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I like the concept, but unfortunately it wouldn’t be constitutional - the President is only allowed to serve two terms in total, not consecutively.
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Lists of Heads of Government and Heads of State
- Thread starter Mumby
- Start date
Ebolaman123
Member
not sure what to think
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For Europe Day today, I thought I would do a suitably-themed list.
The Prodigal Daughter
Boris Johnson (Conservative) 2019-2027
2019 (maj.): def. Jeremy Corbyn (Labour), Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat)
- Britain leaves European Union 2020 -
2024 (maj.): def. Wes Streeting (Labour), Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)
2027 Northern Ireland Border Poll: 51.1% United Ireland - 47.9% Stay in the United Kingdom
Liz Truss (Conservative) 2027-2029
- Northern Ireland joins Ireland 2029 -
Lisa Nandy (Labour) 2029-2041
2029 (maj.): def. Liz Truss (Conservative), Humza Yousaf (SNP), Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat)
- Britain enters European Free Trade Association 2031 -
2034 (maj.): def. Oliver Dowden (Conservative), Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat), Humza Yousaf (SNP)
2039 (maj.): def. Claire Coutinho (Conservative), Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat), Kate Forbes (SNP)
James Murray (Labour) 2041-2043
Gary Sambrook (Conservative) 2043-2050
2043 (maj.): def. James Murray (Labour), Tara Copeland (Liberal Democrat), Kate Forbes (SNP)
2047 (maj.): def. Jeanie Gardiner (Labour), Tara Copeland (Liberal Democrat)
Lucia Ramsey (Conservative) 2050-2052
- EFTA Treaty of Oslo 2052 -
Ivan Hartell (Labour) 2052-2058
2052 (coal. with LD): def. Lucia Ramsey (Conservative), Edmund Tupper (Liberal Democrat), Richard Tuft (Anti-Federalist), Arushi Logan (Volt)
2057 (maj.): def. David Oliver (Conservative), Edmund Tupper (Liberal Democrat)
2058 Monarchy Referendum: Republic 54.8% - Monarchy 45.2%
Andrea McKellar (Labour) 2058-2065
- Britain becomes a republic 2060 -
2062 (maj.): def. David Oliver (Conservative), Liv Attaway (Liberal Democrat)
Alex Bennett (Labour) 2065-2067
Zach Lovell (Conservative) 2067-2069
2067 (min.): def. Alex Bennett (Labour), Liv Attaway (Liberal Democrat)
Alex Bennett (Labour) 2069-2074
2069 (maj.): def. Zach Lovell (Conservative), Liv Attaway (Liberal Democrat)
2071 European Union referendum: 61% Yes - 39% No
Zach Lovell (Conservative) 2074-2077
2074 (maj.): def. Alex Bennett (Labour), Mike Paddon (Liberal Democrat)
- 2076, government becomes minority -
Alex Bennett (Labour) 2077-2079
2077 (maj.): def. Zach Lovell (Conservative), Mike Paddon and Abilene Toller (Liberal Democrat/People's Voice Alliance)
Nic Wheeler (Labour) 2079-2087
- Britain enters European Union 2079 -
2080 (maj.): def. Iz North (Conservative), Esmée Case and Abilene Toller (Liberal Democrat/People's Voice Alliance)
2085 (maj.): def. Lexie Fisher (Conservative), Kiki Hepburn (People's Liberal)
Kaveri Lee (Labour) 2087-2089
Avalon Wyatt (Conservative) 2089-????
2089 (coal. with PL): def. Kaveri Lee (Labour), Kiki Hepburn (People's Liberal)
- Treaty of Luxembourg drafted 2091 -
2093 (maj.): def. Leone Benson (Labour), Kiki Hepburn (People's Liberal), Fay Jarrett (Sovereignty)
2094 European Federation referendum: 52.3% Yes - 47.7% No
2097 (maj.): def. Rosie Toft (Labour), Linden Carter (People's Liberal), Fay Jarrett (Sovereignty)
- Britain enters European Federation 2100 -
It took a long period of pain, of awkwardness, of long nights of negotiations, of a Tory PM who fixated upon the idea as their capital-P Project to modernise the party, hell, of the pound finally giving out in 2094 just before the referendum, but finally, Britain joined a federated Europe.
The Sovereignty Party may bleat as they will, but by the time Britain joined the EF, it was barely a significant power, even if one much improved from its "Sick Man of Europe" days of the 2020s, and it was clear to everyone that Britain's economic interest was via fully going Europe.
As Avalon Wyatt, the country's first non-binary PM (no, Alex Bennett doesn't count) stands triumphant, having successfully modernised the party anew as one of a shaky developmentalist consensus, the latest heating-up of 'property-owning democracy' and 'levelling up', and finally ushered Britain fully into the European Federation after yet more negotiations (every single process needs those, apparently), people murmur, will they ever step down?
Who knows. Labour would like that, the PLP would (they're still sore over 2093), but especially Sovereignty would like it. Will Wyatt be brought down, or has Britain discovered its newest Robert Walpole? And of course, there's the whole issue of, ah, Britain now being a European State.
President Amanda George will of course represent Britain in the council of presidents, but there's this new dynamic. It'll take time to get used to.
But ah well. Can't be worse than the last century, can it?
