Labour Party (Rainier)

The People's Party of the Commonwealth of Britannia formally known as the British People's Revolutionary Party is a political party in Britannia. Currently it is the majority party in the ruling coalition of the parliament of Britannia along with the Albish Socialist Party.

The People's Party was originally a coalition between the centre left and the far left Communist Party, before being merged in response to the poll tax being introduced into Albion by Margaret Thatcher in 1980. The party became the main force in the Albish socialist revolution eventually becoming the dominant party in Britannia. With the proclamation of the creation of the Commonwealth of Britannia in 1982 founder Leopold Marsden decreed that the People's Party should be the only legal party in Britannia.

Following the 1990's reforms under Robert Matthews the People's Party under Annabell Wilbur won both the 1990 and 1995 elections, facilitating Britannia's growing economy. However a well publicised scandal involving allegations of embezzlement among members of the party their approval ratings sharply fell with them subsequently losing to the Albish Socialist Party in the 2000 elections.

The People's Party was a minority in government during the ASP's ministry with the Communist Party being the main opposition. The People's Party regained their position in the opposition during the tenure of the Communist party. In 2010 the People's Party retained the most seats in parliament - however they had to form a a coalition with the Albish Socialist Party to maintain a majority.

The People's Party primary ideologies is and. The People's Party officially is a centre party regarding social issues, with no clear social policy other then the promotion of the Church and the British people. The People's Party is often considered to be the centre party between the Left Wing Communists and the more socially right wing ASP. Previously the People's Party followed Marsdenism, which is normally characterised as a variant of and.

Formation
Originally the party was two separate entities - the Labour Party and the Socialist Party. The Labour party was founded 1900 by a coalition of trade unionists, and social democrats. It had first held government in 1924 under Ramsay MacDonald quickly overtaking the Liberals (also known as the Whigs) as the primary left wing party of Albion. They held power again in 1929, and was part of Winston Churchill's wartime coalition during World War II. The Labour party won the 1945 elections under Clement Atlee, who was able to nationalise much of Albion's businesses as well as create the National Healthcare Service. The party next regained power in 1964 under Harold Wilson where further social developments where made such as the legalisation of homosexuality and abortion. Labour was voted in once again from 1974-79, where they faced significant economic problems.

In contrast the Communist Party was less prolific. Formed in 1921 following the Russian and Westlandic revolutions it followed an orthodox Marxist ideology until 1945 which, following the end of the Cold War, it adopted a semi- ideology. Eventually the Communist Party became the dominant far-left party in Albion,despite the Albish media frequently bemoaning them as part of the limited campaign.

In 1979 the Labour party lost to the Conservative party, led by Margaret Thatcher, in the General Elections. Leader James Callaghan was soon replaced with Leopold Marsden who swiftly reformed party leadership installing those loyal to him. Marsden influenced party ideology by appointing members of the into high positions, transitioning the parties ideology. The Communist Party subsequently gained more support among the left wing, soon rising to become the second biggest left wing organisation in Albion after the Labour Party. Both Communist leader Thomas Raply and Marsden were more popular according to opinion polls then Thatcher.

After the declaration of the poll tax by Thatcher and her Falklands War Labour leader Marsden offered a union between the Communists and Labour. Raply was eventually convinced by young Welshman Dominic Constable to merge with the Labour power as a movement that could directly oppose the Thatcher government. The new party was named the British People's Revolutionary Party, basing their name of off the Roman name of Albion - "Britannia".

The BPRP led the socialist revolution of Albion, helping mobilise the workers opposing the Thatcher government. The BPRP led both the violent takeovers of the Welsh and Scottish parliaments, but eventually managed to negotiate the dissolution of the United Kingdom of Albion with Acting Prime Minister John Major.

Ideology
The official party ideology of the People's Party according to their website is "to promote socialism in a democratic manner whilst supporting the national and religious identity of Britain.". Commonly they are referred to incorporating and  with mild policies relating to. They describe themselves as being Centre-left.

In their early years the People's Party lent towards a more, with orthodox Marxist views combined with a limited promotion of the Christian religion. During the single party period the People's Party introduced with elements of into their party structure with their leader having large amounts of centralised power and the concept of. It was in the single party period that the People's Party also started to advocate British nationalism, with hard, and. A mass promotion of Christianity was enforced, with the People's Party religious policy being defined as Neo-Cromwellian.

Since the end of the single party rule many of the Stalinist elements being removed, as well as the and  being considerably toned down. In 1992 Britannia under the People's Party became part of the EU, with this being seen as a sign of the People's Party less aggressive European stance. Despite this the People's Party opposes to much power to be installed into Brussels hands, and identifies as being mildly Eurosceptic.

The People's Party social policy is largely defined by their religious affiliation which has been described as "ranging from the Christian left to a mild form of puritanism". The party discourages other religions, but the only one it outright opposes is Catholicism, which was banned in Britannia until 2001. The People's Party is in favour of tighter regulations on age restrictions on media, as well as banning drugs and other substances with the exception of tobacco and alcohol. They do not however oppose LGBT+ rights, although they are not in favour of LGBT+ marriage. They also take a semi-pro-life stance staying that "unless the mother is in immediate danger, or has been raped, then the pregnancy can be terminated in the first seven weeks." The People's Party oppose racism in all forms, although they do often except immigrants to learn English. They also promote social equality supporting workers rights and a classes society.

Party Emblem and Flag
The official party emblem of the People's Party is a red illustration of the head of a Barbary lion. The Barbary lion is an ancient British symbol, hankering back to the Middle Ages, where Albish warriors, renowned for their bravery, were nicknamed "lions". The People's Party website states that the lion represents strength, independence and power - three core concepts of the party's ideology. The red represents socialism, with the emblem being nicknamed "the red lion of socialism". The flag of the party also is red and includes the image of the lion in a white circle, with the white of the circle indicating pacifism and peace.

The first flag of the Party used in the revolution was a plain red flag, intended to represent the defiance and blood of the workers of Albion. During the single party period the flag showed a white cross with a sickle, representing the alliance of workers and Christians. A red star in the cross denoted the ideal of socialism.

For many years, the Red Flag was the anthem of the People's Party. In 1990 leader Annabell Wilbur requested it to be changed to the Internationale, working with songwriter Billy Bragg to update the lyrics. The first stanza of the song is sung at the end of party meetings.