General Announcements

[Alexander 'Alec' Dundas]

IMPORTANT FESTIVE ANNOUNCEMENT

The A-Team would like to issue the following bulletins relating to the game over the upcoming Christmas period.

• There will be two pause days which are Christmas Day and New Year's Day, no one should be posting IC related things on those two days.
  
  • Furthermore, the game will be in a state of semi-hiatus from 24th December until 3rd January. This is a very busy time for most of us, especially those who have full time jobs and will be taking holidays. It's naturally expected that people will want to take full advantage of the time to see their family and friends. But the A-Team feels that it would be arbitrary to totally shut the game down completely.
  So what does this semi-hiatus mean in practice?
  
  The game will continue on, and all usual IC aspects of gameplay will be open. But during this period it'll be a case of opt-in to PolUK. For example, no one is going to be penalised heavily for missing the usual deadlines on questions, and because the game is slowed down there won't be so many reactive events to scrabble speeches together on. Some may wish to use this opportunity of calm before the storm to work on IG pet projects (e.g. Humber Bridge). In short everyone will have the option to contribute according to their own individual availability, this will include the A-Team too. The Admins will try to keep things ticking over, according to our internal rota - but we also need a rest so please don't expect consistent news stories, and in the nicest possible way, we should be very obliged to all of you to please be mindful that any queries should be succinct and during this semi inactive period - of a sufficiently urgent nature if Admins are being tagged.
  
  We appreciate your ongoing support. Any questions relating to the semi-hiatus go to #feedback.
  
  Thank you.

[Alexander 'Alec' Dundas]

OPENING PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES AND LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS

The two parliamentary debates will close at 23:59 GMT on Sunday 20th December, and the leadership elections in all three parties will concurrently begin at the same time on the same day.

Thank you.

[Barclay A.A. Stanley]

A general announcement regarding Opposition Days.

The way it will work is on a weekly/bi-weekly rotation. The Tories will, once per week, be able to move something ahead to the next stage in Parliament (a motion to division, a bill to second reading and, subsequently division); and the Lib Dems can do the same, but on a two-week rotation. There is, of course, no penalty for not using an opposition day, other than a possible missed opportunity.

[Marty]

Quick technical announcement: there was an issue where those who preferred a good old-fashioned forum PM for their leadership vote found that they couldn't PM multiple users. There was a permissions problem which is now fixed.

[Marty]

I have implemented a different ReCaptcha. Apparently, v3 doesn't work optimally with PHPBB. I've set the new one to the strictest security settings, so if you experience any problems, let me know!

[Alexander 'Alec' Dundas]

Question Time is now open:

http://www.politicsuk.net/blenheim/view ... 796f792d6e

[Barclay A.A. Stanley]

Ladies and Gentlemen, another ascension is taking place as we speak. The A-Team would like to welcome Blakesley to the team. He joins what, we believe, is now a very strong team ready to really begin firing on all cylinders. A further announcement will be made later regarding Admin responsibilities.

[Barclay A.A. Stanley]

Admin Responsibilities, at long last:

Admin-in-Chief: Barclay
Tech Wizard: Marty

Departments

Prime Minister: Barclay
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Ben
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Blakesley
Secretary of State for the Home Office: Barclay
Secretary of State for Defence: Blakesley
Secretary of State for Business, Transport, and Social Mobility: Ben
Secretary of State for Education and Children: Marty
Secretary of State for Health and Social Security: Marty
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government: Ben
Secretary of State for Environment and Energy: Marty
Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs: Marty

Other Responsibilities

Grading: Barclay
Polling: Ben
Biographies: Blakesley
Scenarios: Marty

Party Advisors:

Conservative: Marty
Labour: Blakesley
Lib Dem: Ben

[Barclay A.A. Stanley]

Recks has informed the A-Team that he will be taking a hiatus from the game and, therefore, a spot in the Liberal Democrats has opened up. If you are interested in applying, please send an application outlining your intentions, experience, and character plans to Ben.

[Marty]

This round, we'll be simulating the press a bit more actively. Journalists don’t just sit around waiting for people to come to them with leaks or interviews, they actively go looking for them when they get leaked information or there’s a major story. The British press is not a nice group of people, by and large. They’re a bunch of !@#ers who thrive on hype and chaos. Leaks brings them swarming like flies, especially those of the "screwing over your colleagues" variety. Well-placed leaks might attract press attention in a more informative way (testing the waters for major policies is often done in this way). Likewise, your relationship with the press matters on how they treat you. Leak a lot of bull and they might stop taking your calls. Give them worthwile information and they might be well-disposed to treat you fairly. But remember: they have their own agenda.

You'll see the first big story that is the result of this soon.