The Prodigal Daughter
Boris Johnson (Conservative) 2019-2027
2019 (maj.): def. Jeremy Corbyn (Labour), Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat)
- Britain leaves European Union 2020 -
2024 (maj.): def. Wes Streeting (Labour), Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)
2027 Northern Ireland Border Poll: 51.1% United Ireland - 47.9% Stay in the United Kingdom
Liz Truss (Conservative) 2027-2029
- Northern Ireland joins Ireland 2029 -
Lisa Nandy (Labour) 2029-2041
2029 (maj.): def. Liz Truss (Conservative), Humza Yousaf (SNP), Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat)
- Britain enters European Free Trade Association 2031 -
2034 (maj.): def. Oliver Dowden (Conservative), Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat), Humza Yousaf (SNP)
2039 (maj.): def. Claire Coutinho (Conservative), Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat), Kate Forbes (SNP)
James Murray (Labour) 2041-2043
Gary Sambrook (Conservative) 2043-2050
2043 (maj.): def. James Murray (Labour), Tara Copeland (Liberal Democrat), Kate Forbes (SNP)
2047 (maj.): def. Jeanie Gardiner (Labour), Tara Copeland (Liberal Democrat)
Lucia Ramsey (Conservative) 2050-2052
- EFTA Treaty of Oslo 2052 -
Ivan Hartell (Labour) 2052-2058
2052 (coal. with LD): def. Lucia Ramsey (Conservative), Edmund Tupper (Liberal Democrat), Richard Tuft (Anti-Federalist), Arushi Logan (Volt)
2057 (maj.): def. David Oliver (Conservative), Edmund Tupper (Liberal Democrat)
2058 Monarchy Referendum: Republic 54.8% - Monarchy 45.2%
Andrea McKellar (Labour) 2058-2065
- Britain becomes a republic 2060 -
2062 (maj.): def. David Oliver (Conservative), Liv Attaway (Liberal Democrat)
Alex Bennett (Labour) 2065-2067
Zach Lovell (Conservative) 2067-2069
2067 (min.): def. Alex Bennett (Labour), Liv Attaway (Liberal Democrat)
Alex Bennett (Labour) 2069-2074
2069 (maj.): def. Zach Lovell (Conservative), Liv Attaway (Liberal Democrat)
2071 European Union referendum: 61% Yes - 39% No
Zach Lovell (Conservative) 2074-2077
2074 (maj.): def. Alex Bennett (Labour), Mike Paddon (Liberal Democrat)
- 2076, government becomes minority -
Alex Bennett (Labour) 2077-2079
2077 (maj.): def. Zach Lovell (Conservative), Mike Paddon and Abilene Toller (Liberal Democrat/People's Voice Alliance)
Nic Wheeler (Labour) 2079-2087
- Britain enters European Union 2079 -
2080 (maj.): def. Iz North (Conservative), Esmée Case and Abilene Toller (Liberal Democrat/People's Voice Alliance)
2085 (maj.): def. Lexie Fisher (Conservative), Kiki Hepburn (People's Liberal)
Kaveri Lee (Labour) 2087-2089
Avalon Wyatt (Conservative) 2089-????
2089 (coal. with PL): def. Kaveri Lee (Labour), Kiki Hepburn (People's Liberal)
- Treaty of Luxembourg drafted 2091 -
2093 (maj.): def. Leone Benson (Labour), Kiki Hepburn (People's Liberal), Fay Jarrett (Sovereignty)
2094 European Federation referendum: 52.3% Yes - 47.7% No
2097 (maj.): def. Rosie Toft (Labour), Linden Carter (People's Liberal), Fay Jarrett (Sovereignty)
- Britain enters European Federation 2100 -
It took a long period of pain, of awkwardness, of long nights of negotiations, of a Tory PM who fixated upon the idea as their capital-P Project to modernise the party, hell, of the pound finally giving out in 2094 just before the referendum, but finally, Britain joined a federated Europe.
The Sovereignty Party may bleat as they will, but by the time Britain joined the EF, it was barely a significant power, even if one much improved from its "Sick Man of Europe" days of the 2020s, and it was clear to everyone that Britain's economic interest was via fully going Europe.
As Avalon Wyatt, the country's first non-binary PM (no, Alex Bennett doesn't count) stands triumphant, having successfully modernised the party anew as one of a shaky developmentalist consensus, the latest heating-up of 'property-owning democracy' and 'levelling up', and finally ushered Britain fully into the European Federation after yet more negotiations (every single process needs those, apparently), people murmur, will they ever step down?
Who knows. Labour would like that, the PLP would (they're still sore over 2093), but especially Sovereignty would like it. Will Wyatt be brought down, or has Britain discovered its newest Robert Walpole? And of course, there's the whole issue of, ah, Britain now being a European State.
President Amanda George will of course represent Britain in the council of presidents, but there's this new dynamic. It'll take time to get used to.
But ah well. Can't be worse than the last century, can it?
Last edited:
- Location
- Teignmouth, Devon
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Nice! Lovely to see a distant future thing. What do you mean by "this new dynamic" - the council of presidents - or is there other things on your mind?
- Pronouns
- she/her
The European Federation is a proper state, full federalism, and that has implications on Britain. That's basically what I meant really.
The council of presidents is the merged head of state and upper chamber, made out of heads of state of the states (or appointed representatives on behalf of monarchies). Or something. Not sure.
Thanks and I'm glad you liked it.
SOCIALISM WITH INDONESIAN CHARACTERISTICS
Presidents of the Republic of Indonesia:
1945-1972: Soekarno (Independent)*
1972-1974: Soebandrio (Independent)
1974-1993: Dipi Nusantara Aidit (Communist)*
1993-1994: Sobron Aidit (Communist)
1994-2002: Batara Simatupang (Communist)
2002-2010: Erman Soeparno (Communist)
2010-pres: Rebekah Proletariyati (Communist)
*Died in office
POD: Soekarno listens to his western doctors and gets his infected kidney removed. Healthier and more conscious, he's able to rally behind the PKI (Communist Party) and thwart the influence of western-aligned elements in the military. By the time of his death, Indonesian politics has become firmly leftist in nature, allowing the pro-Chinese Foreign Minister/Deputy Prime Minister Soebandrio to succeed him after his death. Following a series of wide-reaching land and army reforms which sees the PKI cement their influence over the nation, Soebandrio agrees to give power to the head of the legislature and the PKI, D.N. Aidit. Now the de jure head of the nation, Aidit manages to purge the PKI of its "Trotskyite" influences under Oloan Hutapea, a critic of the party's co-opting of private markets and religious messaging.
