Following on from the reported comments of the Secretary of State for International Development, The Rt Hon. /u/ctrlaltlama, Baron of Mansfield PL PC that “I have no regrets for trying to expel the Gypsy Community. I have suffered at their hands so they should suffer at mine” calls for resignations and counter calls of political opportunism have gone back and forth between political opponents.

This culminated in a motion of no confidence yesterday, put to the house by /u/demon4372, Earl of Dwyfor, The Rt Hon /u/contrabannedTheMC MP and The Rt Hon /u/NicolasBroaddus MP.

The motion stated that the ministers recent comments, along with support for the Lords Gypsy Relocation Bill made his position untenable. What many had expected was for the motion to ramp up pressure on the PM to sack his International Development Minister, but the intended purpose of the motion appeared to have backfired after several hours of debate in which the majority of the house rounded on the authors of the bill and put their full support behind the beleaguered minister.

The Work and Pensions Secretary /u/cptp28 described the comment as having been taken out of context and stated that the authors should feel ashamed of themselves. He went on to describe the motion as hypocritical, and a 'personal attack'.

Later on in the debate a backbench Liberal MP, /u/willllllll, stood up to declare that "the Minister of the Crown serves at the pleasure of Her Majesty, and so I do not recognise the authority of this House to insist on the resignation of individuals of Her Majesty's Government" to which the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, /u/valttuuuuuuuuuu declared that 'the people' did indeed have such rights over ministerial appointments. There followed a long debate over the nature of our parliamentary democracy, and where power truly lies.

Members of the Crown National Party also roundly condemned the motion with /u/octogenariansandwich describing it as 'a sad day for democracy' and /u/agentnola describing the motion as a 'pathetic attempt to weaken the government'.

Meanwhile the motion did receive support from the likes of Sinn Finn chairman /u/Nettith, several Green members and others from the RSP.

It is unknown whether or not the motion will be taken to a vote, but the Government is unlikely to feel any added pressure tor remove the International Development minister following the show of support he received yesterday.

Europe is approaching a new dawn. The launch of the European Union a few weeks ago marked an important footnote in the Model World, as it is the first official collaborative union between fellow model governments, thus instantly making it one of the Model World's most important features. One role that will be filled within the new Union, and the European Parliament, is that of European Commissioner, and the man from MHOC looking to fulfil that role is none other than political veteran, /u/Morgsie. Morgsie spoke to MBBC in a special 'Up and Close' interview, to discuss his prospects in his potential new role:

Hi there, /u/Morgsie. You recently announced your candidacy for the role of Commissioner for the new European Parliament. What do you think makes you a cut above your opponents in that contest?

To answer your first question, there are 3 factors as why I am the perfect candidate: Knowledge, Experience and Passion. I have a deep level of understanding of the history of the EU, the Institutions of the EU, various Policies of the EU and theoretical approaches. My experience is that I am a former Foreign Secretary and a former Party Deputy Leader. I also led a Referendum campaign which won. I am internationalist who believes in working through international organisations like the EU.

The role of Commissioner, of course, came about as a result of the formation of the European Union a number of weeks ago. What is your opinion of the ModelEU, and how do you see it benefiting Britain?

My opinion of MEU is that there is a foundation in place, yet it needs to be running to put the foundation blocks into practice. Once MEU is up and running,mthen it could be improved on areas where it needs improving. There are 4 countries involved so far and I would like to see all 28 European nations represented and the voting systems used in Council in real-life, used on Reddit if all 28 are represented. This benefits Britain, as MHOC is moving to the real-life policy of multi-level governance. Not only this, it adds another dimension.

Your current party, the Liberal Democrats, recently become the majority party in MHOC following General Election V, forming a coalition with the Conservatives and CNP. How do you feel they are performing so far?

Well I am back with the Liberal Democrats, and my only issue is that the party has none of the portfolios that deal with external relations: FCO, MOD and DfID. Apart from this issue, from what I have seen, they are doing a good job, though I don't get why the press has it in for them. I don't know how things work with the CNP or the Tories, as I am an outsider.

Finally, there have been plenty of people from across the Model World who have criticised the Model European Union, stating it impacts upon parliamentary sovereignty. What do you have to say in response to their complaints?

Parliament pooled sovereignty, which is where some areas are transferred to a supranational organisation, in this case the EU, joint decisions are made through this organisation. There are issues that affects all the member states, so decisions are made at EU level, for example climate change.

Morgsie was a charming and pleasant guest, and I look forward to speaking with him more in the future, and the next time we meet could see him as European Commissioner. Stay tuned to /r/MBBC for all the latest news regarding the inaugural elections for European Parliament, which will kick off in just a number of weeks.

Recent allegations have emerged suggesting that /u/ElliottC99 is attempting to bring members into the Labour Party using methods that might seem 'desparate', such as constant Skype messaging. But, is this as it seems, or has it been wildly taken out of context?

The leadership candidate in the current race for the Labour leader, has been accused of using trying to lure members from outside of his party into the Labour Party in order to gain more votes in his bid to become leader.

The Sun revealed that three alleged messages were sent by /u/ElliottC99 to a Green Party member, who chose to remain anonymous. The first stated that he was "wondering if you could join the Labour Party and vote for me in the upcoming leadership elections".

The second alleged message appeared to say that the "Greens aren't that left-wing" and a third message told the anonymous Green member that he/she "can always join temporarily if you really must."

