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Lists of Heads of Government and Heads of State

possibly the most aggressive @Japhy bait I have ever conceived

ATLBack&Forwards: The Revolution of 1877

I am thinking about the entry in What Ifs? of American History and coming up with a stronger build up to a revolutionary situation than what transpired IOTL 1877, and also what might come next.

View attachment 64521

1869-1877: Ulysses S. Grant (Republican)
1868 (with Schuyler Colfax) def. Horatio Seymour (Democratic)
1872 (with Henry Wilson) def. Thomas A. Hendricks (Democratic), Benjamin Gratz Brown (Liberal Republican / Democratic), Horace Greeley (Liberal Republican / Democratic), Charles Jones Jenkins (Democratic), David Davis (Liberal Republican)
1876 Hayes Assassination; declaration of Martial Law; [disputed] establishment of 'Grant Regime'
1877-1877: Thomas W. Ferry (Republican), Acting
1877 State governors begin declaring the 'legitimate' victor along partisan lines
1877-1877: Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) / Samuel J. Tilden (Democratic)
1876 [disputed]; Samuel J. Tilden (Democratic), Ulysses S. Grant (Republican), William A. Wheeler (Republican), Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican)
1877 Senate and House discipline collapses; partisans declare they have the numbers to elect the 'legitimate' President
1877 Beginning of the Revolution; The Great Railroad Strike, cutting across partisan and state boundaries - National Guard, federal and informal militias are divided and ill-prepared
1877-1877: William A. Wheeler (Republican)
1877 Grant Resignation citing health concerns; Wheeler comes to the Bloody Compromise with Democrats, promising withdrawal of federal troops from the South - hoping to unite against the striking workers
1877 Southern Rising; former federal troops join forces with black militias against 'Redeemer' forces - later join up with KOL forces
1877-1879: Thomas W. Ferry (Republican)
1877 Fall of Washington DC to revolutionaries; Wheeler resigns and president pro tempore Ferry rapidly seeks a peace with the revolutionaries
1878 Consummation of the Revolution; KOL, black militias and loyalist federal army crush remaining pockets of 'Redeemers'
1879-1883: Uriah Smith Stephens (Nonpartisan / Socialist Labor)
1878 (with James Parsons) def. David Davis (Nonpartisan / Republican / Democratic), Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (Straight-Out Democratic)
1879 'Revolutionary' Constitutional Convention; formalises many demands of the labor movement, and establishes single term, six year Presidency
1882 President Stephens declines invitation to run for the additional term he alone is entitled to, having become disillusioned since the KOL's victory in the Second Revolution
1883-1889: Terence V. Powderly (Nonpartisan / National Workingmen's / Democratic)
1882 (with Henry George) def. James Parsons (Socialist Labor), Benjamin F. Butler (Republican)
1883 Vice Presidential election crisis; bitterly divided electoral college for the Vice Presidential nomination results in the narrow election of the Republican nominee Henry George
1884 Passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, very public dispute between President and Vice President, resulting in polarisation of the party political system
1889-1892: Henry George (Socialist Labor / Republican)
1888 (with Joseph Rainey) def. Denis Kearney (National Workingmen's / Democratic)
1892-1894: Joseph Rainey (Republican)
1892 George Assassination amidst passage of a reversal of the Chinese Exclusion Act; riots break out over Rainey's accession, KOL splits badly
1893 Attempted impeachment of Rainey, SLP-Republican majority manages to block it but only narrowly
1893 President Rainey v United States; Rainey is initially denied capacity to run for a term in his own right, citing that he would served half a term already; SLP and Republicans dispute this as racially motivated
1894 President Rainey v United States; Rainey appoints Justices to 'pack' the Court, which promptly rules in his favour
1894-1895: Jacob Dolson Cox (Lily-White Republican)
1894 Impeachment of Rainey; Court 'packing' leads to Lily-White Republicans blanching and joining NWP-Democrat coalition to remove him from office
1895-0000: Samuel Gompers (National Workingmen's / Democratic / Lily-White Republican) / Eugene V. Debs (Socialist Labor / Black-and-Tan Republican)
1894 [disputed]; Samuel Gompers (National Workingmen's / Democratic / Lily-White Republican), Eugene V. Debs (Socialist Labor / Black-and-Tan Republican), Joseph Rainey (Sociaist Labor / Black-and-Tan Republican)
1894 Attempted 'Second Redemption'; NWP aligned KOL factions make a widespread show of force to prevent Black-Americans from voting, in order to ensure victory; Railroad brotherhoods and Western miners organise in favour of Debs; SLP aligned KOL factions march on the Capitol; neither side acknowledges the others legitimacy

