Apples

Apples Clarke (born February 13, 1974) is a Dogger politician, member of the Legal Council, former Prime Minister of Doggerland, Deputy Prime Minister of Doggerland, President of Doggerland, leader and founder of 3P, Chancellor of the Treasury, Parliamentary Leader of the Social Democratic Party, Senator from District 2, Senate Premier, Minister of Education, Families and Equalities and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Doggerland.

Early Life
Apples Clarke was born on February 13, 1974 in Abester, Brun-South to a middle class family. He later moved to Nandels Port to continue his studies.

Early Political Career
WIP

Doggerland's Left
He was elected to the National Assembly of Doggerland on March 28, 2021 following the March 2021 Doggerland legislative elections as member of the Doggerland Left party with which he registered to run. He didn't do much during his time besides voting for bills. He was also pretty absent between conversations from within the party.

Populist Party


He later decided to quit the partisanship of the DL and join the Populist Party as a founding member after being approached by Robert La Follette. Apples thought he will have more influence as a member of the Populist Party in the assembly and be able to more easily work with other assembly members. This however, didn't last long since La Follette passed away 3 days after the founding of the party leading to the its disbandment.

Labour Workers' Party
Apples followed the other former populist party members to the Labour Workers' Party. He supported Theodor Robert "Trashman" Mann's candidacy for leader of the party and Arjun The Great's candidacy for deputy leader after he was approached by Arjun The Great. Arjun easily defeated other challengers and Mann too won his race, partly due to his support, but there was major fraud discovered. Incumbent leader Melvin John "Mel" Bradley had tampered with the results to increase his vote share but his efforts failed. Apples stayed out of it, however, due to the chaos in the party the LWP ended up losing many seats during the April 2021 Doggerland legislative elections making Apples barely be left out of the assembly as he was put 10th on the party list and the party received just 9 seats. Apples re entered the assembly following the May 2021 Doggerland legislative elections as a member of the LWP. He voted against Saber Pardon's premiership but he was confirmed prime minister with the narrow majority of 2. Many LWP members left the party in favour of joining the Volt+Pirates Party. This led Apples to also leave the LWP but join the Communist Party.

Defection
After many of his fellow LWP MPs voted for the formation of the Liberal Government and proceeded to defect to a government friendly party, Apples left the LWP for the Communist Party which he thought is more stable and consistent. His defection was met with surprise, as he was the only person to defect from the LWP to a more leftist organisation. Overall his defection didn't lead to much since both the DCP and the LWP were in opposition to the government.

Work as DCP Member
During his time in the national assembly as a Communist MP, Apples has done the exact opposite of what was expected from a defecting LWP to CP member. He started advocating and himself working towards further co operation with the liberal led government. Apples worked on many amendments which made bills reach the middle ground between the political parties in Doggerland and broaden their support. Clarke has worked closely with other opposition parties and is a big critic of the May budget released by the government. Apples is the author of the compromise revisited REST Act which sees to keep the fundamental values of the original while making it acceptable to the governing parties advocating for the repeal of the entire bill. Heiligerhahn was able to bring government leaders to the negotiating table regarding the act, even though both him and Apples were sceptical at first if the government will consider a compromise solution. Apples supported Rune's run for the presidency during the May 2021 Doggerland presidential election.

Humanist Center Leader
On June 1st, Apples left the DCP and formed the Humanist Center because of dissatisfaction with the increased partisanship. He called for unity and pledged that the governing coalition which will emerge after the elections will have his and the HC's full support to maintain stability.

3rd Term as Member of the National Assembly
At the opening of the National Assembly Apples supported Vikingz' nomination for speaker alongside Avery's and Pepe's nominations for deputy speakers. He voted for the Fire with Fire Bill. He also supported the Executive Powers Bill alongside amendments to limit pardon powers and shorten the term length of the office. He helped shape the Assembly Rules & Procedures Act by motioning to add the ability to motion to pack bills which Saber, the bill's author, accepted as a friendly amendment. Apples supported packing the Climate Emergency Act and the Recycling Act which he later amended to establish clearer climate goals and further investment.

Apples has taken on many different projects during his 3rd term in the National Assembly. Those include the Education reform package he champions, devolution and restructuring reform, infrastructure projects, justice system overhaul and work on the budget of the Doggerland Belongs to You government. He also helped Avery! with the Uncaged act which he co sponsored. Due to his activity in so many areas he has been called "a policy wonk who gets into a lot of different projects" even if they don't concern his ministry. Apples has worked with the opposition for every bill he has submitted to the assembly, notably with leader of the opposition Saber.