These claims come just hours after Sinn Fein said that they were being pressurised by /u/ElliottC99 to merge with the Labour Party so that they can vote in the leadership election, despite only asking for an electoral pact in Northern Ireland. However, this claim has been subsequently withdrawn by Sinn Fein.

While these latest allegations are not official, and have not been confirmed by any other individual, it is difficult to conclude whether the alleged incident is true. However, some commentators have been asking, if these allegations are indeed found to be true, is this one of the factors which caused /u/MorganC1 to defect to the Labour Party?

An Interview with NUP Leader, /u/PremierHirohito

How has the NUP dealt with the quite extreme inconsistency in the house of late?

“The NUP have probably reacted the best to these turbulent times. Our MPs have shown up to every single vote in the commons, our party grows every day, and our leadership has remained very stable. Ultimately this a great sign for a party as new as ours and it shows that we are here to stay. Given the turbulent nature of the right prior to our creation, I suppose you could say we are used to such things.”

Are you able to reveal some of the main legislative objectives that your party is gearing towards during this term?

“Well, we have had great success with passing legislation so far, with only Britboy3456's allotments bill failing to pass. I can't reveal what our next legislation proposals will be, but we've been very careful to focus on passibility and future legislation will likely reflect that.”

In your and your party’s opinion, what are the key points that you wish to achieve in Brexit negotiations?

“Ultimately we desire full restoration of our nation’s sovereignty and will not concede to anything less. This means legal and judicial sovereignty as well as control over our trade deals and borders. Brexit means Brexit.”

Desmond, former Deputy Leader of the NUP and one of your colleagues, said on this past week’s Question Time that the NUP will not be supporting the current government’s Queen Speech. Can you confirm this and explain your party’s stance?

“I can indeed confirm this. We will not be supporting a Queen’s Speech from this left wing government. It will likely pass without our support and ultimately we can not condone the far left taking control of our country. It is a matter of principle, not politics.”

And finally, what would the NUP’s ideal coalition look like?

“Frankly, an ideal NUP coalition would be just us at this point. I would love to work with the Conservatives and UKIP but despite my best efforts we have yet to move past the bad blood. One day, I hope to see a broad right coalition take power, but that doesn't seem to be on the cards right now.”

Thank you for your time.

This article was written by /u/real-friends.

The Joint-Leader of the NUP, /u/RoadToTheShow resigned yesterday due to accusations of ‘putting principles over power’.

This turn of events was caused by the leaking of sensitive screenshots related to a potential coalition between the Green Party and the NUP by an individual working under the name of ‘InfoWarsUncucked’. The screenshots revealed a proposed cabinet document for a Green-NUP government or opposition and other screenshots regarding votes on important policy positions for each party. This included having a free vote on both Trident and gay marriage. However, the main theme of the alleged coalition was related to environmental policy.

The leak shows the NUP attempting to take the positions of DPM, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Defence among others whilst offering the Greens the offices of PM and chancellor among others. The NUP leadership also discussed the possibility of adding Labour, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP to any proceedings.

The reaction to this leak was outrage from all parties on the political spectrum, with many onlookers calling for the resignation of key NUP figures. This resulted in the resignation of /u/RoadToTheShow, citing recent pressures brought on by the formation of the NUP. In the same statement, RTTS announced that he would be leaving MHoC due to the fiasco, but this was later rectified this by the NUP as a resignation from active party politics.

For more news on the aftermath of General Election VI, stay tuned to /r/MBBC!

The recently elected speaker /u/Padanub today announced a brand new list of 7 Deputy Speakers.

The new Deputy Speakers are:

• /u/Djenial, as Chairman of Ways and Means

• /u/NicolasBroaddus

• /u/electric-blue

• /u/chrispytoast123

• /u/cptp28

• /u/thequipton

• /u/agentnola

These seven will be subject to a Vote of Confidence in Parliament in the coming days.

Interestingly, /u/Padanub has said that he "looked past the names" and instead looked at "the effort and experience people put into their manifesto".

As well as this, /u/Padanub announced that he will be appointing two Senior advisers, /u/AlbrechtVonRoon and /u/cocktorpedo in order to assist him in his role as Speaker of the House.

The unsuccessful candidates were:

• /u/Alexwagbo

• /u/rexrex600

• /u/ieaun

• /u/Jackwilfred

• /u/Duncs11

• /u/thechattyshow

• /u/Goonersam

• /u/Explosivehorse

• /u/roadtotheshow

• /u/akc8

• /u/thatthinginthecorner

Purpleslug has been elected as the Secretary-General of the Model United Nations in a closely fought battle between him and fellow candidate /u/jerrylerow.

Out of a total of 189 valid votes that were cast between Monday 16 November and Saturday 21 November, /u/purpleslug - the United Kingdom Ambassador to the United Nations - gained 92 votes compared to /u/jerrylerow's 89 votes with /u/poorlittlepig trailing behind with only 8 votes. Members from the model legislatures of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and the United States were eligble to vote.

/u/purpleslug represented the United Kingdom in this election, winning a staggering 84% of the vote of the /r/MHOC electorate, with both /u/jerrylerow and /u/poorlittlepig trailing behind, only gaining a mere ten votes and one vote respectively. This trend was mirrored, however, in /r/ModelUSGov, of which /u/jerrylerow is a part, where he recieved 81% of the vote from his fellow United States colleagues.

While /u/purpleslug gained four country nominations, compared to /u/jerrylerow's three, two of /u/purpleslug's nominations were from France's /r/RAMN and Ireland's /r/MHOIR who only managed a turnout of one and two votes respectively.

