Esthursia

United Democratic Kingdom of Osynstry and Cymbreland Teyrnas Deg Unedig Yr Ocynstri a Cymbria
Flag
Motto: Y Cwymp Gwan The Weak Fall
Osynstry, upon the West of Auroria.
Status	Constitutional monarchy, personal union
Capital and largest city	Athersbury 40°15'N, 96°34'E
Official languages	Osynstric, Cymbrish
Recognised national languages	Osynstric, Cymbrish
Religion (416CE (Osynstry), 490CE (Cymbreland))	Church of Athersism
Demonym(s)	Osynstric
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• High King	Llywellyn IV
• Prime Minister	Jeremy Wilson (2016-, OWP)
• Deputy Prime Minister	Sir Oswald Harewood (2020-, OWP)
• Cyntaf Gweinidog af Cymbria	Dafydd af Gwynydd (2020-, OWP)
• Speaker of the Senate	George Aylesbury (2019-, OWP)
• Speaker of the House	Harold Skipbern (2013-, SLP)
• Chief Whip of the Ruling Party	Charles Leytonsey (2016-, OWP)
Formation of Osynstry  72 BCE
• Proclamation of the Osynstric Union	January 17, 926
• Republic of Osynstry	1284-1376
• Act of Senate	December 29, 1376
• Devolution Act of Cymbria and the West	May 16, 1928
Area
•	687,396 km2 (265,405 sq mi)Includes rivers and water
Population
• 2020 estimate	146,401,800
• 2015 census	141,383,609
• Density	212.98/km2 (551.6/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	10.0646 trillion IBU
• Per capita	68,746.93 IBU
Gini (2019)	19.1 low
HDI (2019)	0.949 very high
Currency	Osynstric pound sterling (£) (OPS)
Time zone	UTC+6, +7 (OWWT, OEWT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+7, +8 (OWST, OEST)
	First Sunday of March - First Sunday of October
Date format	CE
Driving side	left
Calling code	+44
Internet TLD	.oy

Osynstry, officially the The United Democratic Kingdom of Osynstry and Cymbreland (Cymbrish: Teyrnas Deg Unedig Yr Ocynstri a Cymbria), is a large, highly developed and fairly populous sovereign state in the west of Auroria. It is bordered by the Athersbury Sea to the east, and Great Central Ocean to the west - sharing no territorial borders with other nations.

Osynstry has a long history of infighting and cultural wars, however has gained a reputation over the following centuries as a centre for peaceful negotiation, democracy and the freedom of speech. As a result of this relative peace, Osynstry's borders have not changed over the past 1,100 years after the Union of Cymbria and Osynstry in 926, and the shape has become recognisable to any Osynstric native. The nation is renouned for its rich culture, its varied climate which makes it a destination of tourist interest in both summer and winter, and its place in the world stage as an ardent defender of human rights worldwide.

Etymology

Osynstry is derived from the Old Lower Osynstric "Asynctria" - meaning "synchronised state". This is due to the fact that from a relatively primitive time, Osynstry functioned as a federalised, or localised state under one King. Cymbria is derived from the Cymbric "cwm" - meaning valley - which reflects the terrain that the capital, Yr Gwynydd, resides within.

History

1970s and 1980s (1977-1993)

Charlotte Greenwood of the Conservative Party won by a relative landslide in 1985, after the resignation of the Former Prime Minister who had served the maximum of two consecutive terms. This gave her the jurisdiction to carry out her populist conservative ideals - nicknaming her the "Milk Snatcher" for temporarily abolishing milk for primary school children until the House demanded it was replaced. She was partly responsible for the economic crisis of 1988-1989, which would later spell the end to her Prime Ministry - despite relatively positive approval ratings before the crisis - and would "turn her into the mad, fraudulent person she became in following years". 59 Conservative MHs resigned in protest to her regime in January 1987.

