The Foreign Dispatch from Great Britain and Ireland



Autumn Edition
20th October 2006

Greetings to all the nations, regions, and readers of the world from the desks of the Foreign Office of His Majesty --Great Britain--, King of Great Britain and Ireland and all her Domains and Colonies. The Foreign Dispatch is written by Killtron, the Foreign Secretary of GB&I, with the assistance of His Majesty's Government, Members of Parliament, distinguished ambassadors and guests, and loyal British Citizens. Enjoy!

(A special thank you to NES!)

Recruitment drive!

A mass recruitment drive headed by the Home Secretary the Rt. Hon Posul has brought GB&I back to over 200 nations. Following the recent summer drought, the Home Office decided action was needed to bring the regional population back up again. A battle cry was sent out by Posul, who stressed in a superb speech the importance of recruitment to GB&I, and why efforts must be stepped up. Due to the collective work of recruiters and citizens alike, the regional population boomed to over 200 nations again.

The recruitment drive culminated in the efforts of Lethen and North East Somerset to hold a Recruitment Competition, which to date has recruited 28 nations directly according to the scoreboards. Posul and North East Somerset are the joint leaders of the scoreboard currently.


Posul uniting the region to recruit

But work has not stopped there, with the Home Office setting a new target of 250 nations; the population of the region continues to increase daily. Currently it stands at 216 nations.

Dual by-elections!

Due to a vacancy in Parliament a by-election was called to fill the position. But the sudden resignation of another MP meant two places where now free in Parliament. Due to the court's decision, it was seen that two elections should be held for each seat rather than one election for both. This was due to the first election being already called before the 2nd resignation came through, and the need to wait to see if a tie occurs and more than one member is elected by the first by-election, so the second one is not necessary. The first election did not tie so the second was also held.


A Citizen voting

This resulted in two elections with a very different set of results each. The first was won by Fenchurch with a clear majority. The second was closely fought with only one vote in it by the end, with the final result 11-10 resulting it a victory by Windsor-Bainbridge, GB&I’s Director at ACCEL, who has finally become an MP after several attempts at trying.

A General Election to determine GB&I’s future

A new general election was announced by Prime Minister Klopstock for the 24th October. Currently there are a total of 14 applicants for the nominal 11 places so far, though more may sign up.

Among the candidates all of the current Cabinet are standing: Klopstock, R3naissanc3r, Posul, Trividium, The Venerable Vendetta and Killtron. Also, both MPs elected in the by-elections are standing for re-election, along with two other MPs Allmark and Riddim. The other four are two newcomers to the electoral system, Schnecke and cjb, along with Lethen who has contested both by-elections, and North East Somerset, who hopes to make a return to parliament after becoming the longest serving MP last term.

Currently two candidates have signed up to become Prime Minister, although it is not mandatory to do so, and others can still stand for the position without applying. Killtron and R3naissanc3r have both pledged their candidacy, although Killtron has stated he is not absolutely sure about it yet. A poll in the House of Commons will determine who the Monarch will select as Prime Minister when the election is over.

Activity into the run up of this election is at a high not witnessed for many terms, with the Hustings full of Manifesto’s and discussions of the upcoming term heralded by many as a key period for GB&I’s future. We are looking forwards to the results greatly, of what looks to be an exciting, important and closely contested election.


The future of the empire hangs in the balance

Key issues under debate include that of the future of GB&I’s empire. Citizens are torn between abolishing it, reforming it, or continuing with current tactics. There have been suggestions for the empire to be changed, with the Military playing a key role in aggressive expansion, and the Foreign Office expanding the potential of Commonwealth Realms, to invite established regions to join with GB&I, and gain a place in our parliament. Others have valiantly defended the current system, declaring it just needs more resources.

The future of diplomacy has also been discussed, with many, including the Rt. Hon. Posul citing the need for an expansion of foreign relations, and the forging of new ties. North East Somerset has declared GB&I as a changing region in changing NS, and claims the need for a new expansionist Foreign policy remains at the front of the agenda. Others however are happy with the arrangements at the moment with a Foreign Office maintaining relations with many regions through ambassadors, and using the ACCEL as the primary physical relation with other regions.


