Conservative Party of Aloria

The Conservative Party is currently the largest party in the Alorian Parliament and is in government. The leader of the party is Guto Barnes. The party was formed in 4820 and ran at Sildar local elections, however it didn't run nationally until 4844 due to the lack of a centre-right mainstream party in Aloria. The party is based around a belief in free-markets, patriotism and individual liberty

History[]

Guto Barnes[]

Guto Barnes joined the Conservative Party in 4829 and was a councillor in Gavonshire until 4836. Between 4836 and 4843 he was the party's chairman. When the Conservatives decided to run nationwide for the 4844 election, Guto Barnes ran for party leadership and won in August 4844. Barnes beat his competitor, Max Karl, in a contest he won fairly comfortably. Barnes was seen to represent the centrist branch of the party, whereas Karl was seen to represent the right-wing libertarian branch of the party. Due to Barnes' being seen as the more charismatic and electable contender, he won the leadership election comfortably with 61% of the vote.

The party's first act of government in 4844 was to propose the Constitutional Democratisation Bill, which aimed to remove the constitutional monarchy. The Conservatives made it clear the traditionally Aloria did not have a monarchy and so they made it a priority to return Aloria to a republic. The bill also increased the size of Parliament to 600 MPs, reduced the term length to 4 years and changed the national anthem.

In order to deal with the economic recession gripping Aloria, the government outlined their plans to stimulate the economy. This included income tax cuts worth 15bn ALO, a 5% reduction in corporate tax to 20% and a cut in luxury goods sales tax from 37% to 25%. In order to offset this, the government introduced a 10% essential goods tax. Furthermore, the 4844 budget made cuts to public spending of 5bn ALO, including 8.5bn ALO of cuts to healthcare and 3bn ALO to education. However, infrastructure spending was increased by 6bn ALO to fund the government's Great Infrastructure Programme.

The government announced the Great Infrastructure Programme in 4845, which aimed to rejuvenate the economy and reduce unemployment. The programme focused on four key areas - road, rail, energy and education. Much of the programme was aimed at providing local governments with the power and funding to undertake local infrastructure projects through a series of government grants. The plan was criticised by some for prioritising the north of the country, which is generally richer than the south. Cities such as Sildar Urbem, Port Freiheit and Ultran Stadt were given far greater consideration for initiatives than parts of Cymertraeth and Gavonshire. The government said the geography of the programme was based on how to provide the greatest boost to Aloria's national economic recovery. Other critics pointed out the lack of money provided to complete some of the ambitious projects announced in the plan. For example, an extra 6bn ALO was given in the budget to be used for infrastructure and transport spending, but this would not be enough to cover the costs of proposed projects such as a new high-speed rail line running from the north of the country to the south.

In order to reaffirm public support for the Constitutional Democratisation Bill, which removes the monarchy and makes the head of state electable, the government called a snap election in August 4845. Guto Barnes was elected as prime minister and he swiftly formed a new government. The party stood on a manifesto to implement the Great Infrastructure Programme, reduce unemployment to a record low and oppose any attempt to reinstate a monarchy.

After the election, the government focus continued to be on improving the nation's economic outlook. At the start of 4846, unemployment stood at over 7% - although slightly down on mid-4845 - and inflation continued to outstrip wage growth by a considerable margin. Meanwhile, GDP had started to grow, however at a slow rate. By the end of the year, GDP has grown by 2.2%, far lower than what was forecast, and real-terms wage growth was still in decline due to inflation rising again. Despite this, unemployment had fell to near 6%. The government was criticised by a centre-left group of economists for cutting public spending at a time of economic fragility, which they claim led to even slower growth. It was also argued that due to public spending cuts being coupled with tax cuts, the decline in spending had not led to a decrease in the national deficit - the deficit actually rose during 4844-4846. The government has said cuts to public services were not done to reduce the deficit, but instead to raise infrastructure spending for the Great Infrastructure Programme.

