Angela, the red mason bee and Housing Minister, has resigned amid allegations of underpaid Pollen Duty. The Member of Pollinators for Ashton-under-Lyne, and Deputy Prime Minister of the Pollination Party, leaves the top tier of government in a move that shakes up the Party’s political hierarchy.

Her career was the stuff of nectar-soaked legend. From a humble mud cavity on the ground floor of a broken bee hotel, Angela had risen through sheer determination and an uncanny gift for diplomacy among the pollinators’ fractious factions. In her years with the Union of Foraging Bees, she forged a reputation for tireless work – visiting every flower patch, brokering every pollen treaty, and standing firm against wasp parasitism. This shadow had long loomed over the Pollination Party.

In government, Angela buzzed confidently in debates, promising “nectar for all” and tirelessly reminding citizens that no bee should go thirsty. Her charisma was matched by her policy acumen: as Housing Minister, an appropriate job for a mason bee, she implemented ambitious plans to build new bee hotels, ensuring cosy cavities for young larvae and safe roosting spots for weary foragers. She also championed employment rights, advocating for fair shifts, equitable pollen distribution, and protections for bees in all sectors, ensuring every worker had their buzz heard.

However, none of this ended her career. It’s paperwork. She was accused of underpaying 40,000 grains of Pollen Duty – a bureaucratic slip on an amount small enough to be lost on a gust of wind. In a world where drone bankers can siphon off whole meadows without consequence, it is apparently the mud-splattered mason bee who must pay the price. Apologies, after all, are a privilege reserved for richer bees.

One would think this was on purpose. She was hounded out of a job she loved to make way for the well-heeled blue mason bees, with their shimmering suits and family pollen trusts, to take the top chambers of government. For them, ambition is standard; for Angela, it was presumptuous. How dare a solitary bee from the wrong cavity imagine she could build something of her own?

In the end, Angela’s real crime wasn’t underpaying Pollen Duty. It was daring to believe that a working-class bee could ever make a difference.