Pluvia and the Saxean Isles

Pluvia and the Saxean Isles, officially the United Kingdom of Pluvia and the Saxean Isles, is a parliamentary democracy under a unitary constitutional monarchy located in southeastern Atlantian Oceania. While not directly bordering any nations, it is situated to the east of Bettia, the south of Falcania, the northeast of Sabine & Caddonia, and the west of Pacitalia, with a population of over 8 million people in its 18 parishes. Its capital and largest city is Marienburg, while its largest urban area is the Barningvale, comprising the two cities of Barnwick and Barnmere.

Pluvia is economy

Politically,

As a developed country,

Climate


The climate of Pluvia and the Saxean Isles varies depending on the region, from the parishes of the Northern Highlands and the Northmarch experiencing a cold semi-arid climate (BSk), to the mountainous Three Peaks parish experiencing an ice cap climate (EF), and the Saxean Isles experiencing a subpolar oceanic climate (CFc), and others in between. In general, the nation experiences oceanic and continental climates, with consistent rainfall in the southern regions and substantial snowfall in the winter around the nation.

In the southern regions of the nation, both summers and winters are relatively mild due to the influence of the ocean, but winters tend to be cooler than summers tend to be hot. In the north, the climate tends to be a bit more extreme, with hotter summers and colder winters. At the high elevations of the Three Peaks, temperatures can be freezing and snow exists at the highest elevations year round. The Saxean Isles experiences long but relatively mild winters and short, cool summers, with drier summers and wetter winters.

Politics
There are three levels of government in Pluvia and the Saxean Isles (or four, if you live in the Saxean Isles specifically). They are the national government, the autonomous government of the Saxean Isles, the parish, and the borough.

The national government is composed of legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch is called the National Assembly and is subdivided into the House of Deputies, the lower house, and the Senate, the upper house. Together, they work to pass laws for the nation. The House of Deputies and Senate are run by the party(s) that controls a majority of each house. The House of Deputies is where legislation originates, and the Senate has the power of accepting, rejecting, or amending legislation, but cannot propose new legislation. If the Senate votes a bill down, the House of Deputies may pass it a second time, in which case it cannot be rejected again. If a bill is amended, the House of Deputies may pass the amended bill or the original bill a second time. The Senate cannot cause a loss of confidence (i.e. a government collapse), only the House of Deputies.

The House of Deputies is composed of 150 members. In a system called parallel voting, 100 members are elected in constituencies using first-past-the-post, and 50 members are elected nationwide via party-list proportional representation. Constituencies currently have approximately 80,000 residents, and in any given constituency, there are approximately 60-65,000 citizens of voting age. If no candidate meets the threshold of 35% of the vote, then a run-off election is held with the top two vote-getters. Deputies serve four-year terms. The Senate is composed of 80 members and is elected by parish councils. Each parish council elects a certain number of senators proportional to its population, with the exception of the two Saxean Isles parishes, which together elect 12 senators (15%) despite their lower share of the population. Senators serve for six-year terms. The parish councils are required to elect senators in as close a proportion as possible to the composition of the council. If parties exist on the parish council that do not hold enough seats to merit a senator, many parish councils elect an officially independent senator. The Senate reviews delegations from each parish, and may expel senators by a majority vote if they feel the delegation is not representative of the parish council.

Take Sampletown Parish, which elects 4 senators. In Sampletown Parish, there are 12 council seats. Note: population totals are ignored for the purpose of this example. Party A holds 6 of 12 council seats, Party B holds 4 of 12 council seats, Party C holds 1 of 12 council seats, and Party D holds 1 of 12 council seats. The Sampletown Parish Council elects 2 senators from Party A (50% of council seats, 50% of senators). But what should they do about Parties B-D? Party B is entitled to 1.33 senators, while Parties C and D are entitled to 0.33 senators each. Should they elect two senators from Party B, over-representing them and shutting out Parties C and D? Should they pick one party between C and D and give them a senator, ignoring the other one? The response of councils vary. In this case, Sampletown Parish asks Parties C and D to present a list of names that they find mutually acceptable and gives Party B the power to veto. In other cases, Sampletown Parish may choose a respected local figure to serve as an independent. But say that Party C is providing confidence and supply to Party A. They may have a senator elected instead, and indeed, these deals are often a part of coalition agreements on parish councils. Occasionally in these cases, the two largest parties may collaborate to shut out the smaller ones.

The executive branch is composed of the monarch and the Praesidium. The Praesidium is the royal council of the nation and is headed by the Lord Steward, who also holds the office of Prime Minister, and is usually the head of the largest party in the National Assembly. Each member of the Praesidium is also a member of the National Assembly (typically, though not exclusively, a member of the House of Deputies) and has specific responsibilities for government departments, called ministries. Heads of the ministries are called ministers, except for the heads of the Treasury, Justice, Defence, Foreign, and Interior ministries, who are styled as "Lord" due to the original titles of the heads of these ministries. The Praesidium discusses with the monarch the ongoing business of the executive branch and both gives and takes recommendations for the administration of the nation. The monarch holds the power to veto a bill, but this is used sparingly, and may be overridden, like the Senate, with an additional majority vote.

