Hurfordia
| |
| Flag of Hurfordia | |
| Motto: "It's good to be free, but don't take liberties" | |
| Region | |
|---|---|
| Capital | Hurfordia |
| Official Language(s) | English (Official), French, Latin, Gaelic |
| Government | |
| Population | |
| Currency | Hurfy |
| NS Sunset XML | |
History
The origin of the Comonwealth of Hurfordia is to be found in the signing of the Treaty of Hurfordia in 1800. Named for an obscure industrial town on the borders of the Republic of Attica and the Kingdom of New Devon, the Treaty began life as a simple free-trade agreement between two local powers. Over the next fifty years, the neighbouring states of Erin, Les Iles, and Italica were drawn in by the promise of trade with what was rapidly becoming a major market.
Geography
Regions
The Commonwealth is divided into ten Counties, each of which retains a certain degree of autonomy. This harks back to the original ten states which combined to form the Commonwealth (see above). Each County elects it's own local assembly which governs matters of immediate interest to the inhabitants. Power is also devolved to the Counties in relation to internal trade, low-level taxation, and education, although all local matters are subject to the overall control of the National Government.
The list of Counties, and a brief description of each follows;
Attica; The most central County, and the location of the offically separate Hurfordia Capital District. The County Capital is Marathon. Attica was founded by broadly English speaking settlers, but received from it's founders a profoundly Athenian feel. The people of Attica pride themselves on their direct particpation in local government. Uniquely in the Commonwealth, Attica has a unicameral legislature, and no Governor. The Governor's role is filled by the Basileus, who is selected at random from the electoral roll for a one-month term.
New Devon; The County Capital, Kingstown, is the location of the Commonwealth's oldest and most prestigious University, the University College of Kingstown. A heavily industrialised County
Erin; Originally founded by Irish immigrants, Corcaigh is the smallest of the mainland Counties. Frequently at odds with central government, the County has made attempts to seceed in the past, and a majority of the population still use Gaelic as their first language. The region itself has suffered from under-investment in recent years, and is one of the poorest Counties. It is, however, one of the most beautiful regions in the Commonwealth. The County Capital is Tara.
Italica;
Ile D'Or;
The Western Marches; The Western Marches are not officially a County. Rather, they are a Military Occupation Zone. As a result, military law is generally enforced, although there is an Assembly which represents the few civilians. The Marches also send a delegation to the Senate, who may debate and contribute to decisions, but cannot vote.
Government
Government at a national level is divided between the Senate, the Assembly and the First Minister.
Assembly members are elected by single transferrable vote in each constituency. At present, there are 500 members, although this varies depending on population growth.
Senate members are selected by the County Assemblies, with 10 representing each county.
Political Parties
Although there are a number of independent parties at County and District level, the majority of members of the assorted assemblies are drawn from one of the main parties.
Social Democratic Party Centre-left, loosely socialist ruling party (230 Assembly seats, 28 Senate seats).
Liberal Party, Centrist (103, 13)
New Republic Party Centre-Right, nationalist (69, 5)
Unionist Party Centrist, nationalist (30, 2)
Worker's Rights Party Leftist, moderate Marxist (43, 1)
Green Party, Leftist, ecological (5, 1)
Hurfordian National Party Far-right, extreme nationalist (2, 0)
