[TUP]An Interview With...Iain Keers!

Day 2,249, 00:08 Published in United Kingdom United Kingdom by Bohemond4

Today we embark on Day 2 of our Week of TUP, celebrating the birthday of the best party in the eUnited Kingdom! In case you missed our last article, we turned Six this month! And so I speak to the man who has had more influence on the direction of TUP, the UK and the world than any other person.

You all know him as the ‘Evil’ Keers, and so do we! Lets get on with it, shall we?

The Unity Party is turning 6 this month, and you are one of the party’s oldest members. But I would like to know why you initially joined the Party in the first place? What about TUP in its early days inspired you to become a member.

I initially was torn between joining the PCP and TUP. Purely based on the political alignment- IRL I am centre-left and I wanted to join a party where people shared my beliefs. In the end I chose TUP because I am centre-left and I was trying to make my online persona reflect my RL personality. Nothing about TUP in it’s early days inspired me that much to be honest, there were a few good members but the same could be said of any party. It was wishy-washy centrist and just tended to pick up cast-offs from PCP and UKRP. I did my best to change that.

In the early days of TUP we were less successful than they are today, and have been, as a party, what do you think was the turning point for The Unity Party pushing us to dominate the UK’s political scene?

I don’t think there was any direct turning point. I changed the culture of the party, so you could say that was a turning point as it attracted many great players. You could argue that when Woldy joined it was a turning point because he was immensely popular and gained us a lot of middle-ground support that I had alienated. Or you could argue that the fact we had powerful international figures like GLaDOS, Hassan and so on helped- and that the gave us international reputation and standing. I wouldn’t say there was one turning point.

In your opinion, what are the three crowning achievements of The Unity Party in the UK and the world?

In terms of TUP itself, I think it’s crowning achievement is to become by far the most famous party in the world. Accompanying that, the party has managed to change and evolve to fit the mood of the game and the public, successfully leading the UK through over four years as the natural party of government. The achievements of it’s members have been many, and the party has proposed and passed a lot of policy. I don’t really want to name one specific change we made, since many became outdated with time and are no longer useful, and the more recent ones are still in their infancy.



To you, what is your own crowning achievement? Or are you of the opinion that there is always something more glorious to achieve?

I don’t really have a single crowning achievement. I’ve achieved a lot, though nobody alive today save maybe jamesw has seen a fraction of what I’ve done over the years. I don’t really care, so long as people trust me when it matters.

The Unity Party has had the largest number of members of Alliance HQ throughout the last six years, more than any country bar the United Kingdom. What do you think has been key to the success of The Unity Party in this area?

TUP has a high percentage of alliance officials and has done since 2009. That means patronage, tutelage and advice from the most powerful players in the world. We have a lot of foreign players who come here because of our international reputation. It means our influence stretches globally- sometimes being in TUP is like being in alliance channels purely because of the diversity of ethnic backgrounds. It’s the perfect breeding ground for future alliance figures.

Out of the three main rivals internally - UKRP, UKPP and NE - which do you believe was the greatest threat faced by The Unity Party?

UKRP without a doubt. They had the advantages- experienced players, world-beating reputation, strong new players. Through 2009 it was very much neck-and-neck, and even through 2010 we were always pushing incredibly hard. By 2011 we had established our reputation and UKPP and NE, though they were good at buying new players, never really got any traction with the older, more experienced players. Both have matured, UKPP becoming a strong and well-settled party, and NE (despite Dapper) being mostly sensible as well.



What do you believe The Unity Party has to offer citizens, both young and old today?

UNLIMITED POWER. No seriously, if you’re young, intelligent and ambitious you will go far. We will push you as far as your talents allow you to go. Just remember not to get too big for your boots.



What do you believe to be the strength of The Unity Party as we start 2014, and where do you believe we, as a party, are moving to?

TUP is the party of government in the UK, simples. We guide all policy to some extent, and we do so with the consent of the public and other parties. That’s because we’ve made a big effort not to be selfish or egoistical and people trust our judgement. I don’t think the idea of moving to anything is particularly applicable. I guess I’d like to see us push more radical government policy, like Alice promoted. I’d like to see us support players who share our views regardless of party- a big split from previous party policy. I’d like to see us recruit more actively from the UK- although we do have several good young players, other parties often beat us to getting them and we end up getting them when they’re older as defections.

Thankyou for your time Iain.

Well there you have it from the man himself.

Bohemond4
Media Officer and vPP
The Unity Party