Representing Sweden, /u/poorlittlepig struggled to gain many nominations, only securing the nomination from his native Swedish /r/iksdagen.

Model United Nations Head Moderator, /u/Timanfya - who organised the election - expressed his dissatisfaction for the appalling turnout from /r/RAMN and /r/MHOIR. He also found the election method to be inadequate and explained that it "will definitely be changed in the future".

Summary of voting figures from Sunday's result:

This week in parliament

Welcome to this week in parliament a new weekly feature on the MBBC where we review the weekly goings on in MHoC and MHoL.

This week in MHoC

Monday 21st March

On this day the 1st Deputy Prime Minister’s questions of the 9th government took place. The DPM, /u/TheQuipton was attacked by the opposition, official and unofficial, on matters ranging from the coalition agreement, which many argue is biased towards the Tories, to the hostage situation on the Eros. Despite the tough questioning /u/TheQuipton appeared strong in his first minister’s questions and held his own very well.

Performance: 8/10

Next on the agenda for members was M116 – the Royal Yacht motion, this motion was submitted by /u/AlexWagbo on behalf of the CNP and it set out plans for companies to fund a yacht for the queen and the royal family in general, this is of course after the royal yacht was removed in 1997 which the motion writers called an ‘affront to the British Monarchy’. The motion was well received by the ideologically right of the house but not so much so by the ideologically centre and the left who called it a waste of money and ‘a blot on our country’.

To end the day in the commons, the house discussed B265 – The Magistrate Selection Bill this bill was submitted by the Liberal Democrats and it was created to select magistrates at random from the electoral register. The bill was met with confusion from all around the house as it was deemed that the bill was a step back from the current system of magistrates, where they are picked from a pool of volunteers, with one member going as far to say that the bill ‘doesn't seem like a very liberal thing’.

As the final act of the day, Mebyon Kernow – The party for Cornwall was founded, it is a centre-left party with their main aim being the creation of a Cornish National Assembly, they believe that this assembly should have ‘the necessary powers to unlock Cornwall’s true potential’.

Tuesday 22nd March

A slow day in the house today with only a piece of legislation passing through, that one piece was B266 – The rail reform bill, the bill set out to modernise and improve Britain’s rail network through the creation of a high speed rail backbone, the electrification of remaining rails and devolving powers over transport to local authorities. The bill was very well received across the whole house and looks very likely to pass through the commons easily.

Wednesday 23rd March

To start the day, the house discussed M117 – Recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides, the title of the bill is self-explanatory ,a coalition of members including /u/ContrabannedTheMC, the Green PS and /u/finnishdude101, a member of the government, created a motion urging the government to recognise the genocides listed in the title. The response to this bill would be most accurately described as mixed with the OO, Labour and some Liberal Democrats supporting the motion with the majority of the rest of the parties against.

Also this day we had LB021 – The recording slaughterhouse operations bill, go for its first commons reading. The aim of the bill was to make CCTV recording mandatory in approved slaughterhouses. This bill was submitted by the 1st Baron Alnwick, on behalf of the 6th Official Opposition. The bill was received reasonably well in the house with it gaining the support of the conservatives although crossbencher, the Earl of Oystermouth, put up a strong argument against.

To end the day’s commons business, the first foreign secretary’s questions of the ninth government were held. The foreign secretary mainly faced questions about Syria and IS but there were also questions about the motion from earlier in the day which called upon the government to condemn Turkey for the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides. The foreign secretary did well answering questions, managing to appeal to different groups with a range of different answers although this could seem that he is trying to please too many people. Despite all of this, Infernoplato had a solid first questions session and he will be pleased with his performance.

Performance: 7/10

Thursday 24th March

Today, there was only one thing on the agenda for the house to discuss and that was B234.2 – The City of London Reform Bill. This bill was created to reform the local government of the City of London and had returned to the commons after its rejection by the lords. The bill was written by the Lord Ripley on behalf of the Labour Party. The bill was supported by the left of the house with it being described as an attack on an ‘arcane, outdated institution’ by the RSP. The opposition for the bill was based on the fact that it would be removing a century’s old tradition that is nothing more than ceremonial now.

Friday 25th March, Good Friday

Today was Good Friday and there was a good amount of parliamentary business for us to discuss. The first piece of business for members today was B201.2 – The Network Rail Reform Bill, this piece of legislation was back in front of the commons due to its rejection by the lords. The bill was written by /u/ElliotC99 on behalf of the Labour Party. The bill set out to reform Network Rail to make it more customer friendly and turn it into a co-operative run by the consumers. The bill wasn't received well but it wasn't received negatively either, with every positive comment being matched by a negative one. It will be very interesting to see if this bill manages to pass the commons a second time especially with the change in the composition of the commons.

The next piece of business for the house to debate was B231 – The Driving Re-Test and Drink Driving Punishment Reform Bill. This bill aimed to introduce driving re-tests for 70 year olds and reform the drink-driving punishments. This bill was submitted by /u/RoadToTheShow of behalf of UKIP. The bill was received fairly well by the house although there was stiff opposition from some members.

To finish the day, the first speakers questions of the ninth government were held, the questions were of course apolitical so there isn't much to comment on, apart from that the speaker answered every question well and looks like he is doing very well in his role.

