Liberal Democratic Party of the United Islands

The Liberal Democratic Party of the United Islands was formed in January/February 2004 as a merger between the two governing coalition parties, the Liberal Party of the United Islands and the Democratic Party of Georgeland. The seeds for the LDP's creation were sewn in 1987, when the Democrats joined to form a government with the Labour Party. However, at that time both parties had distinctly different politics, with Labour being a political arm of the trade unions and the Democrats embracing "New Politics" and social democracy. As the coalition continued into the 1990s, the bonds between the parties grew stronger and the line became increasingly blurred. In 1999, following the Labour split, the coalition disintegrated and the Democrats formed a new coalition with the Liberals, the new party created by deposed Prime Minister Campbell Rhodes. This coalition won the election, and Rhodes again became Prime Minister, with Democrats leader ‘’’Andrea Perkins’’’ again Deputy Prime Minister, also taking on the portfolio of Foreign Minister. Around 2001, talk of a merger became more prevalent. Perkins was known to oppose a merger between the two parties but many of her colleagues supported it. In December 2002 Perkins resigned to become Ambassador to Astoria, although she later returned to politics. New leader Warren Barker supported the merger and it became a serious commitment. After a series of talks, a vote taken by the rank-and-file members of both parties in late 2003 gave assent to the merger. At the joint party room meeting in February 2004 Rhodes was elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and Barker was elected Deputy Leader. The merger was also conducted by the state parties. The party has become infamous for bitter infighting, due in part to the number of different factions represented. The LDP contains former members of four different parties, all of which form distinct sub-party groupings. In 2005, dumped former minister and Georgeland Party leader Christine Hinkle, one of the key figures in the LDP and a Liberal party founder, launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Rhodes and declared she would sit as a crossbencher, although she retained her party membership and declared she would return to the government if and when the Prime Minister resigns. The media and the Opposition have painted the LDP as a 'loose confederation of warring tribes' and Conservatives have made significant capital out of describing the LDP government as a disunited, 'delapidated' party. This infighting placed pressure on Rhodes' leadership, with many anticipating his resignation is imminent before 2006. In July 2005, Rhodes announced he would step down, though he denied his leadership was under pressure. His successor will be elected under new party rules and will be either Deputy Prime Minister Zoë Parker or her predecessor Andrea Perkins.

Structure
The party has a federal executive, consisting of a President, two Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer, all of whom are elected by party members and take office at the beginning of each annual party conference. The Presidents of each of the state branches are also members of the federal executive, as are five appointed by the executive and five directly elected. The party's Leader and Deputy Leader in both Houses of Parliament are also on the federal executive. The party's President serves as its senior official and the Secretary it's organisational chief. The present LDP National President is James Sorenson; the two Vice Presidents are Arthur Radcliffe (Senior) and Janice Read (Junior). The federal Secretary is Martin Wilkins. The party's federal leader is seen as the party's overall head, despite the presence of a party President and executive. Until 2005, the federal leader was elected by the party room; that is, all the party's federal MPs and Senators, as was the deputy leader. The party also has a leader and deputy in the Senate; these are appointed by the party leader. A rules change adopted at the party's 2005 conference altered this system. From then, the party leader will be chosen by the party's rank-and-file, from two candidates chosen by the party room. The party's deputy leader will merely be appointed by the leader. The party's federal leader is currently Prime Minister Campbell Rhodes. The party's deputy leader has been Zoë Parker since May 2004. The party's leader in the Senate is Janet Hunt, and the deputy Senate leader is Alan Swan.

Policy
The LDP is broadly a Liberal and Social Democratic party. However, party policy tends to be heavily debated and influenced by the large number of factions. On economic policy, the LDP tends to favour state regulation, but this is shifting to a more right-wing laissez-faire viewpoint. The LDP has been at the forefront of ground-breaking social legislation, including legalising same-sex marriage, working to overhaul drug laws and legalising euthanasia. Not all LDP members agree with this radical social agenda, and current policy is seen more as the personal views of the Prime Minister rather than official party doctrine.