After the election of 1989, Harold Grantham won his first landslide, as voters gave him the mandate to "fix the crisis". He did so immediately - by beginning to borrow from the banks, a problem that would later lead to the 2013 Black Monday crisis and end the consensus he had began - and the economy began to recover into the early 1990s. As he was far more youthful than Greenwood, he was known as the "Peoples' Grantham". He resided over the success of Robert Atkinston, who became known as "Mister Plum" in the early 1990s and was known for his antics and easily recognisable Osynstric accent - a charade that has remained to this day. Atkinston would later become a public speaker on behalf of the Social Liberal Party.

As unemployment fell dramatically, Grantham began repairing the welfare state and healthcare that Greenwood had "ripped to shreds". Meanwhile, the average wage of people went up dramatically, and Osynstry became known on the world stage for its relative prosperity, as the rest of the developed world began to stagnate post-industrially (albeit that Osynstry's North grew slower in the 60s to 80s). Prime Minister Grantham would fix the issue of Osynstry's sluggish North by creating more agricultural and technological jobs up in these regions, as lifespan topped 80 and average income hugely increased with the catch-up of Northern regions. The Pollution Act of 1992 was passed prior to the March 1993 elections, to demand the protection of "peoples' lungs in urban areas", an Act that would finally fully be adhered by 1996.

Post-Greenwood Consensus (1993-2013)

After the landslide in favour of Harold Grantham in the spring of 1993, the Elder Council demanded Greenwood's resignation on May 19, 1993 - the first usage of the Elder Council in this context for over a century. After initial refusals, the Elders threatened to render the Conservative Party as unlawful and dissolve it forcibly - a move of which Harold Grantham promised to approve in the Senate and the House - Greenwood resigned on June 9, 1993. She was to be the final Conservative Prime Minister, and left her party in a civil war that it remains in today. The Conservatives would also have their reputation tarnished, and struggle to this day to shrug off this incident. King Llywelyn would be revered as a liberal statesman for his role in demanding her removal, and prominent figures that participated included future Prime Minister Anthony Black.

Birth rates, which had been "unsustainable" - said Harold Grantham himself - began to pick up again, as the economy recovered from a 5% recession in 1993 - nicknamed the "Elders' Crash". With unemployment in the millions and the welfare state struggling to cope, Grantham announced the New Plan for Osynstry, which re-nationalised much of the industry Greenwood had earlier privatised, cancelled debt with foreign nations, and demanded employers created new jobs. Although the last would at first prove to be unsustainable, Grantham became once again popular during the mid-90s when the economy improved considerably.

In 1994, Cymbreland held a referendum for its own Assembly - named the Senedd - and approved it by a 74%-26% verdict. With Conservatives and Nationals calling it "a further harness holding our nation back with endless red tape", Cymbreland gained its Senedd in 1995, and voted in the Cymbria Party in a landslide. It would be the 2020 Election that would finally deprive the Cymbria Party of this role, 25 years on.

The 1997 election was nicknamed "the mandatory transfer". With Grantham resigning and the Athersic Democrats under the now former Prime Minister Nicholas Oakland ahead in the polls, it seemed inevitable that Oakland would win a landslide, which he indeed did do - albeit more subdued than the wins of Grantham in 1989 and 1993.

Nicholas Oakland, defying the old Conservative MHs from the Greenwood Conservative Party who joined after the crash of the Conservatives in the early 90s, demanded the "rightful protection of the peoples' assets and welfare state". This would be the defining moment of the post-Greenwood consensus, which Anthony Black would also stand by in following years.

The 1990s and 2000s were defined as a period of relative prosperity, with employment at a near-all time high, and with most parties getting very well along. Foreign leaders often called Osynstry a one-party state, as the parties were often so similar in ideology. This began the start of the 25 year old Jeremy Wilson's Osynstric Workers' Party in 2009 - just years before the beginning of the economic crisis.

Black Monday, the Sterling and Anthony Black (2013-2016)

On April 1, 2013, the Athersbury Stock Exchange fell 6 points in just a few minutes of opening in the morning - reflecting local tensions. This economic crisis shaved 3% of the pound sterling's value, and precipitated a period known as the "Liberal Stagnation". With Anthony Black attempting to solve the problem through subsidising the banks' recovery, prominent voices from both sides of the political spectrum voiced their concerns and demands for this expenditure to be cut and stopped, and instead spent on the millions of jobs at risk.

