Unionist Party

Unionist Party
Leader of the Party	The Baron Calder
Chair of the Party	The Viscount Sidmouth
Founders	The Viscount Sidmouth The Countess of Strathmore
Founded	1 May 2024, 234 days ago
Preceded by	Heron Party British Liberal Party
Headquarters	Broadway House, London Escot Estate, Devon
Membership	4
Ideology	Liberal Conservatism, Progressive-Conservatism
Political position	Centre to Centre Right
Colours	Yellow
Slogan	"The only way is UP" "Lets level UP"
House of Lords	1 / 4
House of Commons	3 / 7

Monogram of the Unionist Party, complete with the Griffin.

The Unionist Party is one of the main political parties within the Empire of Great Britain. Its members are sometimes referred to as "Unionists". It is the current Governing Party, having taken an eventual majority at the October 2024 General Election. Its current Leader is August Carew, The Baron Calder, while the current Chairman of the Party is Thomas Carew, The Viscount Sidmouth.

The party was founded on the 1st May 2024 by then Prime Minister Thomas Carew, alongside his wife and Leader of the Opposition, Josephine Carew-Grey. The two left their respective parties (the Herons for Carew, while Carew-Grey left the British Liberal Party), to remove the need for a drawn-out and most-likely bitter election contest between the two of them. They were joined by the other members of the Heron Party (Owain Carew-Grey and Frederick Mountbatten-Urquhart) upon its subsequent dissolution, alongside Patrick Maniar-Wright, formerly of the BLP. Together, they formed the first five founding members of the party. The party membership is numbered in reference to the agents in the James Bond franchise, with Carew being listed as Member 001. Josephine Carew is listed as 002, as well as "M". Various membership nicknames are common throughout the party.

The Leader of the Party is also always the "Designate" of the Party: in effect the parties chosen candidate for the position of Prime Minister. The Leader is elected via a blind ballot by all of the Party Membership, and serves until either their removal or resignation. The Chair of the Party is the most senior, non-elected member of the Party, being decided by a majority vote of the Frontbench from candidates willing to take on the position. These two positions create the "Frontbench", or leadership of the party, alongside the two founding Members. Despite being permanent members of the party, the founders are not guaranteed to dominate party policy.

History

Leadership of The Baron Knightstone

For more on Thomas Carew, Baron Knightstone's tenure as Leader and as Prime Minister, see: Premiership of the Baron Knightstone.

Upon the foundation of the party, Thomas Carew became it's first ever Leader - effectively the party's lead designate for the position of Prime Minister. It was him who created the party branding, taking inspiration from the Griffin, a mythical creature which was a blend of the Lion and the Eagle. His wife, the Baroness Knightstone, served as the party's first ever chair, technically being the "party elder".

The Unionist Party secured an outright majority at the May 2024 General Election securing 5 out of 8 seats, along with the support of the Independent Candidate for York Central, James Forsyte. Carew was invited to form his second successive Government: he became the first Prime Minister to be in two different political parties during his tenure in 10 Downing Street. The other MPs for the Unionists were Owain Carew-Grey, Josephine Carew-Grey, Frederick Mountbatten-Urquhart and Patrick Maniar-Wright.

August Lleyton returned to the region and joined the Unionists as a former member of the Heron Party. He ran in the May 2024 By-Election following the resignation and retirement of Elio Somerset, 1st Viscount Salisbury, winning by acclamation. It boosted the Unionists to a 6/8 majority in the Commons, 7 out of 8 if including the Confidence-and-supply agreements. It marked the biggest Parliamentary majority since the BWP days, even bigger than the famous supermajority of the British Constitutionalist Party in May 2023. Sirch Somerset, Marquess of Lorne also became a member around this time, with the lucrative membership number of 007. He soon departed due to political constraints.

On the 28th May, Lord Knightstone announced he would be resigning as Leader at the next General Election; soon after, Chair of the Unionist Party Josephine Carew-Grey (Lady Knightstone) was elected unanimously as Leader-Elect.

Various polls during this time suggested a high level of popularity and trust in the Unionist Party: The Independent released a poll on the 20th June that showed 100% satisfaction with the party in Government, an increase on the 84.6% seen previously.

One logistical point to note is that across Knightstone's tenure he is referred to as both Lord Knightstone and Lord Sidmouth, having been elevated to Viscount Sidmouth in late June, towards the end of his Premiership. To avoid confusion, and considering the fact that his Premiership was more well-known by the name Knightstone, it remained as such, but he was listed as the Viscount Sidmouth for the last week he was Party Leader.

Leadership of The Baroness Wilton

For more on Josephine Carew-Grey, The Baroness Wilton's tenure as Leader and as Prime Minister, see: Premiership of the Baroness Wilton.

Josephine Carew-Grey, 1st Baroness Wilton assumed the role of Leader of the Unionist Party on 27 June 2024, just hours before the Writ was dropped for the July 2024 General Election.

In the July 2024 General Election, Lady Wilton and the Unionists dominantly maintained their position as the largest party in the commons, but could not secure a majority owing to the record-breaking number of candidates standing. As a result, a coalition was agreed upon between the Unionists and the recently-reformed British Workers' Party of Charles Wright and Sirch Somerset, 2nd Duke of York.

On 25 July 2024, Lady Wilton, as Leader of the Unionist Party, announced that her party in a tweet would host its second conference at Grand Brighton Hotel in East Sussex, England from 1 August 2024 to 4 August 2024. During the Party Conference, Lady Wilton announced her resignation as Party Leader and as Prime Minister, citing health reasons.

