The Times has seen a coalition agreement drawn up by the Labour Party, the Democratic Reformist Front, and The People’s Movement that is being voted on by members of the respective parties. If passed, it would see the 38 seat coalition go into government, with Prime Minister /u/ARichTeaBiscuit supported by DRF leader /u/ZanyDraco as Deputy Prime Minister. Flagship policies in the document include abolition of the monarchy, the replacement of the Lords with elected peers, raising the minimum wage to £9 an hour, an increase in trade union powers, and a variety of civil liberties measures. The deal would see a sole TPM representative, /u/14Derry, serving as a Minister without Portfolio.

The coalition would see the Labour Party return to government for the first time since the collapse of the Sunrise coalition in December 2019, and would mark the very first appearance in government for both the Democratic Reformist Front, and The People’s Movement. TPM had previously appeared to reject the idea of participating in a government coalition, with /u/ContrabannedTheMC stating unequivocally “TPM will not enter a governing coalition” during the recent no confidence debate. The addition of TPM’s six MPs would make the coalition 4 seats larger than the Conservative Party alone, which would scupper the Tories hopes of continuing as a minority government.

Various policy areas are detailed within the document, with strong Labour themes running through its economic and labour rights sections. The document pledges an increase in trade union power, with the right to secondary action reintroduced alongside an increase in the minimum wage from its current level from £8.72 to £9 an hour and a “critical stance” on mergers and monopolies. Strong civil liberties themes run throughout the document, with pledges to end stop and search, reduce detention for suspected terrorists from 28 to 14 days, and a prohibition of the use of facial recognition by police. In public services, there are broad commitments to expand pupil premium and to review social care.

Most dramatic are the sweeping constitutional reforms planned. The coalition agreement pledges to abolish the monarchy in favour of an “Irish-style presidency”; to replace the Lords with elected peers, elected twelve at a time to a maximum of 24; as well as to replace AMS with “Norwegian-style elections” (Norway employs the Sainte-Laguë method in its elections, which is similar to the D’Hondt system but with more weight given to smaller parties). Internationally, there is a strong Sinosceptic current in the coalition’s foreign policy, with various measures designed to combat what is regarded as the influence of China in Asia and beyond.

Looking at the Cabinet, the Labour Party is set to hold all four Great Offices of State, with the DRF holding 15 Cabinet posts including Chief Whip, First Secretary of State, and International Trade Secretary, as well as the newly created Secretary of State for Democracy, and Secretary of State for Citizenship, Communities and Local Government, the latter split from the new Secretary of State for Housing and Infrastructure from the current DHCLG. The sole TPM inclusion in Cabinet is /u/14Derry, who will serve as Minister without Portfolio. This seems to be a compromise from TPM, who had been reluctant to take up a formal role in government. Labour Chairman /u/ThePootIsPower told The Times “I believe that this coalition agreement is the product of a negotiation period that synthesised the republican DRF's core policy goals with a left-wing consensus between Labour and The People's Movement successfully - I personally am very happy with what we've achieved with this coalition agreement and feel that if it were to pass and become the government, we would succeed where the Clegg coalition failed in creating a open, honest government that worked beyond traditional party lines.” When asked whether they believed all other parties would approve the deal, the Shadow First Secretary of State replied “You can never speak for other parties' memberships, but I believe that there's enough in this agreement to be worth it for TPM, DRF, Plaid Cymru and the Irish Parliamentary Party - all elements were represented in negotiations and I feel like everyone walked away from negotiations happy.”

The three party coalition is likely to cause concern on the Government benches, as the Conservatives try to find a way of staying in power. Speaking late last night, one senior Tory minister told The Times: “I have always said Lab-DRF-TPM was on the cards if a VONC passed and here it is. This claptrap of a coalition was denied by both TPM and Labour leader Akko [ARichTeaBiscuit] as being on the cards in the VONC and yet here is the evidence. Liars and hypocrites, the lot of them. TPM's representative should show a spine and quit, and Akko should make a formal apology to the House.”

Whilst it cannot be taken for granted that the vote will pass - The Times understands that amongst Labour members there is some degree of suspicion - the fact that a coalition agreement has been produced is a clear indication of how seriously the three parties are taking the prospect of governing together. The question now is whether the government and the LPUK can do anything to stop this coalition, or whether ARichTeaBiscuit will become the 14th Labour Prime Minister.