Although the Osynstric economy never fell into recession - only contracting modestly for the Q2 2013 - it stagnated for four years, despite a growing population, contrasting greatly with the 20 years of relative prosperity since the early 1990s. Anthony Black popularly opposed austerity, but instead borrowed billions of sterlings, leaving the currency in a bubble that burst in August - nicknamed "Black's Credit Crunch" - and leaving Anthony Black in a power struggle as his approval rating declined and the Social Liberals seeked to remove him from power.

At the time, Anthony Black was criticised for his potentially wasteful levels of spending on both welfare and the banks, he is now credited for the ability to keep Osynstry out of recession for the entirety of the crisis, and for repairing the economy. However, due to a mix of bad timing, his confidence declining and hard campaigning by the Osynstric Workers' Party leader Jeremy Wilson, he lost the 2016 election. Jeremy Wilson's promise of "a stable economy, free university and jobs, jobs, jobs" appeared to wash well with a country in crisis, and in turn, Wilson won a plurality in the House and a slim, working majority in the Senate.

Despite the economic turmoil during this period, it was the crisis that brought tourism over to Osynstry. Anthony Black's "open the borders" remark, and the pound sterling falling - leading foreigners to be able to purchase far more for their currency, with the pound reaching a low of £1.59 - led to Osynstry becoming the ideal location to go on holiday and spend their money. Anthony Black, although unpopular for the economic crisis, was revered as a figurehead for democratic institutions, for the post-Greenwood consensus in politics, for stereotypical Osynstric charisma.

Wilson and Post-Liberalism (2016-2025)

After his election victory in 2016, Wilson set about reforming the country without delay. In September, he entered a legal battle with the Supreme Courts, demanding that they suspend conservative justice Liam Richardson for his involvement in the Greenwood scandals - a decision that passed a month later without objection. After appointing the socialist justice Charles Goose - the whole affair became nicknamed "the wild Goose chase" as a result - the Supreme Court was now a majority socialist court, and would co-operate extensively in future years.

Wilson became known for his parliamentary antics, being known to fall asleep in the Senate on repeated occasions and for loudly proclaiming "Georgia (Anderson, Athersic Democrat Leader from 2015) can't be trusted, she's a crook!" on January 4, 2017. This led to the famous speech by Anderson, "I am not a crook.", followed by the Court's verdict a day later that she had indeed co-operated in the Greenwood affair - a decision she later unsuccessfully appealed.

The economy greatly recovered from its mid-2010s slump under Wilson, however, as he proved an efficient and knowledgable statesman. By demanding the creation of the National Trade Union in 2017, and then capping CEO wages at 3.5x their lowest employee, he became known as "the boss of the bosses". His tax reforms led to hugely increased revenue, as the Thursday Telegraph, a left-wing newspaper, reported "101% Wilson tax introduced on the rich" (mocking the new Taxation Act of 2018, where the rich would pay more than they earnt in 2018-9 if they failed to pay last year). The slogan "pay to stay" for businesses caused a slight slump in the second half of 2017, but with wages hugely increasing, this crash was the first for decades not to be felt in the slightest by 99% of the population.

In 2018, he won the mid-term elections in local areas in a landslide, gaining 39% of the vote, and increasing his power in local affairs. Wilson later demanded that the Conservative MS Robert Thomas respected the counting of the votes, after Conservative voters attempted to seize thousands of ballots and demand that they weren't counted "for they were received after the election ended" - a decision which he finally respected a few days later. Although these votes were indeed received after the election ended, they were valid as they were received in the legal time for votes to be counted if they are mailed in before the election.

Union strikes took place in Cymbreland during the last few months of 2018, demanding better rights and pensions. The Cymbria party would eventually fold to demand from the Unions, which Wilson hailed as "the greatest victory for social rights against a government since the election of George Asmont in the 1920s". This humiliating failure would lead to the election of an OWP representative for the leader of Cymbreland, for the first time in history.