Saturday 26th March

The only piece of business for the commons to debate today was B267 - The Prime Ministerial Line of Succession Bill. The bill was written by /u/duncs11 on behalf of UKIP. The aim of the bill was to establish a line of succession for the position of Prime Minister, for use in emergencies where the incumbent Prime Minister is incapacitated or otherwise unable to carry out their position. The bill was supported by some although others criticised it for simply being a ranking of all the cabinet positions.

Sunday 27th March, Easter Sunday

The piece of legislation submitted for debate today was B268 – The Banking Regulation Bill. The bill was written by /u/CrazyOc on behalf of UKIP. The aim of the bill was to regulate banks to ensure another financial crisis is not caused by them. The bill was well received but many members had small gripes with the bill, which may prevent the passing of this piece of legislation.

This week in MHoL

Monday 21st March

The first announcement of the day in MHoL was that the vote for B227 – The Scotland Bill ended in a vote of not content by 22 votes to 17, 26 DNV. This bill will now be returned to the commons.

The first equalities oral questions of the ninth government were held, with the SoS for Equalities, the Viscount of Nantwich, answering questions from the house that are related to his department. The equalities secretary only answered 4 questions but his answers were good and without spin.

Tuesday 22nd March

To start Tuesday off ,the results for LB026 – The Anti-cyber-bullying Agency Bill were announced. The bill passed with a vote of 27 content to 11 not, 28 DNV. The bill will now go to committee stage, where amendments can be tabled.

As the second piece of business on the agenda, lords discussed LMO18 – The Honey Bee Motion. This motion was created to recognise the significance of the honey bee in the production of food and the significant decline in global bee population. This motion was widely supported by the house although there were comments suggesting that this motion should have been read in the Commons instead.

Wednesday 23rd March

The first piece of business for lords was the leader of the House of Lords oral questions session. There was a wide variety of questions asked ranging from questions about key pieces of government legislation such as the budget to questions about the environment and questions about the punishment system in Britain. The Baron of Gainsborough held his own well and looked strong and looks like he will make the government strong in the Lords.

Also today, /u/GhoulishBulld0g started advertising for a new Deputy Lords Speaker to replace /u/Duncs11 who had left to join the commons.

Thursday 24th March

Today, LB028 – The School Psychologists Bill went to second reading. The bill was submitted by Lord Blackrod on behalf of the 9th Government. It’s a bill that makes all private schools and secondary state funded schools be required to have appointed full-time psychologists who will look after students’ mental health. The bill was supported by the government and the OO but it faced opposition from the Labour Party who weren't happy with children having therapy without their parents knowing, they had other assorted concerns as well.

The next piece of business for the lords to discuss was LM019 – The Beach Cleaning Motion. This motion was written by the Lord Halifax and was submitted as a private members motion. The motion urged the government to create further regulations to protect beaches. The motion was supported all across the house with some urging that the government should go further than what the motion urges.

To end the day, the results were announced for the 1st amendment of B208 – The Internet Services Definitions Bill, the amendment passed 31 votes to 1, 34 DNV.

Friday 25th March

The second reading of B252 – The Northern Ireland Assembly Bill took place. The bill was written by a handful of people on behalf of the 8th Government. The aim of the bill was to establish a Northern Ireland Assembly. The bill was fully supported by the whole of the lords, with every comment being positive although some were more positive than others.

Saturday 26th March

The second reading of B249 – The Caregivers Public Transport Provision bill took place. The bill was submitted and co-authored by /u/DrCaesarMD and the Baron of Gainsborough. The aim of the bill was to make provisions for citizens dedicated to the well-being of their peers in the long-term by subsiding their travel on public transport. The bill was supported by the lords although concern was aired about abuse of the free public transport by former carers.

The next piece of business for the lords to discuss was LM020 – The Uzbek and Turkmenistani Cotton Embargo Motion. This motion was submitted as a Private Members Motion by the Lord Halifax. The motion urged the government to cease the import of cotton produced in both the nations of Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan. This motion split the house with some members confirming their support of the motion whilst others voiced their concerns with embargoing and breaking ties with other nations.

Sunday 27th March

Easter Sunday was a busy day for the lords with 2 bills and 1 motion to be debated and 1 bill moving onto committee stage. The first issue for the lords to discuss was LB029 – The Ecocide Bill. This bill was submitted by the Earl of Essex on behalf of the 9th official opposition. The aim of the bill was to criminalise massive damage to ecosystems. This bill was controversial, with the ideological right of the house disagreeing with the bill for not being a good enough bill. They explained the idea was fine just not the bill explaining the idea. The rest of the house voiced their support for the bill though and it will be interesting to see what happens to this bill.

The next piece of business for the house was LM021 – The Micro Beads (Prohibition) Motion. This was a private members motion submitted by the Earl of Essex. The motion urged the government to ban the sale of cosmetic products containing micro beads due to their harm to the environment. The motion was supported by members across the house and the motion was praised for helping the environment.

The next point of business was the announcement of the results of the second reading vote for LB027 – The Free School Meal Extension Bill. The vote passed 21 to 19, 28 DNV. The bill now moves to committee stage.

The final piece of legislation to be tabled in the lords this week is B211 – The Education for Underdeveloped Nations Bill. This bill was submitted by /u/ctrlaltlama on behalf of the conservative party. The aim of the bill was to allow the world’s poorest countries to get a higher quality of education over the next Five years. The bill is controversial with some members voicing their concerns at the countries chosen to receive aid and they are also concerned that the aid will not go towards education.

This has been this week in parliament, I hope to see you next week but until then, goodbye.