Abroad, Mao is unable to rally support behind his Cultural Revolution, as the CCP is less afraid of being purged of hidden "rightist" elements, as our PKI was. Following the political reforms of Liu Shaoqi and the healing of the Sino-Soviet Split, the Communist Bloc has become much more united, though rivalries still exist between China and the communist nations of Indochina/Indonesia itself. Opposition toward communist Indonesia also exists in the form of political exiles, ethnic rebel groups, and western intelligence agencies. Despite this, Aidit continues his march towards progress with massive programs in cultural education, health, and nuclear weapons development.
Following his death after a reign of thirty years, he is succeeded by his brother as a placeholder, Simatupang who enacts a series of labor-oriented policies, Soeparno who expands ties between the party and corporate/religious groups, and Proletariyati who begins an era of "new diplomacy" expanding Indonesia's soft influence across the world. The nation isn't perfect with corruption endemic within the ruling Popular Front, politicians raising fears of moral deviancy, and sweatshop workers being paid in pennies by international corporations, but the people remain hopeful that the future will be brighter than ever.
Presidents of the Republic of Indonesia:
1945-1972: Soekarno (Independent)*
1972-1974: Soebandrio (Independent)
1974-1993: Dipi Nusantara Aidit (Communist)*
1993-1994: Sobron Aidit (Communist)
1994-2002: Batara Simatupang (Communist)
2002-2010: Erman Soeparno (Communist)
2010-pres: Rebekah Proletariyati (Communist)
*Died in office
POD: Soekarno listens to his western doctors and gets his infected kidney removed. Healthier and more conscious, he's able to rally behind the PKI (Communist Party) and thwart the influence of western-aligned elements in the military. By the time of his death, Indonesian politics has become firmly leftist in nature, allowing the pro-Chinese Foreign Minister/Deputy Prime Minister Soebandrio to succeed him after his death. Following a series of wide-reaching land and army reforms which sees the PKI cement their influence over the nation, Soebandrio agrees to give power to the head of the legislature and the PKI, D.N. Aidit. Now the de jure head of the nation, Aidit manages to purge the PKI of its "Trotskyite" influences under Oloan Hutapea, a critic of the party's co-opting of private markets and religious messaging.
Abroad, Mao is unable to rally support behind his Cultural Revolution, as the CCP is less afraid of being purged of hidden "rightist" elements, as our PKI was. Following the political reforms of Liu Shaoqi and the healing of the Sino-Soviet Split, the Communist Bloc has become much more united, though rivalries still exist between China and the communist nations of Indochina/Indonesia itself. Opposition toward communist Indonesia also exists in the form of political exiles, ethnic rebel groups, and western intelligence agencies. Despite this, Aidit continues his march towards progress with massive programs in cultural education, health, and nuclear weapons development.
Following his death after a reign of thirty years, he is succeeded by his brother as a placeholder, Simatupang who enacts a series of labor-oriented policies, Soeparno who expands ties between the party and corporate/religious groups, and Proletariyati who begins an era of "new diplomacy" expanding Indonesia's soft influence across the world. The nation isn't perfect with corruption endemic within the ruling Popular Front, politicians raising fears of moral deviancy, and sweatshop workers being paid in pennies by international corporations, but the people remain hopeful that the future will be brighter than ever.
Last edited:
Was about to complain about thus name before I remembered it's OTL
Walpurgisnacht
I'm Mister Blobby, I kill Prime Ministers
- Location
- Banned from the forum
- Pronouns
- He/Him
As is my wont, I'm crossposting my entry from the last list challenge. This month's challenge is themed around The Workers, and there's still a week and a half left to enter! (Link in my sig).
def 2005: (Majority) Tony Blair (Labour), Charles Kennedy (Liberal Democrats), Alex Salmond (SNP), George Galloway (Respect), Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid Cymru)
def 2010: (Minority with de facto Respect support) Gordon Brown (Labour), Norman Baker (Liberal Democrats), Lindsey German (Respect), Alex Salmond (SNP), Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid Cymru), Nigel Farage (UKIP), Caroline Lucas (Green)
2011-2019: Jack Straw (Labour)
def 2011: (Majority) Ken Clarke (Conservative), Alex Salmond (SNP), Lindsey German, Norman Baker, and Natalie Bennett (People Power Coalition--Liberal Democrats, Green, Respect), Paul Nuttall (UKIP), Simon Thomas (Plaid Cymru)
def 2016: (Majority) David Davis (Conservative), Alex Salmond (SNP), collective leadership [de facto Lindsey German] (People Power), Patrick O'Flynn (UKIP), Rhun ap Iorweth (Cymru)
2019-2021: Tom Watson (Labour working under "Rose Garden Agreement" with UKIP and SNP)
2020 Scottish Independence Referendum: cancelled due to pandemic; estimated 53% YES, 47% NO
2021-xxxx: Richard Bacon (Conservative)
def 2021: (Coalition with People Power) Tom Watson (Labour), Alex Salmond (SNP), collective leadership [de facto contested between Layla Moran, Daz Nez, and Anas Altikriti] (People Power), Patrick O'Flynn (UKIP), Rhun ap Iorweth (Cymru), Douglas Carswell (Democracy Coalition)
Five Phrases To: Understand British Politics With!
1. Clarkemania
As youth icons go, a 81-year-old former director of British American Tobacco seems an unlikely candidate. Yet former Prime Minister Ken Clarke has been unironically embraced by a vaste trache of young Netizens.
