/u/E_Albrecht, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and /u/LouisOstrowski, the Education Secretary have formed the First Imperial Party in yet another faction to split from the Conservative Party. Formed to “passionately defend Conservatism in its truest sense”, it follows a number of high profile incidents within the Conservative Party, including /u/Ruairidh_’s exposure of the Bullingdon leadership chat. E_Albrecht was tipped by many to become Deputy Leader following /u/purpleslug’s resignation earlier this month.

The party’s formation came as a complete shock to many Conservative members, with the leadership seeing less than an hour’s notice of E_Albrecht’s resignation and formation of party. The Times understands that E_Albrecht approached several Conservative MPs before being discovered by Prime Minister and Conservative Leader /u/DrCaeserMD, triggering the FIP’s early launch. It is unclear how many members have joined the grouping, but LouisOstrowski gave an impromptu resignation speech in front of Conservative members shortly before leaving to become E_Albrecht’s deputy. E_Albrecht himself resigned in a voice call with fellow Conservatives.

The loss of two Cabinet minister will be a blow to the Prime Minister, especially as the Government seeks to pump out its remaining legislative agenda. The loss of Chief Secretary to the Treasury will in particular further pressurise the Budget, and the new Chancellor of the Exchequer /u/Leafy_Emerald. However, E_Albrecht’s impact on the Budget was understood to be limited, and sources from the Treasury tell the Times that the Budget will no be delayed because of his departure. Having just completed his January reshuffle, it is another headache for the Prime Minister. The return of /u/GotNoRealFriends to the party may help relieve the pressure, and Minister of State for Brexit /u/InfernoPlato could be utilised in a Cabinet role with /u/TheQuipton returning from a break.

The Conservative Party will hope now to have expelled all factionalist elements, but after /u/Friedmanite19’s leaving to form the NLP with a number of Conservatives last year, Ruairidh_’s exposure of the Bullingdon ahead of his departure, and now this, it seems the Conservatives seat count is creating problems when it comes to keeping the party unified. The lack of opposition seems to have made certain elements of the party unsettled, and so intraparty conflict has intensified, seemingly to replace the gap left by the absent left wing challenge.

The first test for the First Imperial Party will be the General Election, which is to be held before the second week of March. They will not have the benefit of experience in the devolved elections, as the National Liberty Party did. Questions will also be asked of what will happen to the now crowded right wing scene. The Conservatives, NUP, NLP, Classical Liberals, and now the First Imperial Party all now share some element of overlap, and one feels something must give, without certain parties drastically changing their seat share. Another challenge for the FIP will be achieving party status - as a newly formed group, they are currently an ‘independent grouping’ and will need to find 10 active members before officially becoming a party.

The new party has certainly caused a stir - E_Albrecht’s visual design skills are on full display with several modern logo designs. However, he and LouisOstrowski know that taking a new party to a Parliamentary presence takes more than graphic design. The first few weeks in the run up to the General Election will be the hardest for the FIP, with the struggles of building up membership from scratch in a congested right wing market. For the Conservatives, yet another factional dispute creates yet more problems for the Prime Minister, not least replacing two Cabinet colleagues, and dealing with the fallout from the tumultuous exit of his MPs.

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