Minister of Education, Families and Equalities
After the LWP won the June 2021 Doggerland legislative elections Theodor Mann was successful in forging a working coalition under the Doggerland Belongs to You coalition with which Apples sided and was given the job of minister of education, families and equalities. At the start of his tenure he announced his education reform bill and has set aim to have it passed during the LWP government. This task however remained unaccomplished as stagnation in the assembly continued.

June Presidential Election
Apples has stated that Marius Hawyee is "too mad of a lad to not be allowed to run" in a private conversation when asking if he has achieved the needed signatures to qualify and gave his signature to the campaign of the former Prime Minister on June 18. Apples also signed on the campaign of MapDude for president and Seth Woods for vice president. Despite this he and the Humanist Center endorsed incumbent president Rune. Apples supported Rune in the May 2021 Doggerland presidential election so this wasn't a surprising move for many.

4th Term as Member of the National Assembly
In the aftermath of the July 2021 Doggerland legislative elections Apples was instrumental to the formation of the Hexagon Government. This assured that the Humanist Center will remain in government even though he tied the party to the then main opposition the Liberal Party. As member of the National Assembly Apples has supported the Budget he introduced. He has also written the Electoral Reform and Party Establishment Act with which he seeks to limit the number of parties and push some to merge with others.

During his 4th term Apples helped establish the Green Caucus and the Pirate Caucus and remained a member of both. He also joined the Grand National Caucus.

Chancellor of the Treasury
After the formation of the Hexagon Government Apples was able to secure the cabinet position of Chancellor of the Treasury being tasked with creating a budget. He worked closely with Welfare and Labour minister Richard Nixon with whom Apples had written sever budgets before during the Doggerland Belongs to You government. The budget of the 6th government is first one to achieve a surplus and be introduced as the first action of an entering government. Notably it was released on the same day as Theodor Mann was confirmed Prime Minister.

Prime Ministerial Run
After talks with William Bos Apples decided to seek the backing of the Hexagon Government for Prime Minister. He was unable to secure the most support due to the recent controversies of the Humanist Center, him being from such a small party and Avery's large support all around the coalition. Nonetheless he backed Avery Wagers in her run for the premiership after she won the vote and thanked his supporters for putting their faith in him. He pledged to continue his duties as Chancellor of the Treasury and Government Spokesperson.

Volt+Humanists Leader
On July 10th when Volt Doggerland was officially dissolved Apples established Volt+Humanists as a merger between Volt and the Humanist Center.

Work on the July Constitution
As one of Attorney General PrisonMike's goons Apples was instrumental in discovering many of the flaws with the old constitution of Doggerland. This led to the horrifying findings of the Constitutional Report conducted by the Attorney General's office and released by Apples on July 10th. He immediately started working on a new constitutional draft to replace the old one. After preparing an initial draft Apples called the July Constitutional Convention on July 11th which included both government and opposition members. Notable members were Legal Counsellors PrisonMike and MKJ, Baal Moss son of Baveland Moss who wrote the previous constitution, Prime Minister Avery, President Rune Tien-Long, shadow minister of constitutional affairs Bent Jansma, Deputy Prime Minister and profound lawyer Saber and Co-Leader of the Doggerland Left Heiligerhahn. After days of work the final constitutional draft was released on July 13th with it being approved by the National Assembly on July 16th.

Legal Council Member
For his findings and work on the new constitution Apples was appointed to the Legal Council by Prime Minister Avery Wagers. In the LC Apples heard the case on the dissolution of the Senate. This is an avenue on which he and now former Attorney General PrisonMike have worked on. Apples agreed with most of the report made by Baal Moss regarding the case. He will later rule that the Senate has to be re established to approve the new constitutional which will then disband it. Later on he will move the Legal Council to review the Assembly Rules & Procedures Act, sections of which will be removed due to violating both the old and new constitution on July 19th. Apples opened a case against Northern Extremism as requested by President Rune Tien-Long. The Legal Council will establish the Northern Extremism Task Force as a response to counter said extremism on July 20th. Apples, together with Legal Councillor MKJ will rule that magic is legal unless it violates the constitution or passed laws. He also warned Barge to not go against his ban from entering National Parks.

