New Democratic-Liberty Party of Sorrenia

New Democratic-Liberty Party of Sorrenia
Leader	Llewelyn Lawton
Chairperson	Stephen Linacre
Spokesperson	Martin Aquinas
Founded	2013
Newspaper	New Democratic Times
Youth wing	Young Democrats
Ideology	• Konpantzia Thought  • Liberalism  • Northumbrianism  • Big tent Internal Factions  • Social Democracy  • Centrism  • Republicanism  • Millomism
International affiliation	Party of the International Left
Colours	Golden Yellow
King's Council	12 / 47
Papal Directorate	1 / 5
Country	Sorrenia

The New Democratic-Liberty Party is a political organisation in the Kingdom of Sorrenia. The oldest political party still in existence in Sorrenia, the NDLP traces its roots to the Liberty Party, first founded in the Democratic People's Republic of Kozlova in 2012.

The party briefly held the presidency during the Sorrenian Federation, and was the junior member in a coalition government for almost a year. They have been able to cultivate a consistent voter base, largely amongst moderates and students, and remain a political force in Sorrenia.

History

Liberty Party

The original incarnation of the NDLP was the Liberty Party, a centre-left political organisation. Created by Lewis Wild, the LP became very popular, becoming the joint largest political party in Sorrenia, along with the Socialist Party. However, after the leaving of Lewis Wild in early 2014, the party became stagnant. Eventually, the Liberty Party shrunk to just a single remaining member.

New Democratic Party

To replace the lacklustre leadership, Alexei Janiszewski was chosen; an active politician in Sorrenia, as well as a dedicated Social Democrat. Janiszewski quickly transformed the party and removed the stagnant elements. The party was renamed the "New Democratic Party", and officially adopted Social Democracy as a core tenant. The revitalisation of the party caused Llewelyn Lawton to rejoin, as well as initial leader Lewis Wild. This in turn allowed the NDP to gain their first seat in the National Assembly, and they were finally able to participate in national political affairs.

On the 18th of October, 2014, the Ministry of Religious and Ethical Affairs banned the NDP logo, due to "religious and satanical connotations". Party chairman Janiszewski was quick to react, releasing a response in the party newspaper, the "New Democratic Times".

The government however, did not relent, and as Janiszewski was due to replace the incumbent President, he accepted the ban, and created a new logo. The new logo however included "in formal protest to government censorship", to show that they still opposed the government's actions. Ironically, the NDP went on to join the government in the "People's Coalition", as Janiszewski needed to ensure that he obtained a majority government.

Janiszewski's Presidency

In 2014, the long-standing president of Sorrenia resigned, and chose Alexei Janiszewski as his successor. This boosted the NDLP to its zenith, and under his presidency Sorrenia made significant bounds related to cultural and foreign policy.

Although extremely popular, Janiszewski lost his election in early 2015; nonetheless, his presidency had secured the NDLP's position as an important element of Sorrenian politics.

The Rise of Erenite Fascism

After politician Eren Lewis was re-allowed into Sorrenia, he formed the Sorrenian Union of Fascists. Janiszewski, who had previously come to odds with Eren declared a 'crusade' against the SUF, and attempted to have them banned for making 'anti-Semitic statements'. The move however was unpopular in Sorrenia, and the NDLP failed to have the party banned. They did however continue to publicly denounce the party in statements and debates, and contributed in part to the SUF's poor election results.

Eren Lewis later commented that his fascist machinations in Sorrenia were part of a 'political experiment'.

Kingdom of Sorrenia

The party became defunct upon the formation of the State of Sorrenia, but was never officially disbanded. Upon the ascension of King Ronald I after the War of the Sorrenian Succession, several minor members of the party reformed it.

The NDLP were able to win one seat in the King's Council, representing the primarily student state of University Town.

The appointment of an NDLP member to the Papal Directorate was met with some internal dispute, as the party does not have an official stance on the question of secularism in Sorrenia; some members saw the appointment as a tacit endorsement of Catholicism in Sorrenia.

Upon the expansion to Greater Sorrenia, the NDLP were able to win a significant victory of seven seats, making them the joint third largest party. This was largely thanks to the various university towns present in Greater Sorrenia.

Electoral Performance

Although the NDLP's electoral performance may seem weak, they have been able to retain their status as an important part of Sorrenian politics. Janiszewski's presidency significantly elevated the party's position, and their merger with the Sorrenian Party for Freedom and Democracy led to their having a third of National Assembly seats throughout much of 2014.

More recently, the party saw significant gains in the July 2018 election, largely due to their significant support in student-heavy sections of Sorrenia.

Election year	%	seats won	+/-	Government
2013 I	25	1 / 5	▲ 1	No in opposition
2014 I	25	1 / 5	0	No in opposition
2014 II	15	1 / 6	0	No in opposition
2014 III	15	2 / 13	▲ 1	No in opposition
2014 IV	30	3 / 15	▲ 1	Yes joint party in coalition
2015 I	29	2 / 15	▼ 1	No in opposition
2015 II	34	2 / 15	0	No in opposition
2018 I	13	1 / 12	▲ 1	No in opposition
2018 II	14	1 / 21	0	No in opposition
2018 III	21	7 / 47	▲ 6	No in opposition
2018 IV	24	12 / 47	▲ 5	Yes joint party in coalition
2019 I	34	16 / 47	▲ 4	Yes joint party in coalition
2019 II	26	12 / 47	▼ 4	No in opposition
2020 I		17 / 58	▲ 5	Yes joint party in coalition

Timeline of Party Leaders

Picture	Name	Term start	Term end	Notes
	Lewis of Sorrenia	04/11/13	02/06/14	Founded the party; resigned and left Sorrenia, but later returned as a junior member
	Connor Watson	02/06/14	20/08/14	Liberty Party became stagnant, and lost its status as the official opposition
	Alexei Janiszewski	20/08/14	05/03/15	Greatly rejuvenated the party; held the presidency for one term and entered into a coalition government; resigned after a personal shift to the left
	Trystan Cline	05/03/15	23/10/16	Maintained the NDLP's position as a major party, and created a pan-opposition alliance
	Stephen Linacre	04/04/18	22/06/18	Recreated the party in the Kingdom as a republican, liberal party. Focused electorally on students
	Llewelyn Lawton	22/06/18	Incumbent	Returned to micronationalism, and led the party to two significant vote share increases; became Prime Minister and entered into coalition government

Party Factions

Four noticeable party factions can be identified in the NDLP. In contrast to some other Sorrenian parties however, there is significant overlap in the various factions. The centrist-social-democratic factions generally exist on one axis, and the Millomists-Konpantzians on another axis. In contrast to the former, there is not necessarily disagreement between the Millomists and Konpantzians, but in practice they form and constitute two unique party factions:

 • Social Democracy - the more left-wing 'yellows' support a Scandinavian-style economy
 • Centrism - the moderate 'oranges' support an economic program akin to the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom
 • Konpantzia Thought - created by NDLP politician Melseeq Seetoornah, Konpantzia Thought aims to reshape Sorrenian politics into one of power-sharing between republicans and monarchists
 • Millomism - generally supported by party members in the south and west, Millomism advocates a transfer of power away from the north-east and towards other regions of Sorrenia

Party Policy

General political ideologies present on the NDLP platform include:

 • Republicanism - The party opposes the rule of King Ronald, and instead calls for the re-institution of some local monarchs under a presidential federation
 • Liberalism - The NDLP is one of the most liberal parties in Sorrenia
 • Big Tent - To fulfil its desire of becoming Sorrenia's largest and most inclusive party, the NDLP accepts wider socioeconomic differences internally than other parties