1894 was supposed to be the year that Americans picked their President who would see in the new century, hopefully. But its has come to naught as once more, the United States is plunged into domestic insurgency and conflagration. The 1877 Revolution was supposed to enshrine American Democracy as sacrosanct, the United States as the first "Worker's Republic" irrespective of race or colour. But over the intervening years, nativism has once more reared its head, and the new party system has radicalised over the question of Chinese Exclusion. Despite the 1879 Constitution enshrining the place of naturalised Americans within the political process, some of those very same Americans have taken the opportunity to deny others the right to make their Worker's Republic a welcoming home. And as the gyre widens, the Revolution has taken to consuming its own sacred cows. The Democrats, long hobbled by association with the Confederacy and Kukluxism, have taken the opportunity to begin a 'Second Redemption' of the South. Meanwhile the Republicans 'Loyal Leagues' see a sudden resurgence joining socialist factions of the Knights of Labor in a great march on Washington to protest the accession of the British-born Samuel Gompers and the assumed entrenchment of white supremacy that will follow...
 
Take me Bob, take me right now.

More seriously this is excellent and I do enjoy the profound mess that the Revolution creates rather then your stereotypical Soviet style in America revolt.

I have been toying with 1877 as a basis for doing a thing so kind of amazed to see this tbh.
 
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Japhy said:
Take me Bob, take me right now.

More seriously this is excellent and I do enjoy the profound mess that the Revolution creates rather then your stereotypical Soviet style in America revolt.

I have been toying with 1877 as a basis for doing a thing so kind of amazed to see this tbh.
Click to expand...
That essay in What Ifs? was one of the first pieces of AH I've ever read, and its been rattling around my head since then.
 
Prime Ministers of Japan

2012-2018: Shinzo Abe (Jiyū-Minshū)
-12 (coalition w/ Kōmei): Yoshihiko Noda (Minshū), Shintaro Ishihara (Ishin no Kai), Natsuo Yamaguchi (Kōmei), Yoshiko Watanabe (Minna), Yukiko Kada (Mirai), Kazuo Shii (Kyōsan), Mizuho Fukushima (Shakai-Minshū), Muneo Suzuki (Shintō Daichi)
-14 (coalition w/ Kōmei): Banri Kaieda (Minshū), Kenji Eda (Ishin), Natsuo Yamaguchi (Kōmei), Kazuo Shii (Kyōsan), Takeo Hiranuma (Nippon no Kokoro), Tadatomo Yoshida (Shakai-Minshū), Ichirō Ozawa (Seikatsu)
-17 (coalition w/ Kōmei): Yuriko Koike (Kibō), Kazuo Shii (Kyōsan), Natsuo Yamaguchi (Kōmei), Ichirō Matsui (Ishin no Kai), various (“Dokuri” Minshu), Tadatomo Yoshida (Shakai-Minshū)

2018-2020: Shigeru Ishiba (Jiyū-Minshū)

2020-2021: Kōichi Hagiuda (Jiyū-Minshū)

2021-: Yuriko Koike (Kibō)
-21 (coalition w/ Ishin no Kai): Kōichi Hagiuda (Jiyū-Minshū), Kiyomi Tsujimoto (Taishū), Natsuo Yamaguchi (Kōmei), Ichirō Matsui (Ishin no Kai)

Tokyoites were jubilant on election night as hometown girl Yuriko Koike was elected the first female Prime Minister of Japan in a historic first. Amid the celebrations though, a thin haze of cynicism hung over the streets to cloud the dazzling lights of Ginza - a cloud with roots from a decade ago.