In fairness, it isn't the first time Clarke has garnered teenager support. His victory in 2005 is often attributed to a "youthquake" of younger voters not wanting to participate in the Iraq War, even if the actual polling numbers suggested a more uniform swing. The new era of Ken Clarke memes, however, comes from people who can barely remember his time in office, and whose support springs more from his vocal backbench activities supporting European integration. While "vapourwave" edits of his recent speeches, fanfic placing him in a torrid romance with Jack Straw, and legions of tweenage girls with profile pics of his face wearing a flower crown may appear like a sideshow to the real issues, many of these memers are effectively full-time canvassers online.
The digital realm is increasingly important for campaigning and activism, and with the blue-rinse exodus, the Conservative Party is in dire need of boots on the ground. There's a good chance that the skinny lads putting Night In Tunisia over a Metal Gear boss fight will be crucial to the Conservative's strategy next election--and might one day sit on the front bench.
2. NO2ID
When David Blunkett was preparing his agenda as Home Secretary, he jotted in the margin that he expected "some debate" over the ID cards policy. A decade later, we're still debating it--or are we?
While Ian Brown's by-election campaign under the NO2ID banner may have been a disappointment, his vocal opposition to the Identity Cards Act galvanised a wavering opposition to Straw after the end of the Iraq War--a legacy most visible in People Power's NO2ID Group, with its president, Ian Brown MP. "No to ID!" has become the ubiquitous campaign slogan of our times, visible at nearly every protest and a constant in graffiti. This is all despite--or perhaps because of--ID cards being a hideously unpopular political dead letter for several years, and one abolished promptly by the Conservatives once they took power.
NO2ID means much more, these days. Against the digital-economy titans, against heavy-handed anti-terrorist actions, against mandatory vaccination measures--in general, an opposition to all attempts to number and corral the British population by centralised powers, and a firm belief in the right to privacy and free speech. With mask mandates and social distancing to combat the Hubei Flu increasingly controversial among the public, the Met Police under scrutiny, and Linkedin's misuse of personal data, this movement can only grow.
3. Rose Garden Agreement
With a teetering government minority after mass defections, Tom Watson faced two options--call a fresh election and almost certainly lose, or tie his government to a grab-bag of minor parties that mostly hated each other. He tried for a third, which somehow worked out worse.
Intervention in Syria was the final straw for the SCG, and Straw's ham-handed tactics with them ended up forcing both he and them out of the party--one to the opposition, the other to the backbenches. Watson needed to fill seats or lose his, but a full coalition was clearly untenable. The informal agreement--hashed out, despite the name, indoors, and merely announced in the Rose Garden--was like a confidence-and-supply agreement, but not quote. Both parties were obligated to support the Budget, the SNP bills on the environment and Europe, and UKIP bills on defense and home affairs. In exchange, further European integration was officially halted, as was plain cigarette packaging, Holyrood would gain greater economic power, the planned enlargement of Trident was halted, and two referendums were scheduled for the next year.
The plan was without precedent, and quickly divided all the parties involved. More liberal elements in Labour chafed at the idea of working with UKIP, and Scottish Labour felt betrayed by collaboration with the SNP. On the opposition side, most of the UKIP right went into open revolt over the idea of supporting more government spending, and the SNP's left, feeling they'd been ripped off with tokens, grumbled relentlessly. The electoral fallout left all parties involved scarred, and unlikely to repeat the process--yet with the traditional left-right spectrum breaking down, and hung parliaments more and more common, it wouldn't be wise to rule out another ad-hoc deal.
4. "Leadership By Argument"
With defections on votes for climate bills, for medical bills, and for education bills, People Power seem like a party in disarray. The backbiting is so endless, you'd think their leadership contest never ended. You'd be right.
The collective leadership began, like most poorly-functioning things, as a compromise. While they shared a commitment to staying out of American wars on terror, the three parties had little other common ground, and there was a fear that one of the three would dominate--the Lib Dems with their greater number of parliamentary seats, Respect with their dedicated activist base, or the Greens with their large membership. The collective leadership was supposed to preserve the independence of all factions, by preventing centralisation. People Power spent seven years with no official leader. The leader they did not oficially have was Lindsey German.
A veteran of the anti-war movement, German's relatively light-touch approach to party disclipine allowed the party to digest mass Labour defections, but her retirement has left behind her a party in disarray. As it stands, People Power is split three ways between the environmentalist and socially liberal Word Transformed Campaign, the libertarian and anti-surveillance NO2ID Group, and the anti-interventionist and Muslim-dominated rump of Respect, with each faction rallying behind a preferred spokesman. The notion of People Power as a unified party is very shaky indeed.
5. The Intervention Struggle
Across the world, it seems like "left" and "right" are breaking down as definitions. What is it that divides politics? David Goodhart claims he's got the key--but first, let go of the economy.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of capitalism (so his argument goes), the class struggle also gave out, ended by the victory of the upper class. With common prosperity making "proletariat" and "capitalist" a meaningless division, the primary struggle in politics is now between the "interferers" and the "leave-aloners", those who accept orders from above and those who chafe at them. In this framework, parties are differentiated by how much they want to intervene--in the economy, in foreign countries, in the lives of their citizens--rather than what they want to do with that intervention.
Academics still debate the truth of these claims, highlighting other nations which haven't gone through this. Considering how the Conservatives have pivoted from being the party of the Falklands War, Section 28, and Orgreave to being the party of peace in Iraq, same-sex partnerships, and the Davis Enquiry, and Labour have gone from championing disarmament, the free press, and Windrush to championing Trident, the Media Standards Act, and border controls, it's possible Goodhart's onto something.