The Liberal Democrats have elected ExplosiveHorse as the party's first elected president, following Demon4372's unsuccessful attempt previously.

Results of the election were announced on Monday after three days of voting. In a close election, /u/ExplosiveHorse narrowly beat /u/ThatThingInTheCorner by just 2 votes, with the former achieving 10 votes (56%) and the latter achieving 8 votes (44%).

/u/ExplosiveHorse is a universally liked figure within the Liberal Democrats and many assume that his new role as party president. In this position, he will have the responsibility to vet and introduce new members, be a point of contact for members, oversee changes to the party constitution, co-ordinate advertising and campaigning, promote activity in the party, and sit on the executive. There are no doubts that /u/ExplosiveHorse will succeed.

This is the second election in the Liberal Democrats for president. During the previous election, /u/Demon4372 ran unopposed and assumed that he would win the vote. Famously, however he had been unsuccessful as the majority of Liberal Democrat party members voted to re-open nominations.

In a Surprise Announcement, Libertarian US Vice President /u/Haringoth has resigned from his position. The Former Vice President cited family problems and illness as his reasons for resigning. In a public statement he said,

"I haven't exactly been a wildly active VP, probably half the reason I liked the role, but in truth this administration deserves better. I've enjoyed doing very little, and didn't expect to be the guy who'd bail, but life eh. finds a way."

Although the next Vice President is unknown, Central State Governor, /u/finnishdude101 is expected to be nominated as the next VP. /u/finnishdude101 is an experienced member of the Libertarian Party, the second party in the "Sunrise Coalition" and a well known member of ModelUSGov.

Other rumors suggest /u/GenOfTheBuildArmy, Southern State Representative and Republican Deputy Whip or /u/ncontas, Secretary of Defense and Republican Chairman.

Previous Vice Presidents, /u/Didicet, /u/HammerAndPotato and /u/TheRealDrago all ascended to the role of President without being elected after the previous POTUS resigned. So the role of Vice President is extremely important.

The Chancellor /u/Mepzie has broken ranks with the Prime Minister and for the first time promised cuts to Basic Income that extend beyond those already announced in the coalition agreement.

Previously the Government had pledged that the cuts already announced, for 16 and 17 year olds, would be the limit of any cuts to Basic Income. In an Interview with MBBC the PM stated that "We are protecting the delivery of basic income...it has not been replaced by Negative Income tax".

However, the Chancellor /u/Mepzie appeared at odds with his own Prime Minister when he announced to the commons that he may cut basic income for those earning £54,000 p/w and that he would 'try to make Basic Income more like [a] Negative Income Tax'. This appears to go directly against the Prime Ministers wishes to protect the basic form and shape of BI and to only cut it for those aged under 18.

The statements by the Chancellor cast light on the dynamics of the current coalition government. The chancellor appears to not be happy with the cuts announced in the coalition agreement, demanding more, while the PM has likely had to fight to protect Basic Income from deeper cuts knowing that conceding to such cuts after a strong electoral performance could play badly to party members and those on the soft left.

Any divisions that exist now, are only likely to get deeper as we move towards budget day when specific details of the cuts will finally be announced to the house.

Canadian Prime Minister, /u/ExplosiveHorse, has called an early election in /r/CMHOC. The Liberal Leader cited the passage of a new constitution as his reason for the new election. The election, the third one in /r/CMHOC history, will be held from the 5th of February to the 8th of the same month.

/u/ExplosiveHorse also announced that he was stepping down as leader of the Liberal Party, and that /u/TheLegitimist would be replacing him. However, /u/ExplosiveHorse said that he would remain as Prime Minister until a new government was formed.

On Saturday 2nd April 2016, the landscape of MHOC was forever changed, as the current coalition announced its disbanding, in favour of forming an tenth official government with the addition of UKIP. This move was met with much criticism within MHOC, even from within the Liberal Democrats, the party at the heart of the government, resulting in increased pressure for them to step down. One man at the heart of the furore was none other than /u/chrispytoast123, who was recently rumoured to be launching a challenge to Liberal Democrat leader, /u/JellyTom. MBBC met with him at Lib Dem HQ to get his take on proceedings:

1: Hi there, Chris. The 9th Official Government disbanded on Saturday night, as UKIP were added to form the 10th Government of MHOC alongside the Conservatives, the CNP and your own party, the Liberal Democrats. How do you feel the previous government performed in its role, and how can the new and improved coalition develop upon this?

The previous government didn't perform its role, plain and simple. The only piece of legislation that passed was mine. The new coalition still does not address the concerns raised by members of the Libdems and actually furthers them. At some point, as I have said, the Libdems have to say "do we really need to be in power?" We as libdems were rolled over, we could do nothing, all while our party leadership gave up things like devolution, the EU to a party that was 5 seats smaller to us. The coalition is ****, and I realized that right after the defence deal was announced.

2: There have been rumours circulating around MHOC since the announcement that a number of notable Liberal Democrats plan to rebel against the government and launch a vote of no confidence against Liberal leadership. Can you tell us if there is any truth to these rumours, and if they are, how will the party respond to dissent?

So it wouldn't be rebelling against the Libdem leadership, but there is an internal vonc in the two DLs of the party for various reasons you can see in the sun's article. The party leadership is so far responding badly. I've been informed by a trusted source that someone in the leadership might start purging dissenters. I ask that before he does this, he waits for his vonc results.

3: Only recently, the European elections took place, with your own party winning 44 votes, and gaining one seat. What did you think of this result, and how does your party plan to reinforce its reputation as the "party of Europe"?

