Oliver Wright
Oliver Wright | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sallia | |
| In office 10 May 1995 – 24 June 2015 | |
| Monarch | King Corey II |
| Preceded by | John Jefferies |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Walters |
| Leader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 24 April 1994 – 15 June 2015 | |
| Monarch | King Corey II |
| Preceded by | John Holmes |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Walters |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 24 April 1994 – 10 May 1995 | |
| Monarch | King Corey II |
| Preceded by | John Holmes |
| Succeeded by | John Jefferies |
| Foreign Secretary | |
| In office 8 February 1990 – 11 May 1992 | |
| Monarch | King Corey II |
| Preceded by | N/A |
| Succeeded by | N/A |
| First Secretary of State | |
| In office 27 April 1989 – 11 May 1992 | |
| Monarch | King Corey II |
| Preceded by | N/A |
| Succeeded by | N/A |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 27 April 1989 – 30 January 1990 | |
| Monarch | King Corey II |
| Preceded by | N/A |
| Succeeded by | N/A |
| Home Secretary | |
| In office 1 December 1988 – 27 April 1989 | |
| Monarch | King Corey II |
| Preceded by | N/A |
| Succeeded by | N/A |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State for Trade | |
| In office 1 June 1987 – 1 December 1988 | |
| Monarch | King Corey II |
| Preceded by | N/A |
| Succeeded by | N/A |
| Member of Parliament for James Park | |
| Assumed office 9 May 1987 | |
| Monarch | King Corey II |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Oliver Wright 27 June 1968 |
| Citizenship | Sallian |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 3 |
| Profession | Politician |
| Cabinet | Cabinet of Oliver Wright |
Oliver Wright (born 27 June 1968) is a Sallian politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sallia from 1995 to 2015. He became an MP in the 1987 parliamentary election at just 19, standing in his hometown of James Park. In his early years, he served in the Cabinet in high roles in quick succession: as Home Secretary from 1988-89, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1989-90 and Foreign Secretary from 1990-92. After Labour's defeat at the 1992 parliamentary election, Wright resigned from the Shadow Cabinet and returned to the backbenches. In 1994, the Labour Party lost its leader and Wright won the subsequent leadership election. In 1995, the governing Liberal Party called a snap parliamentary election, which was won by Labour with the biggest landslide majority in history.
Wright went on to win another four parliamentary elections until his resignation as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party in June 2015. He then returned to the backbenches where he has remained ever since.
Early life
Youngest MP in history
On 9 May 1987, Wright became the youngest MP in Sallian history after winning the constituency of James Park for the Labour Party. He made his maiden speech on 19 May 1987 and was appointed by Labour Prime Minister Hugh Weigt as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State for Trade on 1 June 1987. Weigt saw Prime Minister potential in Wright when he was just 19. He remained in the role until 1 December 1988, when the post of Home Secretary became vacant, and Weigt appointed Wright.
Cabinet roles
Wright was appointed Home Secretary on 1 December 1988 on the Cabinet of Hugh Weigt. His term was short lived, as the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer became vacant on 27 April 1989, and Weigt appointed Wright Chancellor and First Secretary of State to make sure his dominance over the other secretaries of state was established.
Wright found managing the economy difficult but fun, but was overwhelmed during the 1990 expenses scandal and resigned his post on 30 January 1990 to return to the backbenches. He announced his intention to resign as First Secretary of State soon afterwards. In early February, however, the post of Foreign Secretary became vacant and Weigt appointed Wright in the post, and requested he didn't resign as First Secretary of State.
In December 1990, Wright announced he had "found his Cabinet role" in Foreign Secretary. Parliament was dissolved in April 1992, and Wright immediately got on the campaign trail in his James Park constituency for re-election. On 11 May 1992, the 1992 Sallian parliamentary election took place. As soon as Wright saw the exit poll (which was showing a clear Liberal victory), he handed in his resignation as Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State to Hugh Weigt. He was re-elected in his constituency, but for his party, it was a devastating defeat.
On the backbenches
On 12 May 1992, Hugh Weigt resigned as Leader of the Labour Party, and a leadership election was triggered. Oliver Wright announced his candidacy. He came second place in the first ballot, but was eliminated in the second ballot after coming fifth. John Holmes was appointed Leader of the Labour Party on 10 June 1992, and offered Wright the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Shadow Cabinet. Wright declined, wishing to remain mute on the backbenches.
On 11 April 1994, John Holmes resigned as Leader of the Labour Party, and another leadership election was triggered. Wright announced his candidacy for the leader of the party, and came third place in the first ballot, narrowly avoiding elimination. He came first in the second ballot, first in the third ballot, first in the fourth and first in the fifth, being elected Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition on 24 April 1994.
Leader of the Opposition
In his first act as Leader of the Opposition on 25 April 1994, Wright called for a snap parliamentary election due to the Liberal Party's implementation of a new tax without a national referendum. In November 1994, the Prime Minister held a referendum on whether the people wanted to keep the new taxes, and 98.7% voted no. He then announced his intention to hold a snap election in the near future to see whether he still had the confidence of the people.
