Isaac Gray

Isaac Aloysius Gray MP (born 14 May 2026) is a Craftian politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Craftia from 2061 to 2064. He was Leader of the National United Party from 2061 to 2066. He is currently serving as the Minister for the Environment, since 2069.

Gray was born in rural Addams into a political family of varying ideologies. His father, Jonathan Gray, was a Member of Parliament and served as the Deputy Leader of the National United Party from 2037 to 2045, while his cousin, Indigo Gray, served as the Conservative Premier of Western Craftia from 2054 to 2055. Gray's first interest in politics appeared when he attended Craftian National University, majoring in Geography and Environmental Sciences, and he became a member of the NUP shortly after joining the Craftian Workers' Union in 2048.

He moved to state politics in Addams, entering the Legislative Assembly in 2052, at the age of 26, during the United landslide over the Conservative government which had been in power since 2019. Gray quickly became a prominent spokesman for the O'Hare United Government despite at first not holding a ministry. His charisma and appeal to young voters helped him in becoming the state Minister for Resources in 2053. Although personally popular, O'Hare's government ran into trouble regarding corruption allegations and a faltering economy, and was wiped from power in 2055 after one term in office. Gray marginally held onto his seat amidst the United rout, and became the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in 2056 under new leader Christine Long.

Gray shifted his focus to federal politics in mid-2058 after the retirement of Hannah Collins, a longtime Member of Parliament for Rindo. Gray contested for preselection and won easily. On election night at the 2058 federal election, he held Rindo for United easily as the party was swept into power, defeating the three-term Queanbeyan Conservative Government. Immediately after entering parliament, Gray became a contender for the deputy leadership of the party (and by extension the deputy prime ministership), after the position was vacated by Chloe McGregor. He received the backing of new Prime Minister Zahab Wibowus, and won the ballot with a comfortable majority, thereby becoming Deputy Prime Minister of Craftia as a first-term MP, at the age of 32. He also held the portfolio of Transport and Infrastructure from 2058 to 2059, when he moved to the Environment portfolio. Similarly to his time in state politics, Gray was an outspoken and charismatic minister and was regarded as one of the country's most popular politicians.

The Wibowus Government retained a lead in the opinion polls against the Conservatives and won a second term in 2061 with an increased plurality. However, in a shock result, Wibowus narrowly lost his own seat of Bonnells, and declined to re-enter parliament via a by-election. Gray, being the deputy leader, became the Acting Prime Minister and was officially sworn in as the 24th Prime Minister of Craftia soon after, at the age of 35 (at the time, the youngest ever). With Wibowus out of parliament, the Gray Government improved its relations with the Liberal Party of Craftia, with the two parties often working together to advance a new centre-left political agenda during the 26th Parliament.

Although Gray was personally much more popular than opposition leader Reagen Queanbeyan, the United Party struggled to uphold Wibowus' legacy from its first term in government, and in-party fighting besieged the party for much of its second term. The Gray Government focused on environmental and social issues as the economy recovered from the late 2050s recession. During Gray's term in office, the government passed numerous laws on strengthening gun control laws, the carbon emissions trading scheme, governmental and corporate corruption and promoting racial harmony in Gray's 'New Multiculturalism' program, against a backdrop of increased racial tension between the Asian and European communities.

Gray's economic policy while in office has been questioned by scholars, and the 2062 budget under Treasurer Kelley Suhandi was widely panned by the Craftian public, leading to a drop in popularity. A resurgent Conservative Party, playing on the back of White Craftians' concerns on immigration and the economy, pulled even with United during mid-2062, and United began to fall in the opinion polls. Although for the better half of a year the two parties remained competitive, by the start of 2063, United had sunk, and the Conservatives' lead had blown out to 10%. While the 2064 election campaign led to a small gain for the NUP, the United Government was heavily defeated in the federal election, losing 28 seats and managing only 27% of the vote. The blame for the loss was largely attributed to the fighting between the party's factions, and Gray stayed on as Leader of the Opposition. Reagen Queanbeyan struggled early on as Prime Minister, and United was back in the lead in the polls by mid-2065. However, the in-party fighting had sprung up again, largely between Gray's centrist faction and the progressive faction. The NUP's popularity then plummeted due to allegations of branch stacking and trade union corruption, and was overtaken by the third-party Liberals in January 2066. The party's polling reached a nadir of 12% before Gray was defeated by Lewis Terrys in a leadership spill on 11 November 2066. He retreated to the backbench until United was voted back into power in the 2067 election. He served as the Minister for Agriculture from 2067 to 2069, when he moved to the Environment ministry again.