Phoenix Government 'rises' following Blurple Calamity

Labour Leader u/Lily-irl has successfully formed a minority Government with the Liberal Democrats in what is colloquially known as "The Phoenix Coalition."

Following days of tension and speculation, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrat’s confirmed last night that a deal had been reached between them and subsequently approved by both parties. Now, it is expected that Labour leader u/Lily-irl will be invited by the Queen to form a minority Government of 39 seats to replace the failed 3rd Blurple government in what has been dubbed “The Phoenix Coalition'' by Labour and LD leadership. This coalition would see the first government coalition between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrat’s since the Sunrise Government between Labour, the LD’s and the Classical Liberals which following a period of immense distrust and dysfunction, collapsed when the Classical Liberals withdrew from the Government and the Liberal Democrats refused the opportunity to remain as a minority government, leading to the formation of the 2nd Blurple Government.

Whilst the memory of Sunrise is inherently buried within the minds of senior Labour and Lib Dem grandees, both parties have seen a notable shift in membership following that period and would have had to compromise less with each other than they would have to do with the Classical Liberals who merged into the Conservative Party following their collapse. When questioned on whether the same tensions were present within the Government than had been during Sunrise, Labour DL u/BoredNerdyGamer argued to the contrary…

“I think certainly the fact that Sunrise happened is an indisputable and avoidable factor in relations but I do genuinely feel much more optimistic at the working relationship between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrat’s in comparison now than I ever had. We’ve worked productively alongside the LD’s for the majority of this term and particularly in Northern Ireland where we share a devolved party and I fully believe this government will be stable and fruitful regardless of the challenges posed to us by a bitter opposition who wasted their own mandate.”

- Labour Deputy Leader u/BoredNerdyGamer

Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister u/Randomman01 (More commonly known as 'Buff Salmon' to supporters) chose to strike a more optimistic tone when approached by The Parliamentary Issue, outlining the Government's and the Liberal Democrat's compromising approach to the Official Opposition as well as placing emphasis on the Alliance Party as a viable example of the modern-day, productive Lab-Lib relationship.

The Liberal Democrats are happy to be a part of the Phoenix Coalition; we promised to bring positivity to Westminster, and we are delivering a message of hope in our coalition with the Labour Party and /u/imadearedditaccount5. Of course, we do not have a majority, but I have made it clear that we will seek to work with the Opposition on behalf of the British people. I completely support Prime Minister /u/lily-irl, whose party we have joined forces with in Northern Ireland with our Alliance Party, and I'm sure that this coalition will work to improve relations between the two parties.

- Lib Dem Leader and DPM u/Randomman01

As a Government cabinet has yet to be released and the Queen's Speech is most likely only entering it's early phases of drafting, one has to wonder how the Phoenix Government will enact any of it's proposed policies against the majority right-leaning parliamentary make-up. A large portion of their mandate will likely come from attempting to utilise what prerogative they have with Statutory Instruments alongside compromising with either the Conservatives or the LPUK on more moderate legislation. Especially on any potential budget where it is imperative a deal be struck between the Government and the OO as had been done during the Clegg Government when the Con-LD Government struck an agreement with the Labour Opposition to compel the OO to abstain on the final vote in return for a number concessions made within the speech. It's likely similar policy concessions will have to be made this term from Number 11.

Should the Phoenix Government wish to carry out any sort of mandate, they will need to compromise often with the Official Opposition, led by Prime Minister in-exile u/Checkmybrain11

Now, as u/Lily-Irl takes up the mantle of the First Labour Prime Minister since u/Will_Shakespeare01, she will have to navigate a hostile Parliament which will almost certainly level frequent attacks at her Government, both in the press and though legislation and motions that would seek to limit the SI potential of the Phoenix Government. Of course, how either parties of the former Blurple Coalition can justify such an approach by claiming they are protecting their elected mandate whilst simultaneously sitting in Opposition following their failure to effectively utilise such a mandate, would pose interesting questions for their voters.

Regardless, it's no doubt that we are entering an interesting period of modern, parliamentary history as a Labour Party thought to be out of the fight has instead, been able to ascend to a position of power, albeit it weakened and there is still opportunity to carry out plentiful positive change if the Government makes the right decisions and takes the right approaches. Whether they actually achieve this, well... time will tell.

This story will be updated as it unfolds...

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- Written by Bryan N. Gaskin on behalf of The Parliamentary Issue