The subsequent election was controversial: The Duke of Warwick was put forward as the sensible candidate for replacing the outgoing PM, while Owain Carew-Grey, the Foreign Secretary, also announced his candidacy despite not being in Parliament. The former PM, Thomas Carew, also considered and sounded out the possibility to run as a placeholder PM until the next election, but ultimately chose not to pursue such an option. When voting opened, The Duke of Warwick recieved a majority, with Lady Wilton resigning at Buckingham Palace and recommending for sending the Duke before all votes had been cast, causing a crisis within the party. Subsequent and significant reforms were put in place by Lord Sidmouth, the Founder of the Party, but it did not stop several members leaving at the end of the term.

Leadership of The Duke of Warwick

For more on James Forsyte, The Duke of Warwick's tenure as Leader and as Prime Minister, see: Premiership of the Duke of Warwick.

The Duke of Warwick became the third Unionist Prime Minister and Party Leader, succeeding The Baroness Wilton on both accounts when he formed a Government on the 2 August 2024. Key departures from the party and resignations from Parliament ate into the once secure Unionist majority expected to return Forsyte to Downing Street during the anticipated August Election, though these resignations also secured the Unionists a complete majority within the House of Commons of 5 out of 8 seats. Nevertheless, the reformed Heron Party secured the membership of former Unionist figures such as Frederick Wright, Noa de Carteret, and most dramatically, Owain Carew-Grey, eldest son of the Unionists' founders.

Nevertheless, the August 2024 General Election saw a hung parliament between the two coalitions - a 5 strong Heron and Independent Coalition, while the Unionists formed a coalition with the left-wing parties to also secure 5 seats. Ultimately, neither Forsyte or his Heron counterpart, William Somerset, could agree on a way forward and as a result, a compromise candidate was to be found, this ultimately being Thomas Carew. He served as the fourth Unionist Prime Minister.

The Duke of Warwick, however, remained as Party Leader until the Third Unionist Party Conference on the 29 September 2024. He also served as First Secretary of State under Carew. Nevertheless, he decided to resign as Party Leader, and the party unanimously voted in August Carew, the then Chair of the Party, to succeed him. Incumbent PM, Thomas Carew, took over as Chairman.

Leadership of The Baron Calder

For more on August Carew, The Baron Calder's tenure as Leader and as Prime Minister, see: Premiership of the Baron Calder.

August Carew, The Baron Calder, became the fourth Unionist Leader, and the second to have served as both Chair and Leader. He remained as Leader during the tail-end of the First Sidmouth Premiership, before leading the party to victory at the October 2024 General Election, with two out of five seats and continued support from the British Workers' Party. However, the unexpectedly early nature of the aforementioned election, lack of time, and general bad luck meant that Lord Calder failed to consistently rally support during the term, with both of his Chancellors turning against him and losing support of the BWP, that had been in tandem with the Unionists since the days of Lady Wilton.

Exaserbated, Calder resigned as PM and for the first time since April 2024, the monarch appointed a PM who was not a member of the Unionist Party: Charles Wright (BWP), serving as caretaker during the election period in November. However, Calder remained a popular figure within the Unionist Party itself, with senior officials continuing to consider him the top prospect as a Prime Ministerial candidate in future. Neverthless, the Unionists supported the Conservative Party in the November 2024 General Election, resulting in another election victory, with the Conservative PM, Matthew Somerset, The Duke of Somerset, populating his cabinet with top Unionist figures such as all of the Carews (Josephine Carew returned from a hiatus of healthy recuperation in the Scottish Highlands to serve as Home Secretary). However, Somerset resigned a month into the term, and for the second time, Calder saw The Viscount Sidmouth (Thomas Carew) become Prime Minister.

Ideological Stance

The Unionist Party is a centrist organisation that follows various centrist principles, mostly influenced by the ideological factions within the party and its individual leadership. However, the party usually sits in the centre to centre-right of the political spectrum and takes a pragmatic approach to the affairs of the region, as inspired by its founders.

Thomas Carew advocated for a level of pragmatism and centrist ideology during his time in power; a small economic presence of the Government that nevertheless intervened when necessary. Carew in private labelled his philosophy as "Socialist Conservatism", advocating for Keynesian economic policy blended with the traditional, nationalised agenda of the postwar consensus when it came to uncompetitive industries. It was his successor and co-founder, Josephine Carew-Grey, that was most upfront about her specific vision for the party, in which she advocated for "Compassionate Conservatism" and brandished her thoughts in The Times, setting out the Unionist Progressive Framework.

Electoral Performance

Election	Leader	Votes		Seats			Position	Government
		No.	Share	No.	±	Share
May 2024 General Election	The Baron Knightstone	56	59.5%	5 / 8	5	62.5%	1st	Knightstone Premiership
May 2024 By-Election		-	-	6 / 8	1	75%	1st	Knightstone Premiership
July 2024 General Election	The Baroness Wilton	121	52.8%	5 / 11	1	45.4%	1st	Wilton Premiership
July 2024 By-Election		13	61.9%	6 / 11	1	55%	1st	Wilton Premiership
August 2024 By-Election	The Duke of Warwick	10	52.6%	5 / 8	1	62.5%	1st	Warwick Premiership
August 2024 General Election		39	30.5%	3 / 10	2	30%	2nd	Sidmouth Premiership
September 2024 By-Election		-	-	3 / 9	0	33.3%	2nd	Sidmouth Premiership
October 2024 General Election	The Baron Calder	-	-	2 / 5	1	40%	1st	Calder Premiership
November 2024 General Election		28	23.3%	2 / 7	0	28%	1st	3rd Somerset Premiership