Iraq And A Hard Place
2005-2012: Ken Clarke (Conservative)
def 2005: (Majority) Tony Blair (Labour), Charles Kennedy (Liberal Democrats), Alex Salmond (SNP), George Galloway (Respect), Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid Cymru)
def 2010: (Minority with de facto Respect support) Gordon Brown (Labour), Norman Baker (Liberal Democrats), Lindsey German (Respect), Alex Salmond (SNP), Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid Cymru), Nigel Farage (UKIP), Caroline Lucas (Green)
2011-2019: Jack Straw (Labour)
def 2011: (Majority) Ken Clarke (Conservative), Alex Salmond (SNP), Lindsey German, Norman Baker, and Natalie Bennett (People Power Coalition--Liberal Democrats, Green, Respect), Paul Nuttall (UKIP), Simon Thomas (Plaid Cymru)
def 2016: (Majority) David Davis (Conservative), Alex Salmond (SNP), collective leadership [de facto Lindsey German] (People Power), Patrick O'Flynn (UKIP), Rhun ap Iorweth (Cymru)
2019-2021: Tom Watson (Labour working under "Rose Garden Agreement" with UKIP and SNP)
2020 Scottish Independence Referendum: cancelled due to pandemic; estimated 53% YES, 47% NO
2021-xxxx: Richard Bacon (Conservative)
def 2021: (Coalition with People Power) Tom Watson (Labour), Alex Salmond (SNP), collective leadership [de facto contested between Layla Moran, Daz Nez, and Anas Altikriti] (People Power), Patrick O'Flynn (UKIP), Rhun ap Iorweth (Cymru), Douglas Carswell (Democracy Coalition)
Five Phrases To: Understand British Politics With!
1. Clarkemania
As youth icons go, a 81-year-old former director of British American Tobacco seems an unlikely candidate. Yet former Prime Minister Ken Clarke has been unironically embraced by a vaste trache of young Netizens.
In fairness, it isn't the first time Clarke has garnered teenager support. His victory in 2005 is often attributed to a "youthquake" of younger voters not wanting to participate in the Iraq War, even if the actual polling numbers suggested a more uniform swing. The new era of Ken Clarke memes, however, comes from people who can barely remember his time in office, and whose support springs more from his vocal backbench activities supporting European integration. While "vapourwave" edits of his recent speeches, fanfic placing him in a torrid romance with Jack Straw, and legions of tweenage girls with profile pics of his face wearing a flower crown may appear like a sideshow to the real issues, many of these memers are effectively full-time canvassers online.
The digital realm is increasingly important for campaigning and activism, and with the blue-rinse exodus, the Conservative Party is in dire need of boots on the ground. There's a good chance that the skinny lads putting Night In Tunisia over a Metal Gear boss fight will be crucial to the Conservative's strategy next election--and might one day sit on the front bench.
2. NO2ID
When David Blunkett was preparing his agenda as Home Secretary, he jotted in the margin that he expected "some debate" over the ID cards policy. A decade later, we're still debating it--or are we?
While Ian Brown's by-election campaign under the NO2ID banner may have been a disappointment, his vocal opposition to the Identity Cards Act galvanised a wavering opposition to Straw after the end of the Iraq War--a legacy most visible in People Power's NO2ID Group, with its president, Ian Brown MP. "No to ID!" has become the ubiquitous campaign slogan of our times, visible at nearly every protest and a constant in graffiti. This is all despite--or perhaps because of--ID cards being a hideously unpopular political dead letter for several years, and one abolished promptly by the Conservatives once they took power.
NO2ID means much more, these days. Against the digital-economy titans, against heavy-handed anti-terrorist actions, against mandatory vaccination measures--in general, an opposition to all attempts to number and corral the British population by centralised powers, and a firm belief in the right to privacy and free speech. With mask mandates and social distancing to combat the Hubei Flu increasingly controversial among the public, the Met Police under scrutiny, and Linkedin's misuse of personal data, this movement can only grow.
3. Rose Garden Agreement
With a teetering government minority after mass defections, Tom Watson faced two options--call a fresh election and almost certainly lose, or tie his government to a grab-bag of minor parties that mostly hated each other. He tried for a third, which somehow worked out worse.
Intervention in Syria was the final straw for the SCG, and Straw's ham-handed tactics with them ended up forcing both he and them out of the party--one to the opposition, the other to the backbenches. Watson needed to fill seats or lose his, but a full coalition was clearly untenable. The informal agreement--hashed out, despite the name, indoors, and merely announced in the Rose Garden--was like a confidence-and-supply agreement, but not quote. Both parties were obligated to support the Budget, the SNP bills on the environment and Europe, and UKIP bills on defense and home affairs. In exchange, further European integration was officially halted, as was plain cigarette packaging, Holyrood would gain greater economic power, the planned enlargement of Trident was halted, and two referendums were scheduled for the next year.
The plan was without precedent, and quickly divided all the parties involved. More liberal elements in Labour chafed at the idea of working with UKIP, and Scottish Labour felt betrayed by collaboration with the SNP. On the opposition side, most of the UKIP right went into open revolt over the idea of supporting more government spending, and the SNP's left, feeling they'd been ripped off with tokens, grumbled relentlessly. The electoral fallout left all parties involved scarred, and unlikely to repeat the process--yet with the traditional left-right spectrum breaking down, and hung parliaments more and more common, it wouldn't be wise to rule out another ad-hoc deal.
4. "Leadership By Argument"
With defections on votes for climate bills, for medical bills, and for education bills, People Power seem like a party in disarray. The backbiting is so endless, you'd think their leadership contest never ended. You'd be right.
The collective leadership began, like most poorly-functioning things, as a compromise. While they shared a commitment to staying out of American wars on terror, the three parties had little other common ground, and there was a fear that one of the three would dominate--the Lib Dems with their greater number of parliamentary seats, Respect with their dedicated activist base, or the Greens with their large membership. The collective leadership was supposed to preserve the independence of all factions, by preventing centralisation. People Power spent seven years with no official leader. The leader they did not oficially have was Lindsey German.