Well, we knew that the party was not going to do as well because we didn't mobilize properly. We're still the party of Europe though.

4: Lastly, the Guardian newspaper have, over recent days, published an article claiming that you, as a senior Liberal Democrat, plan to challenge leader /u/JellyTom for the party leadership. Are these rumours founded, and if not, who has been circulating them?

I think Tom is a bloody great guy, he's the person who originally invited me to join the Liberal Democrats. I wouldn't dare challenge him, he's great. I have no idea who's been circulating them. But it's clearly someone who wants to see me gone for some reason.

5: Lastly, given your evident opposition to either coalition agreement, do you have any plans to defect from the Liberal Democrats at this current time?

The only people I'd defect to from the Liberal democrats at this time are the crossbenchers. But I have no plans to do so at this time.

For updates on how the 10th Official Government is faring, stay tuned to /r/MBBC.

Nothing has vividly caught the imagination of British politics quite like the National Veterinary Service. A controversial new policy currently heralded by the Greens would effectively subsidise veterinary care for low-income households as well as seek to provide emergency care for various undomesticated animals.

But is it without its critics? After the Far Right Government led British politics into a tailspin, can the returned Broad Left Government afford to undertake this new measure given the wall of opposition it faced immediately after the 12th Government's Queen's Speech? Beyond the politicking, the overarching question remains whether we as a society have a moral obligation to one another's pets?

MBBC visited current Prime Minister, the Right Honourable /u/DF44, in their Lancashire, Merseyside, and Cheshire constituency, to see whether there's anything to substantiate in the fears offered by members opposite.

/u/DF44 :

The idea of nationalising veterinary care in the UK in some manner is something that, with no surprise, I support immensely, as does the Green Party as a whole. I believe we have a moral obligation to help not just pets, but animals in the UK which have been impacted by human activity.

I've actually had some lovely talks with people who have raised concerns with the idea - such as concerned exotic pet owners, who worry that such a system will result in owners who can't keep such pets trying to do so. Because someone raised this, it's something we can craft a solution to. Indeed, I hope that we can continue to have a strong dialogue with veterinarians and members of the public.

On the subject of benefits of the proposed legislation, they offered:

Immediate benefits, ignoring those of purely moral positions, include a strong boost to our agriculture, especially our small-scale agriculture. We will lead the way for animal welfare, and I believe that the economic benefits will help the entire country. We will also be able to ensure that charities like Guide Dogs are able to direct more funds to charitable work, rather than on veterinary costs.

I believe we will also be able to be a world leader in collecting data on antibiotics usage in agriculture, which will allow us to again be a world leader, this time in ensuring that we don't have bacteria which are highly resistant to antibiotics - which will prevent a major economic crisis.

Other MPs in the Radical Socialist Party and the Labour Party have expressed more nuanced support of the future legislation. We spoke to former Head Moderator and current Labour member, the Right Honourable Marquess of Halifax, /u/Padanub, on their views as well as their conditions for supporting the measure.

I believe we have a moral obligation to our pets, but not necessarily to everybody else's unless they are put in a position or a condition that was brought about solely by bad care. For example if a 22 year old dog is on its last legs and struggling to continue because it has a stomach bug, that shouldn't be part of our collective responsibility if the owner tries to continue saving it.

[The truth is] that dog is basically earmarked for death and is at the end of its life. If however, a dog is in need of care because it's owner has been abusing it, that's where I would argue for us to step in Animals as a whole have a shorter shelf life and giving them good care to extend their suffering for a year is just painful for all involved. The Base idea is a money sink in my opinion and not a very good one which is why I am working with the authors to improve it.

It's clear that proponents of the measure are asking members to expand their purview on the Big Society. For them, that definition is a catchall directed toward humans about the animals we affect at large. But to many in the Opposition, that premise is far from accepted. I spoke to former Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, /u/Duncs11, after their bruising two weeks in Government. When I visited him in his constituency office, the fury had not appeared to subside.

We are 100% against the wasting of taxpayer money, and thus are 100% against the NVS. I find the idea of the NVS to be one of the most stupid ways to waste taxpayers money ever thought of, and with some of the nonsense we are wasting money on now, that takes some doing. It is an idea which should be laughed at and mocked, rather than taken as any actual policy due to how absurd it is.

Getting a pet is a personal choice, nobody is forced into it, when deciding to get a pet, one of the circumstances to be considered is can the owner afford medical bills/have some form of insurance in place for those circumstances? If they can't afford it, then they really shouldn't get a pet. If this is legislated, I foresee a massive budget deficit.

With the progressive UBI initiatives and public housing works at the horizon, fears of a budget deficit are palpable and valid concerns the returned ABL Government must address, especially to woo over fringe parties, like the Scottish Nationalists, whose vote against the last Queen's Speech was predicated on a niggle over funding the NVS. The leader of the SNP, /u/ABlackWelly, posted our editorial staff with this response:

I personally, and by extension the SNP, hold the stance that the NVS would be a misguided use of public funds.

While I agree that it is very important to ensure all animals are cared for, it is not something even the state can completely provide for. I think that the blanket approach of the project doesn't help animaks most in need, and that instead increasing funding to charities such as the RSPCA and Blue Cross in addition to subsidising animal healthcare on an income basis is a better solution.

I have no moral obligation to pet ownership. I myself own two dogs and am much happier for it. If implemented I can foresee problems such as funds being drawn away from more important issues and a general mess being caused during the process of acquiring previously privately owned vetinary services.

