VOLG'S OUT: 2011 elections during 2000AD's Invasion
We have thirty-one known parties and former resistance groups running right now, nobody has time for that so we'll stick with the significant ones:
True Democracy Party: A name that makes you think someone's up to something. They are. Rusty O'Dell is a violent (i.e. to non-Volgans) conspiracy theorist who talks up "Skull-and-Bones helped the Volgan Party to power for arms-race money". However, she's the most prominent and organised left-wing resistance figure and the Tolpuddle Martyrs were at London in Lib Day. Likely to win on the back of rants against American occupation and "drones in the sky" even though she's still committed to allowing US bases for realpolitik her partisans won't allow anyone else. 'Heir to Livinstone'. Yay.
Labour Party: Many a great Labour figure was killed or interned during the occupation, but those that made it to Ireland are back now with... Chris Williamson. Oh no. The name "Labour" still has some weight but god, it's clear these guys have been out of the UK (what are we calling that now Charlie has abdicated anyway??) for twelve years. Still seem to be terrified the Great Satan Neil Kinnock is going to come back. Mostly talking the same as TrueD but badly.
Scotland Now Party: They are not, I repeat, not just the political wing of the Laddies. They just have some Laddies in them but we're all peaceful now. We want Scotland independent by peaceful means and have totally not monstered other nationalists into submission from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. "Big Ger" Cafferty and his crew have no real chance of government and that's probably his hope, conflict is better for business. If that does mean conflict with Glasglow's Scottish Independence Party, oh crap.
Union of Britain Party: All the "prominent" Tory and DUP people who made it to Canada when the bombs fell. Like Labour, they now talk like tourists trying to seem 'hip' to our lingo. The advantage they've got is they were part of the government-in-exile in all the early broadcasts made by King Charlie to here. The other advantage is definitely not American cash, I bet. Rachel Johnson has a TV newsreader's practiced calm, which makes her seem sane when she talks about taking us back to 1992.
British People's Party: They want to take us back to 1933, and not our 1933. Yaxley-Lennon isn't the only resistance soldier turned party leader and not the only younger leader, but he got set up first and put his appeal directly at angry young lads. And there's a lot of them about when six months of independence still has us on rations and American drones. I'd worry if he buddied up with the UBP except they really do reject "some useless toffs", and the only thing worse than them unified is if it's the BPP that's the main right-wing oppo in government. Hellllp.
Ummar Party: Neither from the rebels nor the exiles, this is one of the groups formed out of religious groups that passively resisted. While the Christian ones, the British Saints and the Anglican Underground, have been bleeding to other groups, the Ummar's mosque-based and got more community connections (and unlike their Jewish and Hindu versions, are big). Getting very chummy with the UBP now, we may be seeing a conservative block with them - coincidentally after that "anonymous tip" and "evidence" that got "Yer Man" Rahman banged up so he won't be running for MP.
Mersey Party: Two months ago this still looked like it'd go red but the Mersey Party are coming up fast. A lot of people in Liverpool are more into free-trade than they used to be because for eleven years of Volgan rule, their ports were the key line of trade with neutral shipping. They got used to (relative) money and they'd like to keep this second age of trade wealth going, and the Mersey Party promises to fight their corner. With the election such a mess, a dedicated party with eight seats (that's what they're looking at) could have a good hand with the incoming coalition government. But I am not looking froward to saying "the MP MPs".
Irish Reunification Party: I included them just because North Americans won't stop asking. Catherine Seeley leads what's left of the republicans after the Volgans shot most of them, the rest fled to the Republic and were absorbed, and the youth of NI grew up caring more Volgs Out. No chance.