Economics in the Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Mercia- UDI 1995)

Over veiw
The economy relies on 5 sources- retail, growing tourism, agriculture, mining and the limited and sporadic output from both the Longbridge car plant, along with Wednesbury light industrial estate, the Treherbert and Rhondda trading estates.

Agriculture
Main agricultural goods include wheat, apples, wool, beer, cider, beef, cattle and sugar beet. The fleet of 6 minor fishing boats has had the right to operate in a 10km2 box just south of Rockall since 2009, but has operated illegally in various places since 2005.

The minister for science, research, farming and fisheries is Zhou Sung, the Federal Conservative MP for Clun.

Energey


The principal power sources are small oil fired power station near Hereford, the 2 small coal fired Rhymney power stations, 8 wind turbine on the Brecon Beacons, 7 wind turbines near Leominster and 7 wind turbines near Worcester. Most people do not have a reliable supply and domestic power cuts are common place due to power shortages.

The current Energy, housing and infrastructure minister is the Federal labour MP for Caerphilly, Rhodri Griffiths.

Mining
A bed of Lower Cretaceous sand and gravel across southern Worcestershire has been quarried on a small scale for centuries.

The coal mine partly reopened in 1998 output varies from 10 to 15% of pre- closure levels depending on demand. The Hey-on-Wye’s Coppermine opened in a nearby hill in 2004 as an unprofitable, but defiant attempt at self-sufficiency. 10.5 tonnes of copper and 100 to 150 short tonnes of coal are produced each year. Some lignite has also been descovered near Pershore, but it is unvabuley small. The state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. controle all mines in the Federation's territory. The cheif commisioner is Anton Beauchamp. Wales also produces 16,000-16,500 short tons yearly.

The federal government and a private contractor from Croatia reopened the Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme opencast coalmine just north-east of Merthyr Tydfil, Bedwas Navigation Colliery located in Bedwas and Tower Colliery (Welsh: Glofa Tŵr), at Hirwaun in 1999, but output is very low. The 2 coal fired power stations and the various steam trains are the main sources. The South Wales coalfields are seen as a possible source of future wealth and fuel.

Manufacturing
The sector largely hindges on the Longbridge autoworks and the various products of the light industrial estate at Wednesbury. West Bromwich, Treherbert and the Rhondda and Worcester are also an inportant manufaturing zones. The Treherbert and Rhondda trading estate is relatively active in the prosecution of consumer goods, had tools and semi-finished metal products.

Motor viehicels are mostly made at the Longbridge Autoworks, near Birmingham or at the Morgan Motor Company's works in Great Malvern. The current MD is Charles Morgan.

The Ebbw Vale Steelworks development is still mothballed, but may reopen circa 2015-16.

The incumbent industry and commerce minister is the Federal Conservative MP for Codsall and Shifnal, Yagan Hope Galadima.

Retail
This trade is focused around the shopping areas of Worcester, Dudley, Dudley port, Merry Hill town, the Merry Hill Shopping Centre, Hagley, Stourbridge, Cwmbrân Shopping Centre and Monmouth. Shifnal's (OTL) The Square has a variety of shops including a local wine shop. Another shopping area lyes around Birches Bridge, a branch of The Co-operative Foods, which was briefly closed in 2001 after a (ATL) small electrical fier caused by pro-UK sabatours. A Sainsburys supermarket is earmarked to be built near Alcester by the Easter 2013.

Mineral water
Malvern water sells 12,000 leaters of water each year, exsept when the plant were shut in 1998 and 1999.

Banking
There are no significant banks in the nation, but HSBC and Lloyds of London have not closed their branches in the rebel state, unlike most western banks, due to political and fiscal concerns. The rebel state’s small Federal State Mint and Federal Treasury Bank Vault are in a south Hereford suburb. Online Banking was banned in the Federal Republic since 2010 due to the heavy use of 'fiscal malware', 'phishing e-mails' 'trojans', 'Nigrian fier-wall coolers' and 'man in the browser attacks' across the EU, USA, Canada, Peru, Switzerland and Russia.