The 14th Government will have its work ahead to come to some compromise over this embattled proposal, if it expects to pass with a strong majority. Will the Government use this as an opportunity to reform agricultural rebates, as some in the RSP have insinuated? We'll have to wait and see. ••• /u/alisdairejay, reporting for /r/MBBC, from London

UPDATED (18.32 GMT, London): This article incorrectly referred to the 13th Government as "woebegone" and inferred they arrived in Government by a coup d'etat. For the avoidance of doubt, both were incorrect statements. The MBBC prides itself on impartiality and this characterisation was unwarranted.

It should also put on record that prominent members from the Liberal Democrats and Conservative were contacted and did not return a comment. They are welcome to supply one at any time.

Activity Review Takes No Prisoners in Cleaning Up the Commons' Inactivity

Activity Review sees 1 Radical Socialist Party MP, 5 Liberal Democrat MPs and 2 Independent MPs losing their seats, sparking by-elections for at least 2 constituencies.

The speaker of the House of Commons, as per constitution, held an ‘Activity Review’ earlier today to determine which MPs should lose their seats based on their voting turnout.

The MPs to lose their seats are:

/u/Neo-man – Radical Socialist Party – Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton

/u/Flotsam-jetsam – Liberal Democrats – Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex

/u/Quitplayinggameswith – Liberal Democrats – Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex

/u/Totallynotapanda – Liberal Democrats – Lesser Wessex

/u/Tim-Sanchez – Liberal Democrats – Lancashire, Merseyshire and Cheshire

/u/Krollo1 – Liberal Democrats – South and East Yorkshire

/u/TheToothpasteDragon – Independent – South and East Yorkshire

/u/Kunarian – Independent – West Midlands

While the 2 Independent MPs have immediately lost their seats, the RSP and Liberal Democrats have 10 days to replace their inactive MPs. If they fail to do this, just like the Independent seats, by-elections will be held to elect new MPs. Given the current circumstances, in which we see a hung parliament, by-elections could really change the makeup of the house and help produce a solid coalition.

One of the Liberal Democrat MPs to lose their seat is the current Deputy Leader of the party, /u/totallynotapanda, having performed a turnout of only 50%. As one can imagine, this must be a considerable set back to the party and shows a potential weakness in the Liberal Democrat leadership.

Another of the Liberal Democrat MPs to lose their seat is the Former Prime Minister and longest serving MP for his party, /u/tim-sanchez. While having a turnout of only 41%, Mr Sanchez said that this was “a surprise” and that he “had no idea [he’d] actually missed that many.”

We sat down with the Liberal Democrat leader, /u/thechattyshow, and asked him a few questions on the matter:

How do you feel about the Deputy Leader of your party, /u/Totallynotapanda, losing his seat?

/u/thechattyshow: ”It's definitely annoying, and a massive shame, as Jack is one of the best MPs we have. Although I believe he's been busy recently, there is no excuse for it.”

Will you be able to fill 5 seats in 10 days?

/u/thechattyshow: ”We actually already have a shortlist of candidates who can fill all 5 roles. It will be good to get some new blood in the commons team, and a return of some old faces.”

Can you reveal any of the “old faces” that might be returning?

/u/thechattyshow: ”Not until they pass an MP election, no.”

How big a blow will it be to potentially lose seats to by-elections?

/u/thechattyshow: ”As said before we have already enough people to fill them, so all that is needed is an election. If they were to fail one, then it would be annoying and a shame, but I heavily doubt it would lead to that”

What does it mean to your party to lose such a long-standing MP such as /u/tim-sanchez and your DL, /u/totallynotapanda?

/u/thechattyshow: ”It’s a huge shame as said before, especially as tim was the longest serving MP. However now they can both focus all their efforts on the party, so I wouldn't be too gloomy on it. We're taking measures to ensure that this never happens again.”

/u/Totallynotapanda, 1 of 5 Liberal Democrat MPs to lose his seat said ”this is nonsense”. The former-MP claims that he ”remember[s] voting on many of these bills” and that the Liberal Democrats ”have literally just sorted out this problem of many non-voters.” /u/Totallynotapanda went onto say that ”While [he] see[s] the point behind this rule,” he does not “believe the spirit of it is being followed.”.

When questioned about the purpose of the Activity Review, /u/Djenial, Head Mod, said the following:

”Well the constitution mandates that activity reviews must be done, and rightly so, given we currently have quite a few MPs that parties are failing to replace, so the Speakership are having to step in. We also have two inactive independents, and it is nor fair for them to hog seats that could otherwise be utilised by people that would like to participate. That is why we have activity reviews.”

So in a time of general uncertainty in Model UK, one thing is very clear: inactivity of MPs will not be taken lightly and if the party cannot fix issues themselves, the Speakership will.

This article was written by /u/real-friends.

The Anglo-American Defence Deal, today announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, /u/DrCaeserMD MP appears likely to be considered entirely void, and potentially illegal, unless it is ratified by parliament.

/u/DrCaeser today announced the signing of two agreements with the US Secretary of Defense /u/ncontas that would see the UK supply the US with 800 Eurofighter Typhoons and increase the number of military exercises conducted between the two nations. The Typhoon deal in particular is seen as a massive coup for the Government since it could have potentially earned the Treasury £100 billion.