Indeed, in 2009, many thought Japanese politics had turned over a new leaf. The landslide election of Yukio Hatoyama and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was supposed to be a seismic realignment that would finally bring about competitive politics to Japan. The 1955 system had been torn asunder, and for a brief moment it seemed like everything was possible.

Then Hatoyama failed to move the Okinawan military bases.

Then Kan lost control over a once-in-a-century natural disaster.

Then Noda proposed a Grand Coalition with the DPJ’s sworn enemies, hiked the consumption tax, and blew the fledgling two-party system to smithereens.

Suffice to say, the Japanese Opposition has seen brighter days. Lurching from the era of fiscal hawks under Noda to ardent pacifism under Kaieda, they simply didn’t know what to do with themselves. In a party system where Abe reigned supreme, the non-LDP forces scattered to the winds. Ishihara’s far-right projects gave people a good scare and riled up the far-right while Ozawa ran around trying to reclaim the glory once promised to him in 1996. Yet, in the chaos - there was opportunity. Former New Frontierist turned Liberal Democrat Yuriko Koike burst onto the national scene in 2016 by forming her own party, Tokyoites First and swept the LDP aside in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in a stunner, and hype began to grow.

On the national level, the Abe administration remained middling. Abenomics had plenty of hype but little to show for it, and most of the country was just glad that the chaos of revolving door Prime Ministers seemed to be at an end, even if they were dissatisfied. Lack of a credible opposition meant that the opposition was stuck in a bad remix of the 1990s, where new parties would emerge, gain steam, and then keel over and die. While Abe’s constitutional reform proposals weren’t exactly popular, who was left to challenge them? So what if new scandals began emerging from the woodwork? It wasn’t like anybody could threaten him anyway. Well, except Koike. But she was busy running Tokyo anyway to organize a national party to challenge the LDP, right?

Right?

In the end, what truly threw Abe’s plans of retirement out the window was the sheer speed in which the Democrats folded. Beset by infighting between its left and right wing factions over whether to collaborate with the Communists or Ishin and laden with members who had tasted power for 3 short years, the DPP (a rebranding of the DPJ after a succession of losses) was just hungry for a win. Thus, when the news came that Koike was putting together her own party to take on the Liberal Democrats, Seiji Maehara, leader of the DPP announced that he would run as an Independent with support from Koike’s new project and encouraged his party members to do the same. Extra incentive was that as leader, Maehara controlled the purse strings and was preparing to transfer them to Koike. The left wing of the DPP had been cut off at the knees.

It was in this chaos that Koike launched her national party - the Party of Hope (Kibō no tō). Not only did she announce, but she was also going all-in - she would run for a seat in the National Diet even as Governor. Despite frustrated LDPers complaining she was abandoning Tokyo, the people went absolutely wild for an opposition that for once didn’t seem like a fish in the desert. Wooing Maehara was a major coup, and other prominent members like Yuichiro Tamaki would cross the floor as well. A further shot in the arm came with an agreement between the Osaka-based Japanese Restoration Association (Ishin no Kai) to collaborate with Kibō.

As the weeks went on, Kibō crept up in the polls, and hushed rumours descended on Nagatachō that the LDP might find themselves with a hung parliament even when combined with the Kōmeito. Even within the Kōmeito itself, rumours were flying that the Tokyo wing, already in coalition with Koike on the Metropolitan level, might backstab the LDP. It was pandemonium, and Abe found himself staring down the likely end of his political career. Even in areas like Hokkaido or Fukushima that leaned left, Kibō surged in a sign that people just wanted the LDP gone.