Tourism


The nation's leading tourist attractions are Dudley Castel, Dudley Zoo, The Hey-on-Wye Book Festival, the Black Country Living Museum, Hereford Cathedral and Hereford's Wye Bridge.

The Brecon Beacons, Pontsticill Reservoir,The Waseley Hills Country Park, Lickey Hills Country Park and the Victorian houses of Lickey are also major tourist atractions.

Tourists and some light freight use the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, Birmingham and Worcester Canal, the Dudley No. 1 Canal and Stourbridge Canal. Tourists useing of canal boats and canoes has become a major event since 2010.

The Lye / Wollescote Cemetery which contains a pair of Grade II listed chapels and Lye has become well known (as in our timeline) for the large number of balti houses that are to be found along the high street.

The Severn Valley Railway heretage railway is very poular to.

The incubant tourism and offical hosptality minister is the Welsh Communist Party member for North Rhonnda, Dafydd James Duffy.

Trade

 * The leading market for their goods is the Netherlands, Algeria, Croatia, Republic of Congo,and the C.A.R.


 * Most of their imports are from the Republic of Congo, Algeria, Croatia, Albania and the Netherlands.

Stock Market
Federal Telecom and the Morgan Motor Company are are 2 of the 5 firms quoted in the 700 point Federal Stock Exchange.

Customs, excise and taxation
The town of Pencoed has the H.Q. of the Federal government’s Customs, excise and taxation beauro on its eastern suburbs. A customs disused (since 2009) customs booth still remains at Tondu railway station.

The incumbent industry and commerce minister is the Federal Conservative MP for Codsall and Shifnal, Yagan Hope Galadima

Finance

 * 1) 1996- 1 Mercian Pound= 1£
 * 2) 1998-1 Mercian Pound= 0.90£
 * 3) 2000-1 Mercian Pound= 0.80£
 * 4) 2003-1 Mercian Pound= 0.51£
 * 5) 2006- 1 Mercian Pound= 0.50£
 * 6) 2008- 1 Mercian Pound= 0.80£
 * 7) 2011- 1 Mercian Pound= 1£
 * 8) 2012- 1 Mercian Pound= 1.10£

The détente survived that floods and lead to the de facto ecanomic and transportation assimilation of the nation in 2007. The Mercian Pound was pegged to the £ between 2008 and 2010, but then broke it's fiscal linkage and thus was re-floated during the European Economic Crisis of 2010-2012. Cuts have been made to the welfair system due to it's one size fits all nature (it reportedly gave to much to to few). Defence spending has also been reduced since 2009.

The current chancellor of the federal exchequer is the Federal Conservative MP for North Wychavon and Droitwich Spa, Havinda Sharma.

The incumbent foreign and trade minister is the Federal Labour MP for Sedgley and Gornal Wood, Lee Lyons.

The nation's central banker Abdul Karim Achintya Sahitya Kumar.



Aid pakages
Last year the federal republic reseave the following aid pakage in 2007-
 * £5,000,000 gift from the UK under the Anglo-Federal Reconstruction and Reconciliation Program.
 * £15,000,000 loan from the UK.
 * £2,000,000 gift the Netherlands
 * £1,000,000 gift from Monaco
 * 1,000,000 imperial gallons of free oil from The Republic of the Congo
 * £1,500,000 loan from Algeria
 * £500,000 loan from the EU
 * 6,000 tonnes of free soft wood from the C.A.R.

Brünnhilde Mathilde Mitzi van Lune is the chairwoman of the committee on European Union funds and aid from abroad.

The UK cut it's loans to £1,500,000 in 2009, but the Federal Republic had been left with a heavy overseas debt.

Galton Bridge railway station
The 2007 restoration of Smethwick Galton Bridge railway station and the re-building of the former Galton Bridge was one of was one of the first of the many Anglo-Federal Reconstruction and Reconciliation Programs.

Also see

 * 1) Mercia- UDI 1995