Harold Osborne

The Right Honourable Harold Osborne KC
Prime Minister of Esthursia
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 January 2015
Monarch	Arthur VI
Deputy	Elizabeth Grey
Preceded by	John Largan
Leader of the Social Democrats
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 January 2015
Preceded by	John Largan
Secretary of State for Health and Care
In office 23 January 2011 – 30 January 2015
Prime Minister	John Largan
Preceded by	Rosemary Manning
Succeeded by	Jeremy Wilson
Shadow Secretary of State for Working Rights
In office 17 June 2007 – 23 January 2011
Leader	John Largan
Preceded by	Jacob Newham-Smith
Succeeded by	William Gloucester
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Care
In office 17 June 2007 – 23 January 2011
Leader	Mark Willesden
Preceded by	Graham Jones
Succeeded by	Rosemary Manning
Baron for Brantley Newcaster
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 April 2006
Preceded by	Sir Edmund North
Minister for Brantley Greenhill
In office 16 October 1998 – 2 April 2006
Preceded by	Janine Marbury
Succeeded by	Richard Elmstead
Majority	28,789 (40.7%)
Personal details
Born	Harold James Osborne (1964-06-19) 19 June 1964 Brantley, Esthursia
Nationality	Esthursian (Osynstric)
Political party	Social Democrats
Spouse	Georgia Edwards (m. 1989)
Children	2, Adam and Emma
Residence	192 Llywellyn's Street
Alma mater	University of Sutton, City of Brantley (LLB)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Human rights lawyer

Harold Osborne (Harold James Osborne; born 19 June, 1964) has been the Prime Minister of Esthursia since 30 January 2015. Alongside his role as Prime Minister, Osborne also serves as the Leader of the Social Democrats and has represented Brantley South as a Baron since the 2006 Esthursian general election. He has also previously served as Secretary for Health under John Largan's administration, and in the Shadow Cabinet under Largan and Mark Willesden, having been seen as a rising star throughout the 2000s Harding era. His position as Shadow Secretary for Working Rights became unexpectedly important after the 2010 market crash and preceding industrial action, and he became a vocal critic of the Einarsson government.

Harold Osborne's leadership has been described as the "rebirth of socialism" by many of both his critics and supporters, despite Osborne describing himself as a "social democrat", and four of the six consecutive general election victories have occurred under Osborne's tenure, most recently in September 2022. The Social Democrats under Osborne have been in power for the longest consecutive term since the Liberals of the 1950s-1970s, and Osborne himself is the longest-serving Forethegn this century. His "pragmatic socialist" ideology has been described by critics as hands-off and opportunistic, but by supporters as flexible and electorally successful.

Early life

Osborne was born and grew up in suburban Brantley, in the north of Osynstry, and attended selective state schools for both primary and secondary, before staying within Brantley for university. It is known that Osborne joined the Social Democrats in his first year of university, after meeting with then-Prime Minister Edgar Heresparn.

Osborne studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Sutton, an Oakland Group university within five kilometres of his home borough.

Before politics

Osborne entered the field of work in 1986, when a law firm in Shefforth employed him as a junior solicitor. Although most of his work was low profile, he was involved in the National Trade Union vs William Greenwood case in 1988 when Greenwood was controversially acquitted of human rights abuses, in a case that the Conservatives were accused of jury tampering in and in which a majority verdict rather than a unanimous one had to be reached.

He had also entered journalism, working with the Daily Herald - a newspaper which would later endorse his leadership campaign and election campaign - and mainly focussing on working rights. Osborne disclosed in an article in 1991 that he had voted Social Democrat, and had done so since being eligible in November 1982.

Early political career

Osborne voted for John Largan to be Social Democrat leader in 1998, who lost to Mark Willesden. Remaining close to the Largan group, he began to maintain close contact with Largan throughout the noughties, earning him the nickname "second place's second hand man". Facing criticism for his remarks on Southerners "being a bit passive", he resigned as Shadow Redery member for 18 months before returning to his position. Osborne also voted alongside the 2006 coup on Mark Willesden, ending his tenure after two successive electoral defeats, and repeated his vote for John Largan.

Going on to serve in Largan's Redery, Osborne both ran the Health and Care (shortened to Care during Largan's government) and Working Rights rederies, with his position being "avidly followed by both moderates and hardliners", over his crucial position during the General Strike of 2010. After the January 2011 Esthursian general election, Osborne entered government in his old roles, and served over the expansion of the mental health budget, the opening of New Start and rehabilitation programmes, the start of the Social Care Service - which merged into the UHCS under Osborne's later tenure - and the codification of the right to secondary action.

Forethegn of the Union (2015-present)

Harold Osborne ran to become leader of the Social Democrats successfully in January 2015, following a no confidence vote in John Largan, and promised to "steer the party back to its ideological heartlands" - defeating hard-left candidate Wilbert White, and Third Way Willesden-era candidate Sophia Blackburn. Soon after, Osborne consolidated a deal with the Progressive Group - a former faction of the Social Democrats - to unite and appoint their leader, Jeremy Wilson, to become Chancellor - a role he stayed in for nearly eight years until his resignation on 3 October, 2022.