Ultimately, the LDP avoided the worst on election night, crashing down to 240 seats in a loss that scraped off 50 Liberal Democrats from the Diet. Koike established her party as the undisputed front runner in the Diet with 130 seats while Ishin came out of the rough-and-tumble with around 20. Various stragglers on the left of the DPP such as Yukio Edano and Kiyomi Tsujimoto ran as independents in their own districts, narrowly beating out their competitors. Another big winner of the night was the Japanese Communist Party which saw a shock surge to 14%, their highest share of the vote in the party’s history. The Kōmeitō found itself on unstable ground as the party began to squabble over whether to continue their coalition with the LDP or to pull out and bank their votes with Koike.

Koike was riding high, and she couldn’t have done it without the help of two of Japan’s harbingers of chaos - Ichirō Ozawa, an old friend from the New Frontier Party now back together, and as some in the back rooms whispered - the tacit backing of Junichiro Koizumi. Their goal? The very same as Koizumi’s from the turn of the millennium: to destroy the LDP.

Koike would juggle between serving as Governor of Tokyo and making appearances in the Diet. Her presences were timed to have the most impact on the LDP, and the hybrid strategy calmed the anger of some Tokyoites who felt betrayed by her national run. The resignation of Abe to make way for a strengthened Shigeru Ishiba who became leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in 2018, exacting revenge for the defeat Abe dealt to Ishiba years ago. Even a change in leader couldn’t save the LDP, and a vengeful Abe pulled strings to install his former aide and confidant, Kōichi Hagiuda, as Prime Minister. Hagiuda was viewed as an Abe puppet, and rival factions bitter over the 2017 debacle would blab to Asahi Shimbun over every little detail.

Perhaps, in the end, that’s why Koike’s victory in 2021 wasn’t surprising. The LDP had been stuck in the mud, with politics having stagnated at a healthy Kibō lead over the LDP of up to 10% after the defection of a dozen LDP Representatives led by Shinjiro Koizumi. The true canary in the coal mine was the Kōmeitō’s hedging for the election, turning back to their old LDP-skeptical roots as Yamaguchi sent out feelers to save the party’s hide. Without the Kōmeitō’s organizational prowess to assist the LDP, Kibō was able to tip the scales and run the table in Single Member Districts against them, toppling Japan’s natural party of government once more. Ishin made minor gains as well, while the Popular Party (Taishūtō), a merger between the independent Democrats, the Social Democrats, and moderated Communists retrenched the traditional strongholds of the Japanese Left and established themselves as a contender on the national scene.

While Koike can bask in her historical achievement for now, warning signs lurk in the background. Asahi crows that “turns out, the secret to defeat the LDP was to become the LDP!” The birth of the Popular Party signifies the dawn of a new age of electability concerns even in the traditionally obstinate Japanese Left , and their upswing in support could herald what is to come. The LDP has proven itself to be a force not to be underestimated time and time again as well. The vast majority of the Diet have switched parties multiple times by now, including the Prime Minister herself. The charitable press calls them flexible, the detractors call them little more than mercenaries. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Yet, one question remains - if a government is built on sand, what stops it from collapsing into the dunes?

Jiyū-Minshū #72c100
Kōmeitō #fc46aa
Kibō #0f7d63
Minshū #ed2939
Ishin no Kai 1 #9dc183
Ishin #0e4c92
Ishin no Kai 2 #9CA84A
Kyōsan #b43737
Taishū #7852a9
Shakai-Minshū #009DD6
Nippon no Kokoro #F07C00
Seikatsu #005b96
Shintō Daichi #0b6623
Minna #ffae4c
Mirai #00a86b
“Dokuri” Minshū #95c8d8
 
Last edited:
Mumby said:
possibly the most aggressive @Japhy bait I have ever conceived

ATLBack&Forwards: The Revolution of 1877

I am thinking about the entry in What Ifs? of American History and coming up with a stronger build up to a revolutionary situation than what transpired IOTL 1877, and also what might come next.

