with today's proposals, with many criticising the government for prioritising northern and western regions of the country. Some have pointed out that the majority of the stations on the high-speed rail lines are in the north. Furthermore, most of the investment in green energy is taking place in the north-west. An MP for Karlstadt in Gavonshire has criticised the plans for not providing enough funding to deprived areas in Gavonshire and Caermoel, as well as parts of Cymertraeth, but prioritising areas surround major cities. The government has responded by pointing out their plans for levelling up education by providing more money for schools in deprived areas, however a leader of a teaching union said this was not good enough due to the government recently cutting the education budget by 3bn ALO.

There are also concerns that 6bn ALO worth of extra funding for infrastructure and transport spending provided at the last budget is not enough to cover the costs of the expensive projects outlined today. The government is likely going to have to go over budget in order to fund the building of the new high-speed rail line and the new runway. There are concerns surrounding how much more the government can afford to spend with the country already running a large deficit.

[IntruderEmerald]

Work begins on new north-south high-speed rail line
PM says large-scale infrastructure projects are a great way of reducing unemployment


Work begins on new high-speed rail line in Port Freiheit

Today, work began on the planned high-speed rail link between Port Freiheit and Rhuddem Cape. The government's Great Infrastructure Programme is seen by the prime minister as a great way to rapidly reduce unemployment, as latest figures show unemployment rose to nearly 8%. The project to build the high-speed line is expected to take a decade to finish, but there are already concerns about funding. The government has made it clear it will spend whatever is necessary to complete the project but some Conservative MPs are worried about the ever-increasing budget deficit after the latest tax cuts. PM Barnes has made it clear he is a fan of big public works spending to reduce unemployment, which was one of the big features of the Conservatives' 4845 snap election manifesto.

Work on the rail line has started in Port Freiheit with phase 1 of the plan taking the line to Mansfield, where work will soon begin on a major rail transfer hub. Phase 2 of the project is expected to commence in 4850. There has been some criticism, however, from environmental groups who argue the line will destroy thousands of acres of farmland, woodlands and wildlife sites. The government say they have a "great, green record of protecting the environment".