| Saunders16 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Libertarian Party | |
August 2017 - January 2018 | |
| Preceded by | _gcx |
| Succeeded by | CatusStarbright |
| Deputy Leader of the Libertarian Party | |
| In office
July 2017 - August 2017 | |
| Leader | _gcx |
| Preceded by | Connor27 |
| Succeeded by | TitanCream |
| Personal details | |
| Known as | Saunders |
| Nationality | Anglo-Dutch |
| Residence | Essex, United Kingdom |
| Profession | Politician |
| Political Ideology |
|
| Political Parties |
|
Saunders16 (commonly known as Saunders) is a former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the Libertarian Party, having also served as both a Deputy Leader and a Party President in the party.
Early Career (May 2017 - August 2017)
Saunders joined both the Model House of Commons and the Libertarian Party in May 2017. In the MHoC Awards for the 24th Parliamentary Term, Saunders jointly won the 'Most Impressive Newbie' award, despite not having been around in the previous term. Having risen to the rank of an MP, he soon became the party's Acting Deputy Leader in July 2017, before being elected into the role permanently, following the previous scandals involving the party after the 25th General Election. As Deputy Leader, he quickly became one of the main characters in the MHoC and was noted for becoming an active member of the house very quickly.
Parliament 25 and Early Leadership of the Libertarian Party (August 2017 - November 2018)
In August 2017, _gcx resigned as Leader. Saunders was the only person to contest the subsequent election, becoming the party's third Leader since its reformation. Upon election, the party was inactive and disheartened. He immediately worked on improving relations with the Liberal Party and Conservative Party, calling for change in their outlook and rhetoric towards each other upon election. He worked with the latter in the term's first by-election, but relations struggled to improve and, after talks between the parties broke down, both parties launched another attack on each other. However, by the 26th Parliament, the three parties had successfully improved their relations with each other.
The party achieved its manifesto pledge to decriminalise drugs after a marginal and controversial vote in favour, serving as Saunders' first major legislative achievement. The party was one of the more active parties during the term, having moved past the inactivity and lack of organisation that succeeded the previous election. This coincided with a lot of members becoming more active or joining the party under his leadership. However, Joep95, the second Deputy Leader that served under him, was forced to resign after allegations were made about him breaking TSR rules, showing that the party continued to struggle to shake off its reputation as scandal-prone. His replacement by CatusStarbright quickly ensured the party would be able to organise effectively in the run-up to the 26th General Election.
Later Leadership of the Libertarian Party (November 2017 - January 2018)
The election performance exceeded expectations placed on the party after the scandals at the beginning of the previous term, as the party improved its representation by winning 9 seats, praised for its campaigning and Saunders' performance in the election debate. Despite this, the party were unable to enter a coalition government and a Motion of No Confidence was consequently launched. Having originally been expected to fail by a large margin, joecphillips, Connor27 and Jammy Duel were warned about their behaviour before in external matters before being publicly expelled from the party. Their expulsion was congratulated by other parties, praising Saunders for dealing with their behaviour. Despite this, a campaign against him was launched, narrowly failing to defeat him. His handling of the situation resulted in victory by a larger margin in a second Motion of No Confidence several weeks later.
The campaign against Saunders continued despite their expulsion from the party, not only dividing members inside the party but provoking controversy in the wider house. A first attempt to ban him from the MHoC failed, after accusations were made and confirmed about then Deputy Speaker, cranbrook_aspie, providing election results to him whilst it was ongoing. A second attempt to ban him from the MHoC also failed, but resulted in a public statement of resignation after he feared that the conflicts he remained embroiled in would undermine the party. His resignation was met with a supportive response, with the party's performance in the election and survival after the previous one being attributed to his dedication, but the resignation did not come as a surprise and he was criticised for failing to stick to his principles and breaking the rules. This eventually led to two seats being taken away from the party. Following his endorsement, CatusStarbright won the contest to find a successor with a large majority and replaced him as Leader.
Parliament 26 and Life after Leadership (January 2018 - March 2018)
In one of his last acts as Leader, a Party Council was founded to arbitrate in constitutional disputes and provide guidance to the Leadership Team. Saunders joined the Party Council when CountBrandenburg became the party's Deputy Leader, pledging to provide guidance to the party and take a leading role in Party Council matters. After resigning from his position as Leader, he was rumoured to be considering leaving the MHoC, but continued to take part after encouragement from other members. He embraced his new position, continuing to be the party's most active member and partaking in side projects, including taking a greater focus on legislation inside the Libertarian Party and offering more opinions on disputes and controversies inside the house. However, the party's deduction in seats led to him resigning as an MP.
With his previous disputes behind him and a reconciliation with former opponent Connor27, Saunders took his focus to protesting against Vitiate's alleged forcing out of his position as Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party by CoffeeGeek. The protest against CoffeeGeek's actions coincided with a Motion of No Confidence in the government, to which Saunders lobbied in favour of heavily. The relationship he built up with Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Party, Afcwimbledon2, led to information of a breach of an informal agreement by the Conservative Party being leaked to him. He made these allegations public, scheming with Afcwimbledon2 to bring an end to the government and damage CoffeeGeek's reputation. These efforts were successful, with the government swiftly falling apart and the National Conservatives withdrawing their support the following day. Both Saunders and Connor27 were credited with orchestrating the fall of the government successfully.
Chancellor of the Exchequer and Party President (March 2018 - Present)
Following the collapse of the government, the Libertarian Party entered talks with both the Liberal Party and the Labour Party. Eventually forming a government with the Liberal Party, Saunders was given the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer. While the government only had half a term to serve in, Saunders publicly stated that he intended to present a budget to the house and pass a Finance Bill. In addition to his appointment within the government, he was responsible for the creation of the position of Party President in the Libertarian Party, being elected in the position and becoming responsible for the running of the Party Council which he served in since resigning as Leader. Representing the party and government in the third Model BBC podcast, Saunders established himself as one of the dominant figures on the right of the house again and returned to frontline politics after the events of his latter period as Leader and his activism following his resignation.
The release of the budget was met with a strong defence from the government but a heavy attack from all corners of the opposition, after talks with parties in the opposition had not led to a deal of any kind. The Finance Bill's release met a similar response before a dispute was created between the government and the Labour Party after they went against the precedent of previous oppositions to send the budget to a vote despite the presentation of the Finance Bill. The argument that followed saw Saunders privately launch a strong campaign against the Labour Party and elements in the government that had failed to provide him with the support necessary, resulting in controversial insults privately used against Snufkin. Following this, Saunders resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer stating that he had lost interest in the MHoC by this point, although it is uncertain whether he would have remained in the cabinet after the controversy caused by his private commets. Further controversy was caused after he refused to apologise for the comments he made, stating that he had no interest in playing politics or hiding his thoughts. After publicly opposing the government, he resigned as Party President and left the Libertarian Party.
Political Ideology
Saunders has been noted for moving from a centre-right supporter of Orange Book politics to a more controversial right-wing stance. Upon his election as Leader of the Libertarian Party, he sought to ensure the party maintained common ground with other parties. He has continued to describe himself as a 'pragmatist', but has come out in support of more paleolibertarian ideas, stating that he holds 'controversial views on Islam and [wishes] for restrictions to be placed on immigration' in a post explaining his beliefs in February 2018. In this post he also stated that his ideal society would be a Night Watchman State, a distinct change from his moderate stances upon joining the MHoC. He has been responsible for a multitude of legislation since joining the house, proposing changes to the electoral system, education system, health sector, freedom of speech, foreign aid and House of Lords.