View attachment 64521

1869-1877: Ulysses S. Grant (Republican)
1868 (with Schuyler Colfax) def. Horatio Seymour (Democratic)
1872 (with Henry Wilson) def. Thomas A. Hendricks (Democratic), Benjamin Gratz Brown (Liberal Republican / Democratic), Horace Greeley (Liberal Republican / Democratic), Charles Jones Jenkins (Democratic), David Davis (Liberal Republican)
1876 Hayes Assassination; declaration of Martial Law; [disputed] establishment of 'Grant Regime'
1877-1877: Thomas W. Ferry (Republican), Acting
1877 State governors begin declaring the 'legitimate' victor along partisan lines
1877-1877: Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) / Samuel J. Tilden (Democratic)
1876 [disputed]; Samuel J. Tilden (Democratic), Ulysses S. Grant (Republican), William A. Wheeler (Republican), Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican)
1877 Senate and House discipline collapses; partisans declare they have the numbers to elect the 'legitimate' President
1877 Beginning of the Revolution; The Great Railroad Strike, cutting across partisan and state boundaries - National Guard, federal and informal militias are divided and ill-prepared
1877-1877: William A. Wheeler (Republican)
1877 Grant Resignation citing health concerns; Wheeler comes to the Bloody Compromise with Democrats, promising withdrawal of federal troops from the South - hoping to unite against the striking workers
1877 Southern Rising; former federal troops join forces with black militias against 'Redeemer' forces - later join up with KOL forces
1877-1879: Thomas W. Ferry (Republican)
1877 Fall of Washington DC to revolutionaries; Wheeler resigns and president pro tempore Ferry rapidly seeks a peace with the revolutionaries
1878 Consummation of the Revolution; KOL, black militias and loyalist federal army crush remaining pockets of 'Redeemers'
1879-1883: Uriah Smith Stephens (Nonpartisan / Socialist Labor)
1878 (with James Parsons) def. David Davis (Nonpartisan / Republican / Democratic), Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (Straight-Out Democratic)
1879 'Revolutionary' Constitutional Convention; formalises many demands of the labor movement, and establishes single term, six year Presidency
1882 President Stephens declines invitation to run for the additional term he alone is entitled to, having become disillusioned since the KOL's victory in the Second Revolution
1883-1889: Terence V. Powderly (Nonpartisan / National Workingmen's / Democratic)
1882 (with Henry George) def. James Parsons (Socialist Labor), Benjamin F. Butler (Republican)
1883 Vice Presidential election crisis; bitterly divided electoral college for the Vice Presidential nomination results in the narrow election of the Republican nominee Henry George
1884 Passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, very public dispute between President and Vice President, resulting in polarisation of the party political system
1889-1892: Henry George (Socialist Labor / Republican)
1888 (with Joseph Rainey) def. Denis Kearney (National Workingmen's / Democratic)
1892-1894: Joseph Rainey (Republican)
1892 George Assassination amidst passage of a reversal of the Chinese Exclusion Act; riots break out over Rainey's accession, KOL splits badly
1893 Attempted impeachment of Rainey, SLP-Republican majority manages to block it but only narrowly
1893 President Rainey v United States; Rainey is initially denied capacity to run for a term in his own right, citing that he would served half a term already; SLP and Republicans dispute this as racially motivated
1894 President Rainey v United States; Rainey appoints Justices to 'pack' the Court, which promptly rules in his favour
1894-1895: Jacob Dolson Cox (Lily-White Republican)
1894 Impeachment of Rainey; Court 'packing' leads to Lily-White Republicans blanching and joining NWP-Democrat coalition to remove him from office
1895-0000: Samuel Gompers (National Workingmen's / Democratic / Lily-White Republican) / Eugene V. Debs (Socialist Labor / Black-and-Tan Republican)
1894 [disputed]; Samuel Gompers (National Workingmen's / Democratic / Lily-White Republican), Eugene V. Debs (Socialist Labor / Black-and-Tan Republican), Joseph Rainey (Sociaist Labor / Black-and-Tan Republican)
1894 Attempted 'Second Redemption'; NWP aligned KOL factions make a widespread show of force to prevent Black-Americans from voting, in order to ensure victory; Railroad brotherhoods and Western miners organise in favour of Debs; SLP aligned KOL factions march on the Capitol; neither side acknowledges the others legitimacy