A veteran of the anti-war movement, German's relatively light-touch approach to party disclipine allowed the party to digest mass Labour defections, but her retirement has left behind her a party in disarray. As it stands, People Power is split three ways between the environmentalist and socially liberal Word Transformed Campaign, the libertarian and anti-surveillance NO2ID Group, and the anti-interventionist and Muslim-dominated rump of Respect, with each faction rallying behind a preferred spokesman. The notion of People Power as a unified party is very shaky indeed.
5. The Intervention Struggle
Across the world, it seems like "left" and "right" are breaking down as definitions. What is it that divides politics? David Goodhart claims he's got the key--but first, let go of the economy.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of capitalism (so his argument goes), the class struggle also gave out, ended by the victory of the upper class. With common prosperity making "proletariat" and "capitalist" a meaningless division, the primary struggle in politics is now between the "interferers" and the "leave-aloners", those who accept orders from above and those who chafe at them. In this framework, parties are differentiated by how much they want to intervene--in the economy, in foreign countries, in the lives of their citizens--rather than what they want to do with that intervention.
Academics still debate the truth of these claims, highlighting other nations which haven't gone through this. Considering how the Conservatives have pivoted from being the party of the Falklands War, Section 28, and Orgreave to being the party of peace in Iraq, same-sex partnerships, and the Davis Enquiry, and Labour have gone from championing disarmament, the free press, and Windrush to championing Trident, the Media Standards Act, and border controls, it's possible Goodhart's onto something.
--Menshn: The Rundown, 9th October 2022
Time Enough
"Enthusiastic Cis Male Partner"
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Major Leaders of the World Circa. 1943
The Great Concord
- United States of America: President Millard Tydings | Vice President Joseph C. O'Mahoney (Democratic)
- United Kingdom: King George VI (Windsor) | Prime Minister Albert V.Alexander (Labour)
- The Third French Republic: President Michel Auguste Adolphe Landry (Independent) | Prime Minister Pierre Laval (National Rally)
- Empire of Japan: Emperor Hirohito (Yamato) | Prime Minister Hitoshi Ashida (Rikken Seiyukai)
- Second Hellenic Republic: President Nikolaos Plastiras (Liberal Party) | Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou (Liberal Party)
- Republic of Czechoslovakia: President Edvard Beneš (Czech National Social Party) | Prime Minister Zdeněk Fierlinger (Czech Social Democratic Party)
Politically the Great Concord is represented mainly by Constitutional Democracies, with the United Kingdom, Second Hellenic Republic, Czechoslovakia and America currently represented by politicians from the Centre Left with Social Democratic or Social Liberal and Left Wing Internationalist perspectives to there policies. Japan is firmly under a Centre-Right Democratic Government coming out of a period of political turmoil and chaos (which included several coup attempts by Army officers) which lead to the banning of groups on the Extreme Left and Right. France is currently in a peculiar state, after a period of economic strife, political turmoil and a failed coup attempt by groups lead by Pierre Taittinger has lead to Prime Minister Pierre Laval creating a ‘Republican Centre’ party called National Rally, which is a seemingly syncretic party comprised of members from Left and Right of France’s political spectrum, that has been described as ‘Boulangist’ by some as political party’s and dissdents from Left and Right are finding themselves being arrested or exiled.
The Third International
- Third International Bloc: General Secretary Heinrich Brandler (Communist Party of Germany)
- People's Republic of Germany: General Secretary Paul Levi (Communist Party of Germany) | Premier Max Levien (Communist Party of Germany)
- People's Republic of Austria: General Secretary Otto Bauer (League of Democratic Socialists) | Premier Karl Steinhardt (Communist Party of Austria)
- People's Republic of Hungry: General Secretary József Pogány (Hungarian Working People's Party) | Premier Árpád Szakasits (Hungarian Working People's Party)
- Transcaucasian Soviet Republic: General Secretary Alexei Rykov (Russian Communist Party) | Premier Sergei Kirov (Russian Communist Party)
Instead over the course of the Thirties and the split with the Italian Social Republic the Third International has become more of a isolationist One Party Social Democracy (for the most part) of sorts, though recent attempts by Heinrich Brandler to engage in internationalist ideals has caused the Third to embrace electorally successful Communist Parties in Finland and Denmark. The One Party aspect of the International has slipped in Austria, as the AustroMarxist faction, grating at being sidelined by the Austrian Communist establishment, formed there own political faction and found themselves making gains and controls of the Central Committee of the region in the 1935 election, with the Communist Party and League of Democratic Socialists swapping positions depending on elections.
The Transcaucasian Soviet Republic is the only member of the International not connected by landmass, being a rump state of the Soviet Union, formed from Caucasian SSR’s and Russian Territory around the city of Leningrad (formerly Tsaritsyn). Despite continuing to follow the Marxist-Leninist line instead of the Third’s Luxembergist line, the Transcaucasian Soviet Republic is firmly part of the Third International mainly due to needing someone to help conduct international diplomacy on it’s behalf due to the Russian Republic still claiming it as sovereign territory. Currently under Rykov attempting to continue his support for New Economic Program in an attempt to industrialise and modernise the nation with active support from the Third in its attempts.
The Fourth International
- The Fourth International Bloc: Il Duce Edmondo Rossoni (United Proletarian League)
- The Italian Social Republic: General Secretary Nicola Bombacci (United Proletarian League)
- The Republic of Spain: Prime Minister Vicente Uribe Galdeano (United Proletariat Bloc) | General Secretary Eusebio Rodríguez Salas (United Proletariat Bloc)
- The Republic of Mexico: President Abelardo L. Rodríguez (National Revolutionary Party) | General Secretary Tomás Garrido Canabal (National Revolutionary Party)
The Italian Social Republic formed the Fourth International following a falling out over the continued expansion of the Italian Empire under ‘Socialist Liberation’ and Bombacci’s purges of political opponents. Deciding to take a different tack to Berlin, the Fourth started appealing to Left Wing Nationalist groups and providing the resources, money and political education, the process has lead to mixed results.