In April 1995, the Prime Minister dissolved Parliament and purdah began. Wright, the Leader of the Opposition, immediately got on the campaign trail. He promised the abolition of the new tax, a nationalised healthcare service, and the end to aristocracy. The election took place on 10 May 1995. Wright's Labour Party won the election with 482 seats in Parliament, the largest majority of any party in history. The Prime Minister then handed in his resignation to the King, and Wright was invited to form a government, which he did.
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sallia
Oliver Wright formed a government on 10 May 1995, and was appointed Prime Minister by His Majesty the King.
1995-2000
After winning the 1995 parliamentary election with a landslide victory of 482 seats, Oliver Wright was invited to form a government by His Majesty King Corey II on 10 May 1995. He appointed the first version of the Cabinet of Oliver Wright on 11 May 1995 and made a speech to the nation the same day about his landslide victory.
After the State Opening of Parliament on 19 May 1995, the Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced a bill to revoke the taxes imposed by the predecessor John Jefferies. Wright's first Prime Minister's Questions took place on 24 May 1995. The National Taxation Act 1995 received royal assent on 17 June 1995. On 1 August 1995, John Jefferies announced his resignation as Leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition. Wright commended him on his strong-mindedness. He was replaced with Charles Jackson.
On 31 August 1995, Wright announced his intention to contest a second term for Labour. In January 1996, Wright's government abolished hereditary titles with the Hereditary Titles Act 1996. In September 1996, the National Healthcare Act 1996 was passed through Parliament almost unanimously, creating the nationalised Sallian Health Service, with no health fees, all paid in taxes.
In 1997, Oliver Wright announced huge celebrations in the Sallian capital of Aspon for the Millennium on 31 December 1999, and announced the building of a Millennium Stadium which the fireworks would erupt from. This passed through Parliament on 30 September 1997, and construction began on 6 January 1998. The stadium was completed on 11 July 1999, and opened to the public on 1 August 1999. It was closed until the Millennium on 23 December 1999 under the authorisation of Oliver Wright. It was reopened at noon on 31 December 1999.
After the Millennium celebrations on 31 December 1999/1 January 2000, Wright passed through Parliament the closure of the stadium on 1 January 2001 and its demolition in June 2001. King Corey II dissolved Parliament on 3 April 2000, and Wright immediately got back on the campaign trail. On 8 May 2000, the 2000 Sallian parliamentary election took place. Wright's Labour Party won another landslide of 479 seats, a net loss of 3 seats, but a huge majority all the same.
On 9 May 2000, Wright made a speech announcing he would seek His Majesty's approval to form a second government in his name. He also announced he would contest a third term in 2005. His second government formed later that day.
2000-2005
On 10 May 2000, Wright reshuffled his Cabinet by firing some ministers, and appointing new ones. He passed a bill in July 2000 reforming local elections. He welcomed Charles Jackson's resignation as Leader of the Opposition on 8 November 2000, and welcomed new Leader of the Opposition, Michael Patricks, to the role when he was sworn in on 5 December 2000.
On 4 February 2001, Wright authorised the building of a new stadium where the Millennium Stadium was about to be demolished. Construction on the new stadium began on 19 August 2001 and was completed on 2 December 2001. The Aspon Stadium was opened to the public for new year celebrations on 31 December 2001. It was very similar to the Millennium Stadium in terms of layout.
On 11 September 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks, Wright demanded a war against the Taliban and Al'Qaeda in Afghanistan. On 29 September 2001, the War on Terror Referendum Act 2001 was passed through Parliament, and a referendum on Sallia's support to the United States on invading Afghanistan took place on 5 October 2001. The people voted to send Sallian troops to Afghanistan, and Wright commissioned the Sallian Armed Forces along with the United States-led coalition, on 7 October 2001.
In 2002, it was put to the people whether or not Sallia would join with the United States in invading Iraq; 61.87% of voters called for Sallia to stay out of it. Prime Minister Oliver Wright, despite pressure from the United States, respected the will of the people. In 2003, an expenses scandal was revealed, causing the Chancellor of the Exchequer to be arrested and replaced with Kenneth Walters, who Wright later appointed First Secretary of State.
In 2004, Wright announced he would still be contesting a third term and, despite already going out to rallies and other campaign events, said he "hadn't even started campaigning properly yet". He announced he would start campaigning properly in January 2005, which he did, with his new slogan: "10 years of promises being kept". On 9 April 1995, Wright requested that parliament be dissolved for a parliamentary election to be held on 12 May.
In April 2005, following the dissolution of parliament, Wright got back on the campaign trail massively for the 2005 Sallian parliamentary election and mentioned the two referendums he held as reason to keep him and the Labour Party governing. On 12 May 2005, Wright's Labour Party won the election with a landslide of 472 seats, a net loss of 7 seats, which Wright was slightly disappointed with, though he was glad he managed to hold his landslide majority.