1894 was supposed to be the year that Americans picked their President who would see in the new century, hopefully. But its has come to naught as once more, the United States is plunged into domestic insurgency and conflagration. The 1877 Revolution was supposed to enshrine American Democracy as sacrosanct, the United States as the first "Worker's Republic" irrespective of race or colour. But over the intervening years, nativism has once more reared its head, and the new party system has radicalised over the question of Chinese Exclusion. Despite the 1879 Constitution enshrining the place of naturalised Americans within the political process, some of those very same Americans have taken the opportunity to deny others the right to make their Worker's Republic a welcoming home. And as the gyre widens, the Revolution has taken to consuming its own sacred cows. The Democrats, long hobbled by association with the Confederacy and Kukluxism, have taken the opportunity to begin a 'Second Redemption' of the South. Meanwhile the Republicans 'Loyal Leagues' see a sudden resurgence joining socialist factions of the Knights of Labor in a great march on Washington to protest the accession of the British-born Samuel Gompers and the assumed entrenchment of white supremacy that will follow...
Click to expand...
This is so good Holy shit
 
Mumby said:
possibly the most aggressive @Japhy bait I have ever conceived

ATLBack&Forwards: The Revolution of 1877

I am thinking about the entry in What Ifs? of American History and coming up with a stronger build up to a revolutionary situation than what transpired IOTL 1877, and also what might come next.

View attachment 64521

1869-1877: Ulysses S. Grant (Republican)
1868 (with Schuyler Colfax) def. Horatio Seymour (Democratic)
1872 (with Henry Wilson) def. Thomas A. Hendricks (Democratic), Benjamin Gratz Brown (Liberal Republican / Democratic), Horace Greeley (Liberal Republican / Democratic), Charles Jones Jenkins (Democratic), David Davis (Liberal Republican)
1876 Hayes Assassination; declaration of Martial Law; [disputed] establishment of 'Grant Regime'
1877-1877: Thomas W. Ferry (Republican), Acting
1877 State governors begin declaring the 'legitimate' victor along partisan lines
1877-1877: Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) / Samuel J. Tilden (Democratic)
1876 [disputed]; Samuel J. Tilden (Democratic), Ulysses S. Grant (Republican), William A. Wheeler (Republican), Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican)
1877 Senate and House discipline collapses; partisans declare they have the numbers to elect the 'legitimate' President
1877 Beginning of the Revolution; The Great Railroad Strike, cutting across partisan and state boundaries - National Guard, federal and informal militias are divided and ill-prepared
1877-1877: William A. Wheeler (Republican)
1877 Grant Resignation citing health concerns; Wheeler comes to the Bloody Compromise with Democrats, promising withdrawal of federal troops from the South - hoping to unite against the striking workers
1877 Southern Rising; former federal troops join forces with black militias against 'Redeemer' forces - later join up with KOL forces
1877-1879: Thomas W. Ferry (Republican)
1877 Fall of Washington DC to revolutionaries; Wheeler resigns and president pro tempore Ferry rapidly seeks a peace with the revolutionaries
1878 Consummation of the Revolution; KOL, black militias and loyalist federal army crush remaining pockets of 'Redeemers'
1879-1883: Uriah Smith Stephens (Nonpartisan / Socialist Labor)
1878 (with James Parsons) def. David Davis (Nonpartisan / Republican / Democratic), Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (Straight-Out Democratic)
1879 'Revolutionary' Constitutional Convention; formalises many demands of the labor movement, and establishes single term, six year Presidency
1882 President Stephens declines invitation to run for the additional term he alone is entitled to, having become disillusioned since the KOL's victory in the Second Revolution
1883-1889: Terence V. Powderly (Nonpartisan / National Workingmen's / Democratic)
1882 (with Henry George) def. James Parsons (Socialist Labor), Benjamin F. Butler (Republican)
1883 Vice Presidential election crisis; bitterly divided electoral college for the Vice Presidential nomination results in the narrow election of the Republican nominee Henry George
1884 Passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, very public dispute between President and Vice President, resulting in polarisation of the party political system
1889-1892: Henry George (Socialist Labor / Republican)
1888 (with Joseph Rainey) def. Denis Kearney (National Workingmen's / Democratic)
1892-1894: Joseph Rainey (Republican)
1892 George Assassination amidst passage of a reversal of the Chinese Exclusion Act; riots break out over Rainey's accession, KOL splits badly
1893 Attempted impeachment of Rainey, SLP-Republican majority manages to block it but only narrowly
1893 President Rainey v United States; Rainey is initially denied capacity to run for a term in his own right, citing that he would served half a term already; SLP and Republicans dispute this as racially motivated
1894 President Rainey v United States; Rainey appoints Justices to 'pack' the Court, which promptly rules in his favour
1894-1895: Jacob Dolson Cox (Lily-White Republican)
1894 Impeachment of Rainey; Court 'packing' leads to Lily-White Republicans blanching and joining NWP-Democrat coalition to remove him from office
1895-0000: Samuel Gompers (National Workingmen's / Democratic / Lily-White Republican) / Eugene V. Debs (Socialist Labor / Black-and-Tan Republican)
1894 [disputed]; Samuel Gompers (National Workingmen's / Democratic / Lily-White Republican), Eugene V. Debs (Socialist Labor / Black-and-Tan Republican), Joseph Rainey (Sociaist Labor / Black-and-Tan Republican)
1894 Attempted 'Second Redemption'; NWP aligned KOL factions make a widespread show of force to prevent Black-Americans from voting, in order to ensure victory; Railroad brotherhoods and Western miners organise in favour of Debs; SLP aligned KOL factions march on the Capitol; neither side acknowledges the others legitimacy