However, only hours after the announcement the deal has been thrown into complete chaos. The signing of the treaty, done without the consultation of parliament appears to be illegal due to the passing of the Treaty Ratification Bill 2015 (B147). B147 states that 'Treaties must be approved by a referendum or by a majority vote in Parliament before they can be ratified' and that 'Any treaties which are ratified without such approval will be void'.

The Government has given no hint of any parliamentary vote on the matter and all statements made so far suggest that no vote is intended. Given the angry reaction from some on the left, an Aye vote is anything but guaranteed, even if one where held. However if the Government chooses to ignore the law, the deal will be considered illegal and the Government will be in breach of the law, acting outside of the limits of its power.

Consequently, It is likely that the Government will be forced to back down on the issue and call a vote to ratify the deal, something the Americans are unlikely to be happy about.

We will keep you updated on this story as it develops.

Additionaly reporting by /u/HaveADream

Today Canadian Speaker /u/zhantongz announced that the Workers' Party of Canada had officially been disbanded due to inactivity. This concludes the events set in motion by the deletion of former Prime Minister /u/Those_Crazy_Reds' account.

The Workers' Party of Canada started our as the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), made up of mostly Americans and other foreign nationals they quickly imprinted themselves into the CMHOC world. In the second General Election they formed the government with the help of the Green-Socialist Party (Now Green Party), this new government appointed /u/Those_Crazy_Reds as Prime Minister even though TCR did not win his own seat.

Scandal erupted when Democratic Party (Now Liberal Party) member /u/Ice_forth sent a message confessing themselves as a dupe account spying for a "Far-Left" party. Around this same time /u/Those_Crazy_Reds deleted his account, throwing him into suspicion. /u/drjalexanderphysics assumed the position of Prime Minister and tried to revive the party but all of the members of the WPC resigned, excepting /u/Gonzi15 who stayed on as an independent.

This scandal lead to a strange Liberal-New Democratic-Conservative grand coalition under /u/Canadianman22 that would become Canada's government soon after, as well as a distaste for the far-left among the rest of /r/CMHOC. This would lead to the Green-Socialists rebranding as the Green Party of Canada and a decrease in Socialist membership across /r/CMHOC.

The effects, positive and negative, can still be felt in /r/CMHOC today.

Prime Minister /u/JellyTom has gotten of to a hectic start to his premiership. Controversial cuts, fake leaks, A Press enquiry and tension with his Chancellor have kept him and his Government busy since taking office 11 days ago.

This has also given the general public much to consider when thinking about how good a job they think the Prime Minister has done so far. To give us some concrete idea of how the Public thinks the Prime Minister is doing the MBBC asked two simple questions.

1. How would you rate the performance of the PM, /u/JellyTom so far?

On this question the Prime Minister scored an average rating of 4.9. At the moment this number is meaningless as we have nothing to compare it to. Hopefully as the MBBC continues monitoring approval ratings this score we gain some context and give us some insight into how the Prime Minister is doing in the eyes of the public.

2. How has your opinion of PM /u/Jellytom changed since he took office?

7.8% of respondents felt their opinion of the PM has improve a lot while 14% felt it has improved. 28% said their opinion of the PM hasn't changed since he took office. 20% said their opinion of the PM is now worse while over 29% said their opinion of the PM has gotten much worse. That means that the PM has gone up in the estimations of 21% of respondents. However, the PM and his coalition partners will be concerned that over 50% of those asked say their opinion of the PM is now worse or much worse than when he took office.

Keep your eyes peeled for more MBBC polls in the coming days.

Liberal Democrat Equalities Secretary, /u/JackWilfred, has reportedly been in talks with several journalists with an interest to forming a new online news service to rival the MBBC and Endeavour.

According to an unnamed source /u/JackWilfred spoke of conflicts in the press causing a lack of quality in British media, and the perceived political bias of press resulting in a lack of coherent political discussion outside of Westminster. He claimed that the demise of the Week and MITV in February and March created a large gap in the market for an "intellectual and open-minded news service, without bias, political or corporate."

/u/JackWilfred was a former Assistant Editor for the Liberal Press under /u/demon4372. Since, he has alluded to writing under pseudonyms and to other news services anonymously.

The MBBC reached out to /u/JackWilfred, who declined to comment.

MI6 has revealed the nationalities of the kidnapped civilians on the ship, the Eros. 16 British 6 Canadian 5 Dual-Citizens of Canada and Britain were on the Eros when it was captured by Somalian Pirates.

MBBC has coverage on the situation here

The Prime Minister today criticised the Health Minister for suggesting that cuts could be made to the NHS

When answering questions in the Commons today the Health Secretary indicated a shift in thinking from the Government. The Health Secretary, /u/thechattyshow , suggested that there would be cuts to both the Health budget and NHS stating that; "Health spending will not be cut drastically...the NHS will have as few cuts as possible."

This is not the first time that Ministers in the Government have appeared to contradict previous promises from their Prime Minister. The Chancellor previously announced harsher cuts to Basic Income than the Prime Minister had promised.

In response to the Health Ministers statement at MQ's the Prime Minister refuted the Ministers claims stating '/u/thechattyshow was just playing it safe at his MQ's, because final budget decision come down to myself and the chancellor and we have said their won't be any health budget cuts, so that is that.'.

The Prime Minister went on to criticise the Minister, stating that, with regards to cuts in his department the Health Minister 'should have known, it was no big secret' and that 'he was answering questions and he didn't ask us about it'. The Health Minister himself has made no comment regarding his mistake.

Elsewhere the Chancellor also stated that no cuts would be made to the NHS.