Senator and Senatorial Run
Apples was appointed to the upper chamber in effort to pass his constitution after a Legal Council ruling declared the disbandment of the Senate illegal. Apples supported the Senate Re-establishment Act in a following referendum. He will then attempt to run for the Senate but be unable to win due to strong competition from Richard Nixon, Ayvind Bjarnason and MapDude.

National Parks Commission
Apples was appointed to the National Parks Commission as Vizier of Benches by PrisonMike on July 22nd. In that role he begun inspections of various benches are ensured high quality benches for all National Parks. Apples was impressed by the benches in the garden of the royal palace during Prime Minister Avery's birthday. He commissioned several designs there to be sent to the National Parks on July 23rd.

Early August Elections
After the Early August 2021 Doggerland legislative elections Volt+Humanists saw their seat count increase. Parties entrenched mainly in a Right wing and a left wing bloc. Apples was offered to be the Prime Minister candidate of the right wing bloc to which he at first agreed. However, after being approached by leaders of left wing parties, especially some expressing their disappointment and a sense of betrayal Apples decided to pull out of the right wing coalition. He later apologised to everyone involved and called for the formation of a centrist coalition. That's what followed after President Rune Tien-Long selected MapDude to lead the next government. Apples was once again appointed Chancellor of the Treasury, now having served in the position under 4 different Prime Ministers and 2 consecutive governments. After cabinet discussions it was agreed that a new budget was unnecessary.

Deputy Speaker
On August 6th Apples ran for Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and ended up winning with support from left wing and right wing members. He served in the position alongside the runner-up in the election - Henry Ross Perot. As Deputy Speaker Apples assisted Speaker Pepe and helped seed up the process.

Polling and Action Alliance primary
Apples entered the Action Alliance and was later nominated to be their candidate for President of Doggerland in the August 2021 Doggerland presidential election. He selected Melvin Bradley Jr. as his running mate. His campaign focused on expanding the role of the presidency. Early polling indicated a lead for him in the first round against opponents like William Bos, Barge, Shawty.

First Round
Apples and the Action Alliance emerged victorious after the 1st round of the August presidential election. They didn't gather a majority, so a run-off was scheduled where Apples faced off Barge. The result of the election was followed by endorsements for Apples from both right leaning and left leaning people in hopes to avoid a Barge presidency. General thinking and polls indicated that Apples will defeat Barge in the second round.

Second Round
The second round was a sound victory for Apples even though smaller than some imagined it was still the largest percentage of the vote a presidential candidate has gotten until then, gathering 57.3% to Barge's 42.7%. Apples entered the presidency on a promise of expanding the powers of the office and being more involved in the general politics of Doggerland.

First Term
After winning the August Presidential Election Apples Clarke took office as President on August 18th. His goal was to deliver on the promise on which he and the Action Alliance were elected - expansion of Presidential powers. As President Apples wrote the Constitutional Reform Act and the Presidential Powers Act both pieces of legislation sought out to reform the powers of the presidency and were both approved in referendums with very large margins. As the new chief diplomat of Doggerland Apples denied that Lichtenstein has invaded and has awarded several medals of honour most notably to Speaker of the National Assembly Peter Lis and former President Rune Tien-Liong. On September 3rd Apples passed the Floods Relief Bill which helped Brun-South in the aftermath of the massive floods it experienced. On September 17th Apples proposed the Vice Presidential Office Establishment Bill another bill which reformed how the Presidency and Vice-Presidency operate. The Apples Presidency also resulted in reform to how Presidential elections are held with the passing of Vice President Melvin Bradley Jr.'s Alternative Vote Act. Apples attended a state visit to the United Kingdom together with Foreign Minister Vikingz. Apples dealt with the Legal Council appointments crisis of September when Prime Minister Shawty Forbes and Leader of the Opposition Joris Jansen were unable to agree on a single list for appointments to the LC. In the end Apples put the list suggested to him by Jansen before the assembly for a confirmation vote. The list included incumbents PrisonMike and Clarke himself plus former Prime Minister and prosecutor Saber. In the aftermath of the September 2021 Doggerland legislative elections Apples granted Solidarity a mandate for government formation to prevent dozens of investiture motions being put before the assembly.

