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Labor and the Left survive legislative election
By Allie Vega and Haajid al-Shaban, KTN Monday, 12 June 2017 Stockholm (KTN) — Margaret Harrison has been given a lifeline. In Sunday's legislative election, former Foreign Secretary Avianna Aldridge led the Labor Party and a coalition of other center-left political parties to victory. The election, which filled a new National Assembly, gave an alliance of five parties enough seats for Chancellor Margaret Harrison to keep her agenda alive. Securing four independent politicians, the newly-created Alliance of Social Democrats consisting of 83 Labor, 82 Populists of the Left, 76 Socialists, 28 Greens, and 24 Liberals will preserve the status quo. In the upper chamber of Parliament, the Citizens' Assembly, a random lottery also gave the five-party alliance majority control, which leaves few roadblocks for Margaret Harrison when she wants to implement her agenda.
On the other side of the aisle, Nicole Chancellor led The New Right to secure 146 seats in the National Assembly, performing above expectations but not enough for the nationalist party to singlehandedly filibuster Margaret Harrison's agenda. Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor, whose respective parties were projected for a crushing defeat on 1 May, managed to prevent their destruction by each securing 67 seats for the Centrist Democratic Party and 62 for the Conservative Party. At the end of the day, Nicole Chancellor remains as the Leader of the Opposition, but will have a rather raucous opposition to the other parties in the National Assembly. However divided the right side of the spectrum may be, the right-wing parties have seized enough seats to compete against the cultural liberalism of the left.
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Avianna Aldridge in April 2017 Margaret Harrison can breathe easy again after her coalition's victory, thanks to her former Foreign Secretary, Avianna Aldridge. After a nightmarish defeat on 2 May with the passage of Referendum 4, her party and coalition managed to regain their composure after retaining control of Parliament, albeit a slimmer majority. Now one day removed from the legislative election, Margaret Harrison hopes to sign into law a bill that intends to give shelter to the homeless, which was one of her highest priorities after being elected President of Qvait in 2015 and later the Chancellor of both Qvait and Winston Island in 2016. After Victor Cutter, the leader of the center-right Centrist Democratic Party, pledged to support Margaret Harrison's bill on homelessness, there is a filibuster-proof majority to ensure the passage of the bill.
Due to a convergence of aspects of social and economic policy between the Alliance of Social Democrats and the Centrist Democratic Party, Margaret Harrison will be left unhindered in implementing her economic agenda. However, her cultural liberalism will be at odds with the four right-wing parties, all of which seek to impose varying levels of restriction on abortion and drugs and some of which want to restrict same-sex marriage and oppose Margaret Harrison's secularist policy. The four parties—The New Right, Centrist Democratic Party, Conservative Party, and Islamist Front—all have a unified socially conservative agenda and enough votes to successfully filibuster bills that further Margaret Harrison's culturally liberal agenda. Nicole Chancellor and Jonathan Victor both said they will seek a return of what they call 'religious liberty.'
In terms of foreign policy, Margaret Harrison is going to need to walk a fine line depending on the issue at hand. When it comes to free trade, the Populists of the Left will be the deciding factor whether such agreements can be ratified. Taeler Shaw, the leader of the Populists of the Left, has stated that she will only support free trade agreements if they do not threaten farmers and other rural workers, which is her party's most influential voting bloc. A little over a month removed from Referendum Day, Margaret Harrison's foreign policy agenda is still damaged due to the passage of Referendum 4. However, she has said when a charter to a world forum is complete, it will be at vote on the next Referendum Day. Margaret Harrison's rationale for the passage of Referendum 4 is its nonbinding status, "Once we have a complete charter with all of the contents available to the public, we will have a binding referendum at vote."
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Nicole Chancellor in May 2017 Even though Nicole Chancellor's party performed above expectations and is the largest party in both houses of Parliament, The New Right must continue rely on other rightist parties to compete against Margaret Harrison's social democratic agenda. However, with the Centrist Democrats and Conservatives eager to reach deals with the Alliance of Social Democrats, there may not be a successful obstructionist opposition. For the foreseeable future, Margaret Harrison's social democratic agenda will continue to be implemented with Centrist Democrats and Conservatives 'going home with something,' according to Avianna Aldridge, who will become the Leader of the National Assembly on 15 June, when it convenes. Avianna Aldridge would reach out to Nicole Chancellor, calling on her to not be the 'party of no,' but a party that wants to cooperate with the majority and 'get something for The New Right's voters.'
