F-ck it. I know I am the originator of stalled attempts but this is the only one I think will work. Why? Because there's no constitutional convention, or shuffling around until it starts. It begins and it goes under its own steam. If it dies in a week then it dies.
It's an old idea but here goes.
Parties and elections Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Plaid....only.
No others for now. It seems harsh, but it is important to maintain the main British parties to begin with. Parties like UKIP, Greens etc would attract more support on here than they do in reality. I'm even hesitant to include the SNP/Plaid for the same reason. Rule of thumb is, if you're left of centre you're either Labour or Lib Dem, right of centre you're Tory or Lib Dem. Not too many Lib Dems though
In short, the game won't work if the party structures crumble
Elections. Every two or three months. The voting system may be difficult to determine. While I'd support FPTP, unlike in Atlasia, we dont have 'states' to reside in and then determine seat size, neither do we have midterms. This is compounded by the need to respect the 'Home Nations' (Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Wales) somewhat. Furthermore I would be concerned that one party may become ludicrously dominant under FPTP. I would therefore support a 'list' system; dividing Britain into set regions regardless of population and then apportioning seats to each area according to population. Considering the size of the game, this would probably see more balanced results but also sensible majorities in the Commons. It also provides a geographic basis for the game, and PMQ's. But I have an idea in how to maintain 'constituencies' that concur, broadly, with what exists in reality. I'll come to that later.
The size of the Commons would be larger than the Senate in Atlasia, as it is the focus of the
whole game. The only person outside the Commons (barring voters), is the monarch. The hope is, this game involves a higher % of registered players in government as is the case in Atlasia. How many MP's depends on how many players there are. This can change. I would hope we could get at least 20 or 30 to begin with, based on regions. That way the game can function with at least 1 person representing each region.
I had thought of using the 12 economic regions, but that is too much. Using the 4 home nations is fine, except that England is too large a size for one list. So I thought of the following.
Scotland
North of England (North East, North West, Yorkshire)
Midlands (East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England)
South of England (South East, South West)
London (keeping it by itself to encourage people to register there!)
Wales
Northern Ireland
Descriptions of each region can be given to give players unfamiliar with these areas a chance of choosing the best suited regions. Hopefully we can give them some less sterile names.
However, here's the twist. If a region is entitled to say 3 MP's, elected by the list, when the seats are allocated to each region, that region is then geographically split into 3 seats and each MP is given a designated 'seat' to represent.
For example. Lets say Wales is allocated 4 seats elected under a list system. 2 Labour candidates, 1 Tory and one Lib Dem is elected. Wales' 40 seats in reality are used to create 4 seats (of 10) before the election. After the election the MP's are given one seat each. But it's not entirely random, as you would have the two Labour MP's represent the most traditionally Labour areas of Wales etc. This can be arranged by a moderator with the help of the MP's in question. It means that people have a 'seat' to represent that is politicaly realistic, but also local so they can tailor their positions, and their concerns to what the main issues are in that area. The boundaries can be revised at set times to take into account changes in population. Even if in the game, Scotland has a higher population than London there should still be a balance
PositionsThe 'positions' in the game would be as follows
Monarch: Easy job. The monarch must make a speech at the start of each new parliamentary session outlining his/her governments plans for the coming session. The monarch also gives consent by signing, Acts of Parliament that are passed in the Commons. The monarch always signs these Acts. Would be ideal if the moderator held this role.
Prime Minister. The leader of the largest party in the Commons and head of the government. Is the voice of the government and while his approach to the job may be flexible, he can be easily removed if he angers his party. Has the power to call a general election within a 2 or 3 month period. However for the purposes of the game, and to stop the abuse of this power, as in real life he must go to the monarch for approval. Unlike in real life however, the monarch should actively use the power to decline the call for an election if we find ourselves getting snowed under with elections at whim.
Leader of the Opposition. The PM's counterpart and leader of the second largest party. His job is to offer constructive opposition to the PM. Bearing in mind that he technically 'leads' the whole opposition, including other parties when in the commons.
Speaker. Keeps order in the House, can impose discipline/suspend MP's. In this scenario it is likely that the Speaker should take on similar powers to the PPT in Atlasia, in order to manage day to day Commons business.
Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet. Appointed by the PM to head government departments. The Leader of the Opposition forms a Shadow Cabinet to oppose those ministers.
Possible posts - It is probably worth combining posts to start with, as happens in reality anyway;
Chancellor/Deputy - effectively the PM's number two. Responsible for finance.
Defence/Home/Justice - dealing with domestic security issues.
Education/Health/Social Security - dealing with welfare issues (v. important in UK politics)
Foreign/International Development - dealing with foreign and security issues.
Day to day business.Essentially similar to Atlasia, with open threads on legislation. MP's of course have to tow the party line, unless the vote is a 'free vote'. Not doing so may result in your party leader disciplining you
The party is paramount and you have to work together on policy. You can of course, if you disagree so much, become an independent or join another party. This way, a governments mandate can be eroded and they may be forced to call an election. But again, please be responsible
You can still stay a member of the party and sit on the 'backbenches' and irritate your leader! Infact it's probably better to do that as he will be forced to placate you.
Prime Ministers Questions.
This is a key part of the game. Everyone in the Commons can put questions to the PM 'weekly' (or whatever timescale is chosen) on anything; policy, jarbs disguised as statements and local issues. I would hope that people would be as creative as possible. These exchanges form the basis of any media coverage/comment etc.
How to start the game Sign up - get people signed up to a region and to a party
Set up - have parties meet and decide leader. Fight on the existing party platforms for now. Then designate number of seats per region.
Start.
No need for elections to start. Groups form and that's that.
Right. Now tear it to bits