Whilst several nations have become engaged in full on insurgencies and terrorist groups educated and financed by Rome, out of all there Fourth International groups, only there Spanish counterparts have actually managed to form a nation for themselves. Additionally the failure of these groups have delayed Rome’s continued expansion in the Mediterranean.
The Democratic Spanish Republic has only just come out of nearly a decade of revolution, coups and Civil War with the Proletarian Bloc being the main victors. But despite being able to form a government and control most of the country, the regions of Catalonia and Basque are still very much dealing with Anti-NatSynd insurgencies. Not helping matters is that the the Bloc has had almost consistent purges and having to deal with Portuguese troops engaging in border skirmishes. The likely hood of the nation lasting long, is unlikely.
The Republic of Mexico seems like a random member of the International, given how it borders America and is neutral on most international issues. Much of it can be dated back to Italian support for the Calles regime during the Cristero War, being one of the few to actively support Calles efforts, with equipment, troops and weapons making there way to the exhausted Mexican Army. In return, Calles and his successors would proclaim there support for Italian endeavours including joining the International, supported by the more Radical Left Wing members of the National Revolutionary Party (like Tomás Garrido Canabal and his Red Shirts faction). Despite being part of the Fourth International apart from it’s Anti-Clerical nature and incorporation of Labour into Government matters, Mexico particularly under President Abelardo L. Rodríguez is more of a Technocratic Corporatist state if anything and American overtures in recent years seem to make the possibility of disaffiliating from the Fourth a reality in the near future.
The Pact of Iron
- Russian Republic: President Vladimir D. Nabokov (Kadet) | Prime Minister Lavr Kornilov (Independent leading 'Solidarity Bloc')
- Republic of China: Premier Wang Jingwei (Kuomintang) | General Secretary Li Jishen (Kuomintang)
- Kingdom of Yugoslavia: King Alexander I (Karađorđević) | Prime Minister Milan Stojadinović (Yugoslav Radical Union)
- Tsardom of Bulgaria: Tsar Boris III (Saxe-Coburg & Gotha-Koháry) | Prime Minister Damyan Velchev (National Union)
- Kingdom of Greece: King Alexander I (Glücksburg) | Prime Minister Ioannis Rallis (National Democratic Party)
The Russian Republic survived the Civil War but dealing with a shell shocked nation overcoming a World War followed by a Civil War provided to Ben difficult for the nascent Democracy. Whilst attempts to keep democracy alive by the Kadets and Socialists Revolutionaries have allowed the structures of democracy to still exist, much of the government has been captured by interests of Industry and Military in recent years. The Presidency of Nabokov has attempted to reestablish control and his appointment of Lavr Kornilov as Prime Minister is an attempt to use his star power and seeming pro-democratic leanings to force Russian Democracy to re-emerge and deal with corruption.
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Tsardom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Greece all share similar forms of governments, autocratic monarchs supported by military juntas and political yes men is the way to go for them. Each one has been experiencing it’s own turmoil though as Yugoslavia is dealing with Croatian forces supported from Rome, Bulgaria’s Tsar is sickly due to a heart condition and gives over more power to the military each day and the Greek Kingdom is one more Republican offensive away from collapsing entirely, indeed King Alexander has already fled to Corfu to escape terrorist plots. Mainly the Pact is kept together through fear of Italian invasions particularly in the aftermath of Albania’s occupation several months ago.
China is an odd addition to the Pact, with the Republic being primarily ran by members from the Left Kuomintang who supposedly take more Socialistic, Left Wing stances on Chinese liberation. Whether the Republic actually lives up to this varies on the perspective but with Japan spending much of the Thirties saver rattling and engaging in battles with Chinese and Russian forces, Jingwei decided that being friendly with Russia under a seemingly Progressive Democratic Government made more sense than kowtowing to Japan. Indeed Jingwei has used to remaining time to crush any Pro-Japanese warlords and preparing China for possible hostilities in times to come.
The Intermarium
- Second Republic of Poland: President Wladyslaw Sikorski (Independent) | Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk (Centrolew)
- Republic of Latvia: President Marģers Skujenieks (Camp of National Unity) | Speaker Jānis Balodis (Camp of National Unity)
- Republic of Estonia: State Elder Johan Laidoner (National Centre Party) | Chairman Kaarel Eenpalu (National Centre Party)
- Republic of Lithuania: President Ernestas Galvanauskas (Peasants Union) | Prime Minister Leonas Bistras (Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party)
- People’s Republic of Ukraine: Director Symon Petliura (Ukrainian Socialist National Party)
The Second Polish Republic and the Republic of Lithuania are the only two actually democratic nations of the alliance, as coups by Pro-Democracy forces would lead to the return of democracy in both nations. Both have rather Centrist democracy’s, Poland’s leans Leftward whilst Lithuania is Rightward. Both are shakily coming back from the authoritarian regimes of the past couple decades, less can be said for there other allies.
In reaction to the growing groups on Right and Left in the aftermath of the economic downturn at the start of the Thirties and general government instability, Estonia and Latvia would fall to Coups and become dominated by Government compromised of Authoritarian Centrist Corporatist Juntas often dubbed as being ‘Kemalist’ in nature, there mainly contained within the alliance due to fears of economic stagnation and Russian invasion. There not fond of Poland and Lithuania’s returns to democracy though and are trying to undermine it wherever they can.
Ukraine started out as being an attempt at a Social Democracy and much of it’s early Democratic Politics was various groups on the Left trying to build a successful Left Wing Democracy, but several failed coup attempts, a stagnant economy and fears of Russian invasion in the early 30s has lead to the domination of Symon Petliura as Director of Ukraine. Whilst still seemingly committed to Socialism, Democracy and Modernisation, the nation has engaged in more autocratic measures in recent years particularly with the arrests of dissidents, Jews and intellectuals and the creation of a Upper House dominated by allies of Petliura which is the effective government of the country.