From the good folks at Hansard


The Commons have been very active

The Parliament of GB&I has been full of activity lately with several important bills being finalised and others being discussed:

The Foreign Affairs Bill 2006 was brought before the House on September 17th, by Rt. Honourable R3naissanc3r. After concerns raised by the Duke of Northumbria, Westmorlandia about the previously planned Ambassadorial Affairs Amendment Bill. removed the consulates, and instead of adding two sections in the old Bill, the old Foreign Affairs Act 2005 is entirely dismantled and replaced with this new one, where no gap (repealed) sections exist. The bill was passed on September 20th unanimously.

The Empire Bill was brought to the House on September 8th, by Rt. Honourable R3naissanc3r, and was much debated by members of the Commons. It seeks to modify the manner and rules governing the admission of pre-existing regions to the empire in the form of Commonwealth Realms, with the aim of attracting new regions to join by providing a more acceptable framework in which to do so, including more regional autonomy over foreign policy, internal affairs, and to have their own military forces and conduct operations. Additionally such Commonwealth Realms, under the bill, would have assured representation in Parliament. It was passed on September 20th unanimously.

The Libel and Slander Bill was passed in the House of Lords on the 24th September, and was constructed by the Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford, Gililand. It was brought before the House on September 25th, by Rt. Honourable R3naissanc3r. The members of the Commons debated the bill, and with opposition from the Rt. Honourable Posul amongst others, it was decided that alterations should occur. The bill proposed strict guidelines on the punishment of those who slander, and was met by many as overly authoritarian.

The Slander Amendment Bill was brought before the Commons on October 5th, by Rt. Honourable R3naissanc3r. It left the definition of slander more to the discretion of the judge, as well as the level of punishment. Rather than creating a separate act, it altered The Public Order Act 2005 and The Criminal Law Act 2006 suitably. The bill was passed on the 8th October, and was not unanimous.

Discussion on The Intelligence Affairs Bill brought before the Commons on October 10th, by Rt. Honourable R3naissanc3r. It suggested the appointment of a Director by Cabinet. After intense debate it was brought for a second reading. This suggests a new Minister of Security appointed by the Prime Minister should deal with Intelligence and the Military. Discussion and debate continues, with a vote likely to be delayed to after the General Election.

RP Revolution

Due to a thread started by Home Secretary Posul, the level of role play activity in the region has taken off dramatically.


The figure of Posul's revolution

It was all started when Posul created a thread called 'Revolution in Posul,' where his nation was taken over by a fascist government. Many have since join in with him to create an on going story. Other RP threads such as the 'GB&I Football Tournament,' have also helped with this increase in activity.

It is hoped that activity in RP’s will continue to gain strength over the coming terms, and after a successful, but short lived WW1 Role-play, a niche may finally have been found, in regional nation role-playing.

Other Regional News

Activity in the forums is at an all time high as the forum post count passes 75,000 recently. As GB&I approaches is 2nd anniversary there is renewed vigour and optimism in the forums and with regional population growing fast there is good reason for the optimism.

The list of new Citizens also continues to grow daily, the following Britons have recently become Citizens:

Jackabee
Urstadge
Obana4
English Sympathizers
The President of Springfielden
cjb
The Royal Arsenal
Marak
British Londinium
Schnecke
Charlotenberg
Office Shredder
Black Castle
Colour Bearded Pirates
Survivors of Megiddo
Jack Sparrow

The appointment of Riddim as the UN Delegate for GB&I has resulted in renewed activity in the UN Affairs department, and the results of votes on the following resolutions are posted below:

For (7-3) Individual Working Freedoms
For (11-4) Clothing Supply Pact
For (11-0) Repeal Keep the World Disease-Free
For (7-1) Repeal Support Hemp Production
For (13-3) Outlaw Necrophilia
Against (9-2) Freedom of Assembly
For (8-4) Fair Sentencing Act
For (12-1) Repeal Establish UNWCC
Against (11-2) Marriage Protection Act

A number of new embassies have been granted showing GB&I's continual growing relationships with other regions. It is hoped we will continue to expand relations with a growing number of regions in the future.

Embassies granted include:

The DEN
Lazarus
The Lexicon
The New Inquisition
NeoPrussia
British Overseas Territory
Catlandopia
Federal Commonwealth Society Treaty Organisation
United Nations Socialist Party

The future of GB&I remains bright.

God Save the King!

Excellent update! :fonz:

It is a little old, but I will have a new one fairly soon. And thank you! ^_^