The judicial branch is composed of the High Court (the final court of appeal and original court for international disputes), the Court of Appeals (the second-to-last court of appeal and responsible for hearing disputes between parishes or between parishes and the national or autonomous government, or between the autonomous government and the national government), parish courts (first court of appeal or for disputes between boroughs) and borough courts (original jurisdiction over most matters).

Administrative Divisions
The autonomous government of the Saxean Isles is the government responsible for governing the Saxean Isles as a whole, and has responsibilities over: Healthcare, Education, Justice, Transport, Environment, Policing, Rural Affairs, Housing, and some taxation powers. The legislation of the national government supersedes anything passed by the autonomous government, but they are allowed to set up schemes specific to the Saxean Isles.

The autonomous government has a Parlamaid, which is a unicameral legislature consisting of 50 members elected by party-list proportional representation. It elects a Premier and ministers, who run the executive branch of the government.

Local government in Pluvia and the Saxean Isles occurs on two levels: the parish and the borough. A parish is a unit of local government that may encompass one large city or many smaller ones. Parishes have a directly elected mayor who, with the help of the elected parish council, governs the parish. The mayor appoints officials, subject to the approval of the council, who run the parish's various government departments. The mayor plus the heads of the departments are also called the parish Praesidium. The parish council passes laws and the Praesidium administers the laws. Parish councils are elected in a number of ways, with first-past-the-post and Linkinstant-runoff voting in single-member constituencies, with Linksingle transferable vote elections in multi-member constituencies, with mixed-member proportional, or with open-list or party-list proportional elections. Parishes determine how members are elected, but there is one councillor for every 30,000 residents. Parish councillors serve for three-year terms.

A borough is a unit of local government that may encompass a part of a larger city, a single smaller city, or sometimes multiple small towns or unincorporated areas. Parishes establish boroughs and there is no limit to the number of boroughs that may be established. However, boroughs are required to have at least 5,000 residents. Boroughs are run by a borough council, which has one councillor for every 5,000 residents or a minimum of five councillors, if there are fewer than 25,000 residents. Borough councils are elected like parish councils, with each borough deciding whether they would like first-past-the-post, instant-runoff, single-transferable vote, or mixed-member or fully proportional representation. The borough council elects a borough president from among their members, who is the presiding officer for the council and handles most of the day-to-day business outside of meetings. Borough councillors serve for three-year terms.

Boroughs may allow citizens to participate in a sort of direct democracy called "neighborhood meetings" in cities or "district meetings" in more rural areas, where residents can vote on how they would like to spend certain funds allocated for their particular area. Officially, they only recommend how to spend funds, but in practice, their decisions are often followed.

Languages
Pluvia and the Saxean Isles has no official language and two primary national languages: Pluvian and Modern Saxean. Pluvian is the language of choice for the vast majority of the population and is the language of instruction on the mainland. Modern Saxean is the language of instruction on the Saxean Isles, though all public schools also offer Pluvian as a language class. In the Saxean Isles, all public signage must be posted in Modern Saxean first, and then Pluvian is optional, with the reverse being true on the mainland. Old Saxean is spoken almost exclusively in the Saxean Isles and by a minority of the population there. It is sometimes offered as a language class, especially in private Saxean academies. Other languages are spoken by a minority of the population, mainly immigrants and those who need to deal with foreign countries.

Health and Social Security
The Pluvian system of social security can be divided into two parts: catastrophic public health insurance and a system of cash transfers known as security benefits.

Healthcare System
In the Pluvian system, every worker pays a dedicated healthcare tax which covers costs above a relatively high out-of-pocket expense for those without private insurance. People below a certain income level receive refunds on healthcare tax on a sliding-scale basis, while retirees receive refunds based on a flat percentage of their income. Most expenses are paid on an out of pocket basis; however, basic preventive services are free. Individuals who do not want to rely on public catastrophic coverage can get private insurance, which generally comes with higher premiums than the healthcare tax, but lower out of pocket expenses. Similarly, private health insurance usually comes with faster service and more amenities.

In general, the Pluvian government and its parishes do not own or operate public hospitals, believing that function to be best served by civil society and private business. Some cities do operate publicly-owned clinics where services are free or low-cost. Most non-profit hospitals are owned by religious organizations such as the Franciscans, while other hospitals are for-profits run by private companies.

Security Benefits
In the Pluvian system, various welfare benefits, collectively referred to as Security Benefits, are given out to different groups of people based on different criteria. In general, benefits are limited in duration, and amount, and require filling out paperwork to document income and personal situation that makes one eligible for the particular benefit. This reflects the societal belief that individuals should be largely responsible for their own security, but those who deserve help should be provided it.

Some examples of Security Benefits are the Old-Age Security Benefit (pension), the Jobless Security Benefit (unemployment insurance), and the Accident Security Benefit (workers' compensation).

Art and Design
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