Union Party (Rainier)

The Union Party was a Rainian political party that existed from 1859 to its merger into the National Union Party in 1933. During its existence it was one of the two major political parties in Rainier alongside the National Party.

The Union Party was formed in 1859 by the first Prime Minister of Rainier Alfred Henry Lawson, who was sympathetic to. The Union Party supported the independence of Rainier and were largely influenced by a mixture of and  ideas, supporting,  and. The Radicals held power until 1867 when they lost to the National Party under Fydd Rochester. Although briefly returning to power in 1877 they lost power again, and spent a record 29 years in opposition before returning to power under A. A. Duncan in 1912.

By 1912 the party had become more influenced by - as a result the Duncan government implemented several important reforms, such as launching social welfare provision, undertaking electoral reform and implementing. The Duncan government also led Rainier during, but the resulting recession saw them lose the 1921 election.

In 1929 Rhys Lawgoch led the Union Party to power but after a month in power faced the. The government undertook orthodox measures which did nothing to stop the depression and saw very high unemployment, which triggered a  in 1932. Lawgoch's opposition to the strike and poor response to the depression led the government to face a massive defeat in the 1933 election coming fourth behind the National, Labour and Social Credit parties. A rump Union party subsequently merged with the National party to create an anti-socialist coalition, creating the National Union Party which has since been the main party.