Like predicted, the funding needed for the Great Infrastructure Programme was far higher than funds provided by the government at the outset of the programme's announcement. Therefore, at the November 4846 budget, another 7.5bn ALO was provided to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport. In order to partly fund this, a 2.5bn ALO cut to health spending was also announced. The other 5bn ALO was funded through increased government borrowing, raising the national deficit.

In December 4846, the Conservatives announced a new net immigration target of 100,000 per year by 4855. In 4846, net immigration stood at 225,000. Barnes announced this would be done in the fairest way possible and a way that would protect the economy. He proposed a new jobs-training scheme which would see government grants and bursaries given to adults who wanted to retrain in a new profession. Furthermore, it was announced that tuition fees would be slashed for students who chose to study courses related to sectors of the economy with the biggest skills shortages, which was healthcare and IT professions at the time of the announcement. Some Conservative MPs were not happy with the announcement, suggesting 4855 was too far away and it would be a better idea to set a hard cap of 100,000 to start immediately.

In December 4847, the Conservatives passed legislation to lift the smoking ban in places of employment, therefore making smoking legal everywhere at the discretion of the property owner. Anti-smoking interest groups and healthcare professionals released a joint statement condemning the government's decision as an attack on the nation's health. However, Health Secretary Meinwen Hier defended the decision saying the government was upholding personal liberty. The government then removed more restrictions on smoking by loosening advertising restrictions and removing health warnings from tobacco products - this was done as part of the Health Liberties Bill 4848.

The Health Liberties Bill also removed government subsides on pharmaceutical drugs except for those on low-income, imposed tougher restrictions on abortions and outlawed euthanasia. Furthermore, the bill made vaccinations advisory instead of mandatory. The government said the bill enabled people to make sensible health choices. Despite this, some Conservative MPs were concerned by the prime minister's pro-smoking policy. There were also rumours that Defence Secretary Gareth Ellis would resign from the cabinet over the policy and also amid concerns about the rising budget deficit, criticising the amount of money being spent on the Great Infrastructure Programme.

In 4848, the Conservatives looked to reform Aloria's trade and foreign policy, with Barnes famously saying: "Trade not aid!". In December 4848, the government reformed foreign aid by instead providing "tied" aid, where aid was given in return for trading rights. Barnes said this would provide economic benefits for Aloria and also for poorer nations who can benefit from increased trade with Aloria. The government also scrapped "ethical" tariffs on nations with lower environmental standards and labour rights. Instead, the government decided to impose no tariffs on any nation unless they impose tariffs on Alorian exports. On top of this, the Conservatives decided to impose stricter border controls with more intensive security checks. This was done in response to criticism from right-wing Conservative backbenchers who were concerned the government was not going to reach their target of reducing net immigration to below 100,000 per year.

The Conservatives won the August 4849 election comfortably on the back of strong economic growth, low unemployment and rising wages. Furthermore, the party's determination to reduce immigration was popular with the voters, as was reforming Aloria's trade policy.

After his election victory, Barnes' focus in his third term turned to foreign policy due to the rise of fascism in nearby Luthori. Barnes made a speech condemning the far-right policies of the Luthorian government and encouraged other Artanian leaders to take action. Barnes' condemnation of the Luthorian regime came after a Hutorian politician, Bruce Kimmo, expressed similar concerns. After the speech of Guto Barnes, other Artanian nations started to also voice their concern, including Dorvik. Aloria signed the Agreement to Sanction the Holy Luthori Empire in 4850, becoming only the second nation to do so.

In his third term as prime minister, Barnes' domestic policy continued to be concentrated on reforming the economy and reducing unemployment to record-lows. The government reformed employment rights, making positive discrimination illegal, reduced the minimum wage, loosened restrictions on firing striking workers and outlawed agency shops. Furthermore, the government also passed the Ecology Bill 4849 and the Religious Freedom Bill 4849.

