Thread by @greencoatboy

Prepping for a Megagame in Cambridge tomorrow based on @chrismullinexmp A Very British Coup.

Here's the Labour Coordinating Committee's proposal for the Queen's speech.

Game design by @Megagamemaker and here are where the factions stand (my map based on the briefing)

Here's our second year of legislation for the A Very British Coup Megagame in Cambridge tomorrow

As far as I can work it out the best allies for the Labour Coordinating Committee are the Socialist Organiser, the Fabian Society and Militant!

#Megagame

On my way back home from the #Megagame of A Very British Coup #AVBC

Here's the starting line up for legislation, before we changed anything, and we changed a lot!

I was the policy lead for the Labour Coordinating Committee, one of seven Labour factions

I've played #megagame lots & #AVBC was one of the most engaging, all negotiation.

About half the players were new, and many of them were Labour party members. That made for a different dynamic, but a positive one.

An equal number of establishment teams opposed us

We went niaively into government, and learnt quickly that the establishment has the upper hand.

Our first 3 bills didn't go well. Regulation of the city got watered down by the civil service and Defence Secretary went native and entered the wrong lobby narrowly losing a vote

So we passed legislation on low pay and regulating the city (but diluted) and were defeated on an Environment Act that would have dealt with pollution and leaded petrol.

We had about half the impact we'd planned, and lost a Cabinet Minister.

#AVBC #megagame

We learnt that if even one of us went off the party unity the establishment would win. That made it easier to run the PLP policy committee.

Next three bills:
Scottish devolution
Family benefits
Increased NHS spending

All passed, but used up money

#AVBC #megagame

The third three bills needed to be cheap to implement with high impact.

The establishment wrecked that by replacing a cheap idea with a programme of public works. We panicked and voted it down.

We passed bank lending controls and overseas aid.

#AVBC #megagame

We were half way through, and had touched some hot button issues, notably open government and security services regulation that had been fought off.

The establishment also had control of the Home Secretary, Defence Secretary and Cabinet Secretary and used them

#AVBC #megagame

Ran out of battery on the way home. Here's the rest of #AVBC #Megagame

The press consistently reported the bad bits and none of the good bits.

These were the Establishment's problem issues, they all ran into technical difficulty or the #OBN prevented them being tabled

Our fourth round of legislation in the #AVBC #Megagame saw us having to put up taxes to pay for our social reforms.

We introduced better Women's rights, but the establishment diluted the impact with exceptionalism.

We gave people better pensions, with inflation guarantees

When we were discussing the 4th round of legislation we also did a deal on the 5th and 6th rounds. There were 9 bills left and 7 factions. Each had one of its favourite bills and we had the necessary tax rises in too.

Most had 2 bills because we overlapped

#AVBC #Megagame

We did the deal because we'd seen that the establishment could only interfere when we changed the order.

Or so we believed.

Housing and Trident were due in round five, along with new non-discriminatory citizenship.

#AVBC #Megagame

Things went wrong rapidly when we went into the policy group for round 5. Nothing was supposed to change, but the Housing Bill had run into 'tehnical difficulty' and was delayed by the Cabinet Secretary. Press Regulation took its place.

#AVBC #Megagame

we opened with the Fabians threatening to break the whip if we kept the Bill to cancel Trident.

Rapid negotiation restored party unity by implementing both Nationalisation and Infrastructure. This meant not going for Press Regulation or cancelling trident.

#AVBC #Megagame

The Fabians then tried asking for more. I shut them down by pointing out that we'd agreed a deal for the parliamentary session and I'd lost my flagship policy to the establishment and they'd just got what they'd asked for.

It worked, to a point.

#AVBC #Megagame

When voting on the 5th set of Bills the establishment came out in force. We had a battle getting nationalisation onto the table, but won because the Press supported not being regulated.

Then the Home Secretary vote against the govt and citizenship failed.

#AVBC #Megagame

The Cabinet players had noted the Fabians were talking lots with the Old Boy Network, and had more influence than the rest of us. It looked like they'd sabotaged the bills. So a caucus formed to censure them. A narrow vote (7-6 in favour) failed to eject them.

#AVBC #Megagame

Just as we were thinking about that a scandal came to a head within the establishment. At first I thought that it was a coup going off. The police, armed forces and MI5 gathered and approached MI6.

It was rather ominous, and there were control in tow.

#AVBC #Megagame

Turned out someone had made strong allegations of the Head of MI6 being a Soviet spy. There was allegedly evidence, and the Soviets supported his defence...

#AVBC #Megagame

We had three bills left. The Housing Bill had suffered yet more technical difficulty and had been replaced by Brexit.

We needed to change bills again. No-one was willing to support Housing back on, we felt it would be opposed by the Establishment.

#AVBC #Megagame

We spoke to the Church who voted more on conscience than en bloc with the establishment. They were most keen on Education out of our suggestions.

So we had a final line of
Banning Fox Hunting
Education reform
Regulating arms sales

#AVBC #Megagame

After the bills passed a vote of confidence was tabled on Harry Perkin's govt.

The Establishment deployed all their votes against us. It looked bad.

Then the Tories abstained. They thought they'd get a better majority if we carried on a little longer.

#AVBC #Megagame

We'd implemented a lot of liberal social reform. Taxes had gone up to pay for it.

My faction got three of it's five most important policies passed (Housing and Security services failed). We also managed 11 of the 18 we'd suggested

Labour was still in govt.

#AVBC #Megagame

Most things we'd passed affected ordinary people. So they'd notice life getting better for them, and our members could see us delivering.

The next GE campaign would have loads of people canvassing.

And we had room for a tax cut just before the GE...

#AVBC #Megagame

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