- Pronouns
- He/Him
The most cursed.Secretary of State for Culture and Communications and Minister for the Olympics: The Rt. Hon. David Prescott, MP
The most cursed.Secretary of State for Culture and Communications and Minister for the Olympics: The Rt. Hon. David Prescott, MP
I kind of want to see Pritis shadow cabinet nowRetcon of the series:
Leaders of the Opposition, 1970-
1970-1974: Harold Wilson (Labour)
1974-1978: Denis Healey (Labour)
1978-1980: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1980-1983: Geoffrey Rippon (Conservative)
1983-1984: Denis Healey (Labour)
1974-1987: Shirley Williams (Labour)
1987-1995: Jack Straw (Labour)
1995-1999: Paddy Ashdown (Labour)
1999-2001: Lynda Chalker (Conservative)
2001-2003: Peter Lilley (Conservative)
2003-2006: Francis Maude (Conservative)
2006-2011: John Bercow (Conservative)
2011-2012: Tim Collins (Conservative)
2012-2013: Annabel Goldie (Conservative)
2013-2015: Tom Newton Dunn (Conservative)
2015: John Denham (Labour)
2015-2018: Matt Carter (Labour)
2018-2022: Sarah Smith (Labour)
2022: Mel Stride (Conservative)
2022-: Priti Patel (Conservative)
As you wish!I kind of want to see Pritis shadow cabinet now
Shadow Leader of the House of Peers and Conservative Leader in the House of Peers - The Rt. Hon. Theresa May, MHP
Nice touch on lords reform
The House of Peers is the upper house of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.Put the MHPs in HMP, that's what I say!
This has mild Kiwi politics to it I must say. 12 years of Lang followed Short is the icing on the cake here.1964-1969: Harold Wilson (Labour)
1969-1973: Roy Jenkins (Labour)
1973-1975: Peter Shore (Labour)
1975-1982: Edward Du Cann (Conservative)
1982-1989: Edmund Dell (Labour)
1989-2000: Ian Lang (Labour)
2000-: Clare Short (Labour)
Very nice. I will say though, Perot IRL was very much pro-choice in ‘92 so I’m not sure about your rationale for having him stay out.- Based on the OTL experiences of the Clarence Thomas confirmation and the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case last year, there would be a significant and immediate backlash, from feminists, liberals and female voters in general as a rollback of women's rights very abruptly stops being an abstract political prospect. The 1990s also are more socially progressive, as activist movements (especially feminist activism) gets re-ignited with actual stakes.
- This would play out differently however. There are far fewer extreme anti-abortion laws on the books of state governments that immediately come into effect, the pro-life movement is less violent and hardline as OTL's 2023, the lack of the internet means political backlashes happen slower, and the Democrats have a significant pro-life contingent while the Republicans still have a significant pro-choice contingent.
- This backlash is especially difficult for Bill Clinton. Bob Casey, of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, was OTL one of his biggest supporters during the primaries. There would be a huge internal backlash within the party against Clinton from liberals and feminists (and against many prominent establishment Dems like Biden and Ted Kennedy who historically made a lot of pro-life noises), plunging the party into infighting just before the national convention, and just before Clinton is about to choose a running mate.
- The Clinton campaign is under enormous pressure, and would need to choose a liberal running mate. Relatively conservative Democrats like Al Gore would be off the table, now that brand of moderation is an internal liability. There was a bona-fide liberal on his short-list OTL - Harris Wofford - but here he would be tarnished by his closeness to Casey. There's be a huge amount of pressure to pick not just a liberal but a woman. All sorts of names would be bandied about, but the only woman who would really fit what they needed - legislative experience, establishment creds, impeccable Liberal record - is California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.
- Clinton I think wins by more than OTL here, partly because of the OTL economic factors, partly because I think Ross Perot stays out in a more socially polarised election cycle, partly because a lot of GOP moderates would be very unhappy with Bush, and partly because abortion rights (and womens' rights in general) are actually on the ballot ITTL.
- The Clinton admin likely goes rather differently - a much more overt political scrapper as vice president, Hillary no longer the most important woman in the administration, social issues more prominent. I suspect that they score some more legislative victories than OTL - maybe they do pass a healthcare reform bill - but abortion rights legislation would be difficult to pass given the strongly conservative and anti-abortion contingent that exists in the Democrats in this period.
- The infighting in the Republicans, a backlash from their moderates and the short-circuiting of the Christian Right of actually achieving their aims (a bit too early for them to pivot to opposing gay rights), likely butterflies away 1994's Gingrich Revolution. They still might take control of Congress, but by a lot less, and with different leadership - and likely lose those chambers in 1996.
- There is no impeachment, partly because of the weaker state of congressional Republicans, and partly because the butterflies mean that Clinton never meets Monica Lewinksy. With his being succeeded by the first female president, Hillary Clinton never goes into electoral politics, instead becoming a prominent activist for womens' rights and healthcare reform.
- The Republicans are riven with infighting for nearly two decades. The rollback of abortion rights is seen to have cost them the election, but some of the most powerful forces within the party want the party to explicitly run on abolishing such rights; a millstone round the party's neck. Successive nominees try and fail to thread that needle, but with accomplished Democratic presidencies, social issues actually being on the ballot and the Christian right becoming more extreme they cannot muster effective coalitions.
- The Pelosi Administration passes legislation federally codifying abortion rights, legitimised by their retaken Supreme Court majority. There is a renewed, and unsuccessful effort to revive the Equal Rights Amendment.
- This in turn takes the issue of the table politically , which in turn which allows a slightly broader church of a Republican Party - still with an influential pro-choice contingent - to eventually retake the White House from an exhausted Democratic Party.
My logic is that Perot OTL ran on a whim, withdrew on a whim, and then got back into the race on another whim and that extra political turmoil and a suddenly much more polarized environment would be enough for his third whim to go the other way.Very nice. I will say though, Perot IRL was very much pro-choice in ‘92 so I’m not sure about your rationale for having him stay out.
Fair enough I guessMy logic is that Perot OTL ran on a whim, withdrew on a whim, and then got back into the race on another whim and that extra political turmoil and a suddenly much more polarized environment would be enough for his third whim to go the other way.