In April 2019, Wilson unveiled the "Human Rights Act 2019", extending Osynstric human rights to the right to a roof over one's head, the right to food security, the right to water security, the right to medical care and the right to a dignified death. Landlords would be heavily controlled under the "Landlordship Act 2019", giving tenants the power to appeal in the new Tenants' Court. Prison was reformed extensively, with greater social welfare programs revealing huge disparities in the perpetration of crime in the nation, and thus slowly but surely rectified by local authorities over the following years. This earnt Osynstry an increased safety status under the independent, Osynstric Institution of Human Rights. Some criticised him for his lack of a referendum on this issue, however.

With Wilson promising "a return to the dark days of Black Monday and Greenwood, or continued prosperity" in the election, pollsters attributed his campaign to that of Anthony Black in 2001, and called it "mildly intriguing at best". This led many to believe that he would garner just 25% of the vote and let Richard Oldston have the chance to contend for a coalition government and Prime Ministry, and exit polls predicted the OWP to lose nearly 100 seats in the House and 50 in the Senate. They did nearly the exact opposite - with 43% of the vote, the OWP gained over 100 seats in the House and just under 50 in the Senate, giving them an effective majority in the Senate, and a "technical" majority in the House (as liberal views will be passed by help from liberals, and socialist from the Communists and Progressive-Greens). In the 2020 election, the Greens performed far better than expected, and the surprise polling fail was attributed to young people "keeping their mouths shut, and voicing their opinion at the election". Osynstry would join the AEA during the election campaign, with only the Nationals and Conservatives refusing to back it. The election produced a record number of women and minority MSs and MHs, with Wilson demanding "the Houses of Parliament represent our nation's demographics". This election landslide produced a baby boom continued from 2016, with the generation of children being born being named the "Wilson Generation". Charlotte Greenwood died on the 12th of November, 2020, some calling it from "shock".

Geography

Osynstry is situated in the temperate zone, near the Central Ocean - from which it receives tropical winds, nicknamed the "Western Stream" - and between two seas. Athersbury, the capital, is situated on the east peninsula, in the Athersbury Sea - and receives a copious quantity of rain every year. Apart from the far south, all of the country receives over 500mm of rain a year, with some mountains in the south receiving a smaller amount on some years, distorting the levels and reducing their annual rainfall. The north and south borders are home to the Cymbrish and Osynstric mountain ranges respectively. The entire country receives snowfall every year for at least a month, as the rolling hills of the central isthmus provide the perfect climate for snow settling and the Western Stream weakens from ice melting in the mountains leading to cold water north and south of where it passes during the summer - meaning the temperature often varies, nicknamed the "Frozen" and "Green" winter years.

Demographics

The population of Osynstry is projected to be 146,401,800, and may even reach 150 million by the year 2025. This reflects the decision by many families to have children younger, higher marriage rates, and the security brought by the Wilson administration. 99.89% of the Osynstric population were born in the nation, with 99.83% being of Osynstric descent - 11.67% of those being Cymbrish. The median age of the nation is 38.6.

Government

The current government is Jeremy Wilson's Osynstric Working Party, with an electoral landslide. They currently hold 454 seats of 1050 in the House, and 151 of 200 seats in the Senate, not counting the Speakers of both. The Vice Prime Minister is Oswald Harewood, elected by the House after the election. The House uses proportional representation (PR), meanwhile the Senate uses first-past-the-post (FPTP). This results in most administrations controlling a coalition in the House and an outright majority in the Senate, in a move hoped to cause more co-operation.

Residing over both houses is the Elder Council and the King. Although they have few powers, they do have the collective power to dismiss leaders and parties. The last time this was used was 1993, upon Charlotte Greenwood of the Conservative Party.

After the Act of Parliament 2020 passed on November 12, 2020, the Senate and House will now both dissolve on March 15, 2025, to have their election on March 21, 2025.

Senate, November 12, 2020 - March 21, 2025

House, November 12, 2020 - March 21, 2025

Economy

The GDP of Osynstry is just over 10 trillion IBU, or just over 6 trillion Osynstric sterlings. Economic growth in 2020 is projected to be 4.1%, up from 3.5% the year previously. It contains 6% primary, 10% secondary, 56% tertiary and 28% quaternary industries.

Culture

See History

Infrastructure

Not completed yet