In the buildup to the legislative election, Nicole Chancellor successfully convinced Winstonian nationalists to join The New Right, in the combined hope of undoing the unification of Qvait and Winston Island. However, their alliance was not enough for the party to gain enough seats for a majority, let alone power to successfully filibuster pieces of legislation. On Sunday night, Nicole Chancellor expressed disappointment in her party's performance in the legislative election but vowed that The New Right 'will never give in to the globalists' demands.' She insisted that Qvait will 'bow to no one.'
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Victor Cutter in June 2017 The return of Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor enormously paid off for the Centrist Democrats and Conservatives, two parties of which were expected to be crushed as of 2 May. The two former Presidents of Qvait agreed to form an alliance between their two parties to compete against the rise of far-right nationalism. However, the two parties were still unable to outnumber The New Right in the National Assembly. While there may be some good news for the Centrist Democrats on some aspects of social and economic policy, the once dominant Conservative Party will get the short end of the stick on both social and economic policy, with current nationalized institutions such as the National Health Service being increased in scope. The Conservative Party, which already failed to prevent the incorporation of dental care into the NHS, will not be able to stop Margaret Harrison from incorporating child care.
With Jonathan Victor and the Conservative Party remaining in the wilderness, it will be Nicole Chancellor and The New Right which shall remain the most influential party in right-wing circles, but it will be Victor Cutter and the Centrist Democratic Party that will get the best deal on the right for the foreseeable future. The Centrist Democrats will give the Alliance of Social Democrats the votes they need to pass certain legislation. They are in agreement in the fields of education, healthcare, housing, and labor. In a deal with the Alliance of Social Democrats, members of the Centrist Democratic Party will be allowed to chair some parliamentary committees. Avianna Aldridge personally promised Victor Cutter the chairmanship of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.
With the legislative election in the books, Margaret Harrison can rest easy, for now. However, a binding world forum referendum is on the horizon, a referendum of which she will put her political career on the line. If that referendum fails, Margaret Harrison has promised to resign as Chancellor of the United Kingdom. So far, the referendum has not been scheduled because a charter is not yet available, but it could be put to a vote as early as 1 May 2018 if Grovne negotiations finish before then. As for the rest of her agenda, Margaret Harrison will face little opposition with the Alliance of Social Democrats in the majority in both chambers of Parliament.
Composition of the 2nd National Parliament Citizens' Assembly ![[Image: 400]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/qvwi/images/6/69/1st_Citizens%27_Assembly.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/400)
Government: LP + PL + SP + Libs + Greens + 3 Ind = 53 seats (majority)
National Assembly ![[Image: 400]](https://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/qvwi/images/8/8a/1st_National_Assembly.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/400)
Government: LP + PL + SP + Greens + Libs + 4 Ind = 297 seats (majority)
KTN's Lyle Williams contributed to this report. Have a comment? The National Parliament has passed the Shelter Act, which will provide 1.3 trillion Pacific dollars in funding for the expansion of public housing in Qvait and Winston Island, addressing the homelessness problem in the United Kingdom. This is a kept promise from Chancellor Margaret Harrison.
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The Free Marijuana Act, which would have legalized recreational marijuana, has been defeated 292–290.
Have a comment? The National Parliament has passed the Name Act by a vote of 435–151, establishing the common nationality of Qvaiticans and Winstonians as the Valkyrians1, the name of members of the historical House Valkyrie, a legendary family of knights that had once given an oath to keep the peace in the lands that currently form Qvait and Winston Island. Chancellor Margaret Harrison said, "Today, we honor the family that, for centuries, had fought tirelessly to bring unity to this land that we now call the United Kingdom of Qvait and Winston Island. Their historical contribution to this union shall forever be recognized. This land is now Valkyria2." While the bill introduces the common name for both Qvait and Winston Island, the latter names will still be retained. At this point, the National Parliament will now be referred to as the Valkyrian Parliament and Margaret Harrison's office shall be referred to as the Chancellorship of Valkyria.
Notes
After a major success on legislation addressing homelessness, Chancellor Margaret Harrison is setting her sights on child care, where she is expected to have the votes necessary to pass because of the Election Day Agreement (EDA) between the Alliance of Social Democrats and the Centrist Democratic Party. A look at the status of the Chancellor's major campaign promises:
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The Valkyrian Parliament has passed the Flag Act by a vote of 428–161, recognizing a new national flag.
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Green MP Mikaela Harris reintroduced the Free Marijuana Act, a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana, which passed 294–292. Chancellor Margaret Harrison, who only campaigned on the promise of legalizing medical marijuana, will have to decide within the next seven days whether to sign the bill into law or veto it.
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Sources say the Chancellor Margaret Harrison is advancing on child care and will be submitting a bill within the next three weeks.
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Sources tell KTN that Chancellor Margaret Harrison is not expected to veto the Free Marijuana Act, but will not sign it either.
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