Liberal Party of Yurnsk
| |
| Party Leader | Nikolai Denisov |
| Headquarters | 1 Ivins Avenue, Rengrad |
| Political ideology | Liberalism, 'Yurnsk Radicalism' |
| Political position | Centrist |
| Founded | 1598 |
| Colours | Yellow |
| Party president | Sergei Fet |
| Motto | Real Change, Real Future, Real Freedom |
The Liberal Party is a liberal political party in Yurnsk formed in 1598 as a counter of the dominant Democratic Conservative Union.
The Liberals are the third largest party in Yurnsk returning 48 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons and 11 Lords are seated as Liberals; they are behind both the and Democratic Conservative Union in the Lords and Commons respectively. The party is led by Nikolai Denisov (elected by party members in 1998) and it's president is Sergei Fet.
History
The party began as a new liberal party offering opposition to the power of land-owners, displaying solidarity to workers, seeking to promote democracy through universal suffrage and introduced a basic system of social security still in place today. The party formed numerous governments throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th Century.
With the rise of the Workers' Party and the election of successive left-wing Workers' party government the party lost its original ground as the party of the left in the 19th Century. Into the turning of the 20th Century the Liberals looked as though they lacked relevance in the political environment. For four decades the party was unable to fully agree on policies and many expected the party to dissolve.However by the 1940s, and following election of Ivan Egrit as party leader, the party clearly found a home in the centre ground. Under Egrit the party offered a liberal stance on social and economic issues with the motto of the party simply being 'Freedom'. He also began to develop what he termed 'Radicalism' - numerous constitutional reforms.
From 1953 to 1959 Egrit formed the last Liberal government, formed due to corruption in the Democratic Conservative Union and an openly socialist Workers' Party leaving neither with the usually high levels of support. Breaking with decades of Union government, Egrit began a period of 'consolidation' with the Empire, dramatically cut defence spending, began plans for a Federal Government, introduced a Human Rights Act, introduced the Religious Reform Act (which doubled tax on religious institutions of the state) and ended government intervention in economics.
The 1959 election saw no clear winner and many expected the Liberals to join into a coalition with either the Workers or the Democratic Conservative Union. Egrit refused to 'prop up' either party and the subsequent election saw a landslide for the Democratic Conservative Union who branded Egrit's government as 'immoral' for heavily taxing churches.
Up to today the party has been regulated to the position of third, sometimes fourth, party. The party has since been unable to pierce through the first-past-the-post system of election, the moving of the Democratic Conservative Union to the centre-right has attracted many Liberals and left-leaning Liberals began to place greater trust in a more mature Workers' Party.
The Liberal Party today is led by Nikolai Denisov who continues the stance of classic liberalism in the party. The party advocates greater constitutional reform (a string of policies it terms 'Radicalism'), namely; joining the United Nations, creation of a Federal state and the introduction of proportional representation in general elections. Liberals generally stand for a much more liberal approach to social politics and removal of the Church's influence over social policy. Additionally, the party still advocates the stance of economic freedom although recently, in a policy pioneered by Sergei Fet, the party now supports numerous environmental regulations much stronger than any other party. As such, the party is now seen as liberal, centrist, Radical and environmentalist.