World Building for a novel I plan to write in November, I could have also done a number of sections on alliances in South America, Asia and Africa as well as Commonwealth leaders but this was already long enough and diverting away from the point as is. Formatting inspired by @Meppo
Ohhh,very good.
Hard to see Hungary remain Communist though,the Romanian government wouldn't allow that.
Time Enough
"Enthusiastic Cis Male Partner"
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True, I have a handwave in the form of ‘German and Austrian troops head over the border to support there Hungarian Comrades’ and probably after a length border conflict Romania gets the Transylvania region fully and is forced to concede when other neighbours start staring at Romania hungrily.
Or something, any justified hand-waves you have are greatly appreciated.
Additionally I was going to include the Kingdom of Romania into one of the alliances, but I realised quickly that it probably wouldn’t join any of them and stake there own claims for themselves.
Nah,it’s a good idea,it works.
It would be interesting seeing Carol’s National Rebirth Front going on and on and on til Carol dies in ‘51 in a No WW2 world,
especially since before 1940 Carol invested a lot in making stadiums and trying to get Romania be the host of the 1944 Olympics,
which honestly? Not that hard per se.
Time Enough
"Enthusiastic Cis Male Partner"
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I’ll keep a note of that because that could be an amusing piece of world building (the story whilst set in the Mediterranean will discuss stuff outside of it) and kind of the thing of this world is that despite there being No-Fascism as we know it, the Right Wing Corporatist structures that came about in the 20s and 30s are still very much there (indeed doing research for the various world leaders made me realise how commonplace the
Authnotrian Corporatist Government would be even without Fascism).
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- Teignmouth, Devon
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This is such a clever way to do a write up of a list! I often privately bemoan the lack of detail with lists and generally default to quite long descriptions of each leadership. But what I really want is to see what the world is like for people in it and imagine it for a little while. This does that really well.
u r good imo - but hopefully you knew that already
Walpurgisnacht
I'm Mister Blobby, I kill Prime Ministers
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- Banned from the forum
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Thanks, you're too kind.
I do like doing formats like this, mostly because I tend to think about what forces, big issues, and vibes are shaping the list and just sort of backfill in most of the people involved, but I do very much stand by this style. If you wanted to describe current British politics to someone, you wouldn't rattle off what May did and what Boris did like an Anglo-Saxon chronicler, you'd talk about Brexit and Momentum and COVID.
I'm glad it worked out so well in terms of verisimilitude, but also you had to imagine Ken Clarke slashfic, so maybe I should be apologising.
1997-2007 Tony Blair (Labour Majority)
2007-2010 John Reid (Labour Majority)
2010-2015 David Cameron (Conservative Majority)
2010: David Cameron-Conservative [341],John Reid-Labour [204],Nick Clegg-Liberal Democrat [81]
2014 Scottish Independence Referendum: 52,39% No
2015-2021 Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat-Labour Coalition,Liberal Democrat-Labour Progressive Pact-Green-Alliance Minority Coalition with SNP support and confidence)
2015: Nick Clegg-Liberal Democrat [200],David Cameron-Conservative [190],Alan Johnson-Labour [181],Nicola Sturgeon-SNP [47],Nigel Farage-UKIP [7],Nathalie Bennett-Green [1],George Galloway-RESPECT [1]
2016 AV+ Referendum: 51,60% Yes
2020: Nick Clegg/Alan Johnson-Labour/Liberal Democrat Progressive Pact [294],Michael Gove-Conservative [230],Nigel Farage-UKIP [66],Nicola Sturgeon-SNP [30],
Jonathan Bartley/Siân Berry-Green [14],Arlene Foster-DUP [6],Mary Lou McDonald-Sinn Féin [4],Adam Price-Plaid Cymru [4],Naomi Long-Alliance [3],Colum Eastwood-SDLP [3],Steve Aiken-UUP [2]
2021-present day Lynne Featherstone (Liberal Democrat-Labour Progressive Pact-Green-Alliance Minority Coalition with SNP support and confidence)
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Back when the cooperative lists thread was a thing, they were always most interesting when people were collaborating on vaguely clickbait formats like 'Seven Myths About Nazi Occupied Britain.'
So much more life gets breathed in to the piece than a bland list of names.
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Bolt451
Anxious millenial cowgirl
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In my defense I wasn’t trying to rip your work off,just some thing I thought of for a possible thing.
The main PoD is Gordon and Ed Balls dying in a plane crash like they nearly did in 2002 and Reid becoming the only heir to Blair’s throne after Milburn clearly isn’t fit and also doesn’t want the job. Blair incidentally resigns slightly earlier than OTL as he‘s dealing with depression and grief and just doesn’t want to be in change anymore.
Reid deals with the 2008 recession badly (to the point where the Bank of Scotland declares bankruptcy and a state of emergency and lockdowns are put in place til mid February 2009 to deal with the unrest) and Cameron gets a majority,which is unfortunate to him and the Tories since now they get to be unrestrained and take all the damage of their actions. David wins instead of Ed and it leads to a situation sorta similar theorized by @Gregg,with the final straw being the Heywood and Middleton by-election being won by UKIP and Alan Johnson takes charge-too late however for any needed major changes.
Clegg meanwhile gets to be the face of the Opposition to the Tories,narrowly wins the most seats,forms an alliance with an embarrassed and resentful Labour,narrowly wins the AV Referendum and has to deal with all sorts of things,least of which the pandemic. Due to the Lib Dems not forming a coalition with the Conservatives they are still the darlings of parts of the left/the anti establishment for a while longer. Maajid Nawad is an MP and a controversial Minister of State for Culture,Bastani is a Under Secretary of State for Tech that is really bad at his job and Darren Grimes gets to be a staffer before he joins UKIP.
It is a divided Britain but one where,for better or worse,everyone is represented equally in Parliament.