2005-2010
On 17 May 2005, Wright announced his intention to contest a fourth term in 2010. He soon began to be criticised for his longevity, but people argued that he had got very good things done, and he shouldn't be stopped from contesting a fourth term just because he'd been in power for over a decade.
In 2007, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Walters announced plans to make the banks national. The policy was widely supported throughout the country, though Wright decided to put it to the people in a referendum due to it not being on the party's 2005 manifesto. It was passed with 65.48% of voters voting to nationalise the banks. It was immediately legislated for, and the banks became public property on 1 January 2008.
In November 2009, Wright announced he would soon start campaigning for the 2010 Sallian parliamentary election. He started doing engagements from December in his own constituency, but didn't start campaigning properly until February 2010. He dissolved parliament on 10 April for a parliamentary election to be held on 13 May. After a huge nationwide campaign, he made a speech to the nation on 12 May saying he has done all he can, and would remain as Leader of the Labour Party if they were defeated.
Luckily for Wright, the Labour Party wasn't defeated and won 462 seats, a net loss of 10 seats to the Liberal Party, but a huge landslide majority all the same. He made a speech thanking the nation for 15 years of trust, and announced he did not know if he wanted to contest a fifth term in 2015, but would serve a full fourth term. After his speech, he formed a government.
2010-2015
After the State Opening of Parliament on 17 May, Wright began legislating for his manifesto promises. Because he had a landslide, all legislation immediately passed through parliament. At this time, there were reports the Labour Party had run out of ideas, and Oliver Wright's resignation was called for. He said the reports that his party had run out of ideas were "absurd", and that he would not resign until he was ready.
On 11 January 2011, an unknown Labour backbencher Michael Grass challenged Wright for leadership of the Labour Party. Wright won the subsequent leadership election with 98.99% of the popular vote, and soon made a speech, saying: "It is now clear to see I have the support of the Labour Party and of the nation." Wright soon appointed Grass Chief Secretary to the Treasury due to his ambition to become something big.
After the 2011 contest, the national opinion of Oliver Wright soared, but the opinion of the Labour Party gradually dropped. In 2013, Wright announced he would "most likely" contest a fifth term, and he confirmed he would be running on 11 June 2014. On 31 October 2014, he announced there may be a chance he would resign following a historic fifth election victory for Labour. He began the national campaign in March 2015 under the slogan: "20 years, 20 new promises". The new Labour Party manifesto had 20 new key promises. Wright had parliament dissolved on 18 April 2015 for a parliamentary election to be held on 7 May.
Labour won 397 seats in the 2015 Sallian parliamentary election held on 7 May, a net loss of 65 seats, but still a landslide majority. On 8 May, in a speech to the nation, Wright announced his "time had come" and that he would probably resign as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party "within a few months".
Resignation
After the State Opening of Parliament, Wright began drafting bills and legislating as according to his manifesto. On 20 May, he authorised the beginning of a leadership election for a new Leader of the Labour Party to be elected so he could be replaced whenever he felt like leaving office. He announced he would endorse no candidate for election as Leader. The leadership election began on 22 May.
On 27 May, Wright announced he would continue to serve as the MP for James Park when he left office. On 31 May 2015, Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Walters was declared the winner of the leadership election with 63.4% of the popular vote. On 1 June, Wright announced he would resign as Leader of the Labour Party on 15 June for Walters to take over, and as Prime Minister "soon after". It was reported that the Labour Party wanted Wright to stay in office so much that they begged him to delay his resignation.
On 15 June, Wright resigned as Leader of the Labour Party with immediate effect and was replaced with Walters. He announced that the Labour Party were happy with him staying on as Prime Minister for a bit longer, and said he would announce his resignation "when he felt like it". On 20 June, in a tearful speech, Wright announced he would resign as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sallia on 24 June after Prime Minister's Questions, and remarked that it had been "an honour and a privilege to serve my [his] country."
His final Prime Minister's Questions took place on 24 June 2015, in which he was mostly paid farewell and asked about his successor. He ended his 20 years as Prime Minister with: "I thank you all and goodbye". He then officially tendered in his resignation to King Corey III at 5:19pm on 24 June 2015 after 20 years, 1 month and 14 days.
Return to the backbenches
He returned to parliament as a backbencher on 1 July 2015 to much applause. He has mostly remained quiet on the backbenches, save for a speech on 3 March 2016, and a question to his successor at Prime Minister's Questions on 15 November 2017. He has not attended as many debates recently, wishing to spend time with his family that he couldn't when Prime Minister.
On 21st December 2019, he announced he may resign as an MP at the 2020 Sallian parliamentary election to spend more time with his family, but the Prime Minister Kenneth Walters has announced Wright would be offered a life peerage in the House of Peers for his service to Sallia for 20 years, but opinion polls have shown that the Liberals may come out of 25 years of opposition in 2020.
On 3rd January 2020, Wright made a speech in Parliament announcing he would "almost 100%" resign at the 2020 election so he could spend his later years with his family, after 33 years as an MP.