Conservative People's Party (Hverland)

A Union for Conservatism stéttarfélags til verndarhyggju
Founded	1961
Headquarters	Lé Bouchard Building Brichard
Ideology	Conservatism Social conservatism Right-libertarianism Laissez-faire Fiscal conservatism
Political position	Right-wing
Colours	Red
Seats in the Síðari	198 / 500
Ward Governorships	4 / 10
Ward Legislative Seats	370 / 1,000
Election symbol
AUfC
Website
http://www.aufc.party.phx
Political parties

A Union for Conservatism (Pharexian: stéttarfélags til verndarhyggju), also referred to as A Union for Conservatives, or The Union, (commonly abbreviated as AUfC), is a major political party in the Democratic States of Pharexia. It was established as the merger of the Liberal Democrats and the Ilyçisian Unity Party in 1961. The party self identifies as right-wing, and holds many economic and social politics that align with standard conservative and Ilyçisian principles. It advocates for a strong military, religious expression, ethical morality, and a free market economy.

There have been 7 Conservative prime ministers and 5 Conservative presidents of Pharexia, the most from any one political party. As of 2019, AUfC controls the presidency and leads the governmental coalition in both houses of the Síðari. It controls 4 ward governorships, a majority of ward premiers, and 3 ward trifectas (governorship, premiership, and ward legislative chamber), the only party except the Science Party to control more than one branch of any ward government.

History

Ward Governorships held by AUfC

Political Positions

Economics

The Conservative Party believes that “free markets and individual achievement are the primary factors behind economic prosperity”. They advocate the reduction of state-run welfare programs in favor of private sector nonprofits and encouraging personal responsibility. The AUfC advocates the theory of supply side economics, which holds that lower tax rates increase economic growth. Most oppose higher tax rates for higher earners, which they believe are unfairly targeted at those who create jobs and wealth. They believe private spending is more efficient than government spending. They also believe the private sector is more effective in helping the poor through charity than government is through welfare programs, and that social assistance programs often cause government dependency. Most agree there should be some "safety net" to assist the less fortunate, but significantly limiting it as to encourage employment and reduce abuse. They have generally been opposed by labor union organizations and members. Each Pharexian ward has devolved "right-to-work" laws that have been used by some to weaken unions. The party opposes increasing in the national minimum wage but "respects each ward's right to increase [it]". They oppose a government-run healthcare scheme.

Wards' Rights

Ideologically, AUfC typically supports a smaller federal government. Historically, this translated into keeping power in the hands of ward legislatures, as in the cases of civil rights, regulations on marriage, and mapping of voting districts. However, in recent years, the party has introduced federal legislation to override state laws with respect to abortion, marijuana, and physician-assisted suicide.

Social Policies

AUfC is strongly associated with social conservative policies. They advocate for laws that uphold Ilyçisian values, such as opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion, and marijuana. Most conservatives also oppose gun control and affirmative action.

Abortion

Currently, all of the party's national and ward candidates are pro-life and oppose abortion on religious and/or moral grounds. However, several hold exceptions in the case of the mother's life being at risk. When the Síðari voted on the Right to Life Act in 2019, all 198 Conservative parliamentarians supported it.

Although Conservatives have voted for increases in government funding of scientific research, most members actively oppose the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research beyond the original lines because it involves the destruction of human embryos, while arguing for applying research money into adult stem cell or amniotic stem cell research. It has also proposed a ban of in-vitro fertilisation.

The text of the 2015 party manifesto specifically stated that "the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed." It also referenced the stance of the Church of Pharexia, which explicitly opposes abortion in most circumstances. The manifesto spoke also about the party's opposition using public revenues to promote or perform abortions.

More recently, the party has proposed a ban of in-vitro fertilisation.

Family

Prime minister Aemilia Signý Argyris speaking at a family advocacy event in Clayp Thines.

The party strongly promotes itself as a pro-family party and encourage married couples to have more children. Prior to the 2015 elections, it promised to build 100,000 inexpensive housing units as a way to help young couples start a family. Once in government, it passed legislation lengthening parental leaves.

In 2017, the Conservative government announced the so-called "1000" program under which all parents residing in Pharexia receive an unconditional monthly payment of 1000 sherbornes for each second and subsequent child. It also revived the idea of a housing gram based on state-supported construction of inexpensive housing units. In 2018, the party's parliamentarians passed a law that bans most retail trade on Sundays so that workers can spend more time with their families.

Conservatives strongly oppose comprehensive sex education in public and private schools.

LGBT

The party opposes granting additional rights to homosexual people beyond what is afforded by current legislation. In particular, it opposes same-sex marriages or any other form of legal recognition of same-sex couples. Party leaders—as well as many prominent party members—have condemned homosexuality, and a 2014 survey found that over 80% of party members believe homosexuality is wrong. When marriage became a devolved issue in 1979, many Conservatives let go of their opposition to it. However, after the Church of Pharexia declared "homosexual marriage [to be] incompatible with Ilyçisian values" in 2001, the Conservatives in the Pharexian legislature, in coalition with other smaller parties, swiftly abolished the practice and the annulled existing same-sex marriage certificates across the country.

Conservatives believe ward legislatures should have the right to criminalize "offensive sexual behavior", including homosexual sex. The party opposes pornography, believing it to be "a destructive element of society resulting in significant and real emotional, physical, spiritual and financial costs to individuals, families, and communities," and distinguishable from the Pharexian citizen's right to free speech.

Guns

Conservatives generally support gun ownership rights and oppose laws regulating guns and other related topic areas such as bump stocks and large-capacity magazines. However, in response to the 2018 mass shooting in Brichard, some Conservatives have begun to call for more restrictions.

Economy

Conservatives strongly believe that free markets and individual achievement are the primary factors behind economic prosperity. To this end, they advocate in favor of laissez-faire economics, fiscal conservatism, and eliminating government run welfare programs in favor of private sector nonprofits and encouraging personal responsibility.

A leading economic theory advocated by modern Conservatives is supply side economics. Many consider the income tax system to be inherently inefficient and oppose graduated tax rates, which they believe are unfairly targeted at those who create jobs and wealth. They also believe private spending is usually more efficient than government spending. Conservatives generally oppose the estate tax.

Most Conservatives agree there should be a "safety net" to assist the less fortunate; however, they tend to believe the private sector is more effective in helping the poor than government is; as a result, Republicans support giving government grants to private charitable organizations (including faith-based organizations) to supplant welfare spending. Cosnervatives also believe that limits on eligibility and benefits must be in place to ensure that the safety net is not abused. The Conservative government passed welfare reform in 2015, which limited eligibility for welfare, successfully allowing many former welfare recipients to find jobs.

Quorum

The Conservatives hold a retentionist position on the Quorum (the upper body of the Legislature), meaning they support its continued existence and, according to the party's 2014 election manifesto, "[We] value the importance of religion in the legislative process". While several party members have expressed support for allowing other faiths to be represented in the body, the majority support its current structure where members are appointed by the ecclesiastical leaders of the Church of Pharexia.