Strathclyde

The People's Democratic Soviet Republic of Strathclyde, also known simply as Strathclyde and Soviet Strathclyde, is a communist nation on the island of Great Britain.

Origins
Strathclyde first formed as a political body shortly before the Roman conquest of Britain. Originally a small and unimportant Celtic kingdom, it grew rapidly under a series of great rulers to overtake most of Scotland, and many argue it eventually became the Scottish Kingdom.

Following the collapse of the world capitalist economy in December 2012, a period of anarchy ruled over much of the world. The small population of Scotland was nearly wiped out, leaving room for a new beginning. On 8 August 2013, General Mazur, in charge of a small band of Celtic nomads who had escaped the colapse of the economy, proclaimed the People's Democratic Soviet Republic of Strathclyde, a revolutionary state, at the ruins of Kilmarnock. Soon after, a communist government was elected.

Politics
The Strathclydian Constitution, adopted at independence, provides for a Grand Parliament be elected by the people, on the basis of one Delagate per five hundred persons or portion thereof. While military units are included in the total population, they do not recieve any votes. The Parliament has a fixed term of five years, but may be reelected indefinately. The Parliament also contains Delegates appointed by the President of the same proportion of population plus one. Therefore, the current Grand Parliament is comprised of fifty-seven delegates, twenty-eight elected directly by the people, and twenty-nine appointed by the President.

The President is elected seperately, and can only be elected from the party with the largest amount of popular vote. He rules until death or impeachment. Process for impeachment involves a petition of no less than half the total population being presented to the Grand Parliament, who must ratify the petition by a vote of more than two-thirds in favor. The President does not recieve a vote in Parliament, however, he does recieve a vote in case of a deadlock. He also has the sole power to propose legislation and to appoint the Executive Council from the members of Parliament. The President also has the power to declare martial law, but only by the majority vote of the Executive Cabinet. During a period of martial law, the Grand Parliament is disolved, and rule is vested solely in the President at the advice of the Executive Council.

The Executive Council consists of the following persons, who must be appointed from the Parliament (with the exception of the Minister of Defense), and who head the various Ministries or departmnets as denoted by their title:


 * Minister of Defense
 * Minister of Internal Security
 * Minister of Environmental Protection
 * Minister of the Economy
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Ambassador to the Communist Party of CyberNations
 * Head Justice of the Supreme Court

Various other rules and norms apply to the appointment of the Executive Council. The Minister of Defense must be appointed from the Strathclydian Armed Forces, and is to be appointed from Parliament if possible. The Minister of the Economy must be appointed from the Communist Party of Strathclyde, as must the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The position of Ambassador to the Communist Party of CyberNations may be filled by anyone, but is traditionally taken by the President himself.

Political Parties
Until recently, Strathclyde enforced no restrictions on political parties. After the events of the Heritage Crisis, however, the Christian Heritage Party was banned by Minister of Internal Security, Gerrald Josef Baker. The main political parties in Strathclyde are shown below, left-wing parties on the left, right-wing parties on the right.

Heritage Crisis
The Strathclydian Constitution, as it was originally adopted, declared that "All political parties shall be trated as equal and hold equal ability to enter the Government... no political faction shall be banned for any reason, unless that faction is unlawful by nature." Soon after the first elections, however, The Strathclydian Christian Heritage Party (SCHP) began directly challenging the Government, protecting the illegality of their doing so by demonstrating how it was sanctioned by their religion, and, as such, protected by the Constitution Articles 155 through 159, which protect freedom of religion. The Government, which has to this day maintained an Atheistic perspective, began passing laws that were proposed not by the President, but by the SCHP.

The President, seeing this as the problem it was, proposed a bill to Parliament which would have ammended the Constitution to disallow any political parties affiliated with a religious organization. When the motion was tabled, it was met with great hostility from the SCHP. The entire party vacated the Parliament Hall, and begin equiping its members with weapons. The Christian Liberty Militia was formed, and for a period of approximately one month the Militia fought a guerrila civil war against the Government of Strathclyde. The Minister of Internal Security, Gerrald Josef Baker, immediately declared the entire party a terrorist organization. During the war, mass killings were committed against the majority Druidist population. The last of the Militia was captured on 5 January 2014 at Glasgow Mound. Charged with Treason, Sedition, and Committing Terrorist Acts, the members were executed on 20 January.

Current Government
The current government of Strathclyde is represented below in two sections. The first lists the political parties, how many Delegates they have in the Parliament, and what percentage of the popular vote they recieved. The second section lists the President and the Executive Council and what political party they represent.

Parliament

 * Communist Party of Strathclyde, 38 Delegates, 32.1% of popular vote
 * Strathclydian Social Democratic Party, 5 Delegates, 17.9% of popular vote
 * Strathclydian Conservative Alliance, 5 Delegates, 17.8% of popular vote
 * Marxist Union, 3 Delegates, 10.4% of popular vote
 * National Party of Strathclyde, 3 Delegates, 10.2% of popular vote
 * Liberal Party of Strathclyde, 2 Delegates, 6.9% of popular vote
 * Scottish Capitalist Party, 1 Delegate, 3.5% of popular vote
 * Democratic Alternative, 0 Delegates, 1.2% of popular vote

President and Executive Council

 * President - General M Mazur (CPS)
 * Minister of Defense - Lt. Gen. Adam Muncy (SCA)
 * Minister of Internal Security - Gerrald Josef Baker (CPS)
 * Minister of Environmental Protection - Maud Ross (SSDP)
 * Minister of the Economy - Brakkas Brozny (CPS)
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs - Tyler Hewitt (SSDP)
 * Ambassador to the Communist Party of CyberNations - General M Mazur (CPS)
 * Head Justice of the Supreme Court - John Lannum (MU)

Ethnic Groups
Strathclyde was founded by roaming Celtic nomads who survived the collapse of the world economy in December 2012. To this day, the majority of the population is Celtic, though minority groups of British and Scandinavians do exist. Under the Strathclydian Constitution, all ethnicities are granted equal rights to live in Strathclyde and participate in Strathclydian society. Despite this, many Celts do discriminate against minority groups, citing the fact that the nation was founded as a Celtic state to justify their actions. Despite government attempts to curb such discrimination, it still continues to this day in Strathclyde.

Religion
The Strathclydian Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state, and grants every man, woman, and child the right to choose and practice their own faith. The government itself advocates atheism, but does not interfere in the individual practice of any faith, so long as said faith does not advocate hatred or harm towards others. The majority of the population is Druidist, but a significant portion of the population, around 30%, is  Christian.

Religious tension has recently become a large problem facing Strathclyde. Although initially citizens of all religions coexisted peacefully, the events of the Heritage Crisis led to increased tension between the Druidist and Christian populations. Today the Government of Strathclyde is attempting to encourage members of both religions, as well as others, to live together peacefully.