In 4849, the government looked to reduce public spending after years of running a deficit. In order to do this, the Conservatives pledged to reduce government spending as a percentage of GDP to 25%. They started with this in the November 4849 budget, reducing public spending from 32.42% of GDP to 30.29%. This resulted in 10.5bn ALO worth of spending cuts, most of which came from healthcare and education, whilst infrastructure spending was also scaled back after rising during Barnes' first two terms as prime minister. However, the government did raise defence spending. By November 4852, they successfully reduced spending to 25% of GDP, however to do this the previous rises to the defence budget were reversed at the November 4852 budget.

In March 4852, Barnes announced his intention to stand down before the 4853 election after 8 years as prime minister. In his last speech as prime minister, Barnes said he was proud of his achievements between 4844-52 and emphasised the importance of his economic management in reducing unemployment and getting the economy growing again. Barnes' time as prime minister was seen as a big success by most Conservatives, both in terms of his policy achievements and his electoral performance. Barnes left office at a time when he was still popular with the electorate. Despite this, he did have some critics. The Alorian Echo newspaper ran an opinion column the day he officially left office claiming he "leaves the country on the brink of another economic collapse", due to rising inflation and cuts to public services.

Neirin Probert[]

Neirin Probert was elected leader of the Conservative Party on the 15th August 4852, beating his leadership competitor, Walter Waxweiler, by 61% to 39%. Probert was seen as the continuity candidate after Barnes and ran his leadership election on the promise to continue with much of Barnes' agenda.

Leaders[]

Years in Office	Name	Grouping		Date of Birth	Date of Death
4852 - Present	Neirin Probert		One Nation Conservatives	20 March 4785
4844 - 4852	Guto Barnes		One Nation Conservatives	9 October 4805

Party Factions[]

One Nation Conservatives[]

The One Nation Conservative caucus is made up of Conservative MPs who believe in the ideology of one nation conservatism. They can be described as being the most centrist group within the party, and traditionally it is the largest group, currently making up 390 of the 600 MPs.

They believe in a more paternalist state where the state must look out for those in need. One nation conservatives believe in a generous welfare state. They are said to be more communitarian than individualistic. Furthermore, they generally support more government intervention in the economy in matters such as dealing with climate change. One nation conservatives generally support a progressive tax system, however many in the caucus would still like to see more tax cuts.

Traditional Conservatives[]

Traditional Conservatism advocates a conservative ideology based around patriotism, the preservation of national institutions and social conservatism. Out of the 600 MPs, 100 currently identify with the Traditional Conservative caucus.

Unlike one nation conservatives, traditional conservatives do not believe are not socially liberal. Instead, they believe in traditional religious values. They generally oppose same-sex marriage, the decriminalisation of recreational drugs and relaxed abortion laws. They believe in a strong state that projects Aloria's values globally. In terms of economic policy, the caucus is split between those who believe in a smaller welfare state with tax cuts for the richest and those who believe in a compromise similar to one nation conservatives.

Free-market Libertarians[]

The Free-market Libertarian caucus is the most recently established caucus of the Conservative Party, and is also the smallest with only 67 MPs being members. Their key principles include a dedication to preserving free-markets, economic liberty and social liberty.

Free-market libertarianism advocates for a very limited state and a small welfare state. Furthermore, it advocates for large-scale tax cuts for all and a reduction in public spending in order to reduce the national debt. Free-market libertarians are said to be the most right-wing faction of the Conservative Party, and currently do not hold much power. The leader of the caucus, Max Karl, ran in the 4844 leadership election.

Election Results[]

Date	Votes		Seats	Change	Position	Prime Ministerial Candidate	Votes		Position
4852	11,762,857	100%	600 / 600	0	1st	Neirin Probert	11,904,295	100%	1st
4849	49,241,945	99.88%	600 / 600	0	1st	Guto Barnes	49,867,990	99.91%	1st
4845	12,235,599	100%	600 / 600	50	1st	Guto Barnes	11,758,143	100%	1st
4844	12,669,697	100%	550 / 550	550	1st	Constitutional Monarch as head of state