Re-election
Apples was challenged by Barge once again when he decided to seek re-election. Speaker of the National Assembly Pepe who was a strong supporter of Clarke in August also decided to run. However, due to the left not having a clear ticket this election most voted for Apples and he was able to win in the biggest landslide in the history of Presidential elections in Doggerland and the only Presidential election which didn't need a second ballot/round.

Senator
Apples decided to run for Senate in District 2 in the August 2021 Doggerland senate elections after his victory in the Presidential Election left a vacancy in the district. He faced criticism of not running in District 4 where he previously ran. At the end he was able to win and served as Senator alongside Barge who also won his Senate election in the same district.

Shortly after being elected he was suggested for Premier by PrisonMike and was later approved. Apples worked to establish the position of Deputy Premier to which District 4 Senator Shawty like a Melody was elected. In the Senate Apples is known for his strong support for bills like the Paramilitaries and Order Act which has resulted in many claiming he's a "staunch authoritarian" though he has denied such claims. As Premier Apples has tried to get the Senate to work quicker and more efficiently. Clarke made the Senators Voting Record List in an attempt for greater transparency. A week before the October Senate elections, in which Clarke stated his intention to run for re-election, he joined the Non-Partisan Senate Alliance commenting that Non-partisanship is very important in the Senate and especially in its leadership.

Prime Minister
After the October 2021 Doggerland legislative elections 3P pulled an upset victory together with the United Progressives. In the negotiations which followed, Clarke was selected Prime Minister of the First Civic-Progressive Coalition, the government between 3P, the Labor Workers' Party, the Liberal Party and the Civic Union. Upon his investiture he had to resign from the Presidency and the Legal Council.

June Election
In the June election incumbent Apples faced a though challange from Liberal candidate Shiela Riordan. Riordan ran an effective campaign painting Apples as a radical who only formed the Humanist Center to appeal to liberals while also running ads which pointed to his formation of the party as a fact the left can't trust him. Apples had to spend significant time campaigning in his constituency which likely hurt the HC on the national stage but securing him his seat.

Apples was firstly elected to the seat after the May election as member of the LWP. His switch led to Labour candidate Jess Jones loosing major support in comparison with the party's performance last election. The Reform party was able to gather a lot of support from libertarian voters, leading to the libertarian party loosing over half of its vote share.

In the end Apples was able to barely secure his seat with it being called only after several recounts were done. Forming the Humanist Center was a significant risk for Apples but he was able to win even though it was by a very small margin.

Legislative History
Apples is the author of the following legislation:
 * Schools, Curriculum, Education and Children; For the Future Act - Education Reform


 * Northern Development Act - Infrastructure projects, Northern development


 * Expanded Justice Act - Justice system reform


 * Budget of the 6th Government - Government Budget


 * Electoral Reform and Party Establishment Act - Political reform


 * July Constitution of Doggerland - Constitutional Reform


 * National Education Service Act (written together with Richard Nixon) - Education Reform


 * Revision of the REST Act - REST Act revision


 * Constitutional Reform Act - Constitutional Reform


 * Presidential Powers Act - Expansion of Presidential power


 * Floods Relief Bill - Relief to Brun-South


 * Vice Presidential Office Establishment Bill - Vice Presidency reform


 * Budget of the White Heat Government - Government Budget


 * Budget of the Civic-Progressive Government - Government Budget


 * Food Stamps Establishment Bill - Welfare Reform


 * Disability Benefits Bill - Welfare Reform


 * Small Businesses and Economic Resurgence Bill - Small Business Subsidies, Welfare Reform


 * Referendum Legitimization and Direct Democracy Bill - Legal Reform


 * Stravers Corporation Nationalisation Bill - Economic Reform


 * Mail-in Voting Access Bill - Mail-in Voting


 * Pandemic Protection Bill - Powers to introduce anti-pandemic measures

Apples has co sponsored the following legislation:
 * Prime Minister’s Questions Act - PMQs Introduction
 * Restorative Justice; Uncaged Act - Prison Reform
 * United Health System Act - Healthcare Reform
 * Railroad Act - High speed rail system
 * Senate Reestablishment Act - Senate Reform
 * National Rail Expansion Act - Infrastructure expansion
 * Municipal and Provincial Standardization Act - Local Powers Reform
 * Consumers Right to Know Act - GMO labelling
 * After School Activity Act - Education Reform
 * Act for the Benefit of Children - Child Benefits
 * FDI Promotion Bill - Foreign Investment Promotion