1894 was supposed to be the year that Americans picked their President who would see in the new century, hopefully. But its has come to naught as once more, the United States is plunged into domestic insurgency and conflagration. The 1877 Revolution was supposed to enshrine American Democracy as sacrosanct, the United States as the first "Worker's Republic" irrespective of race or colour. But over the intervening years, nativism has once more reared its head, and the new party system has radicalised over the question of Chinese Exclusion. Despite the 1879 Constitution enshrining the place of naturalised Americans within the political process, some of those very same Americans have taken the opportunity to deny others the right to make their Worker's Republic a welcoming home. And as the gyre widens, the Revolution has taken to consuming its own sacred cows. The Democrats, long hobbled by association with the Confederacy and Kukluxism, have taken the opportunity to begin a 'Second Redemption' of the South. Meanwhile the Republicans 'Loyal Leagues' see a sudden resurgence joining socialist factions of the Knights of Labor in a great march on Washington to protest the accession of the British-born Samuel Gompers and the assumed entrenchment of white supremacy that will follow...
Click to expand...
Always love an 1877 Revolution done well!
 


2001 - 2005: George W. Bush / Dick Cheney (Republican)
2000 def. Al Gore / John Lieberman (Democratic), Ralph Nader / Winona LaDuke (Green)

2005 - 2009: John Kerry / John Edwards (Democratic)
2004 def. George W. Bush / Bill Frist [replacing Dick Cheney] (Republican)

2009 - 2013: John McCain / John Lieberman (Republican/Independent)
2008 def. John Kerry / John Edwards (Democratic)
 
This was my submission for last month's list challenge! This month is themed around ATLFs, and there's still 2 weeks to get your entries in! (Link in my signature.)

Everybody's Game​

Winners of the Universal Football Cup (Original Ruleset)
1919: Australia
def: United Kingdom
1924: Australia
def: South Africa
1929: [cancelled due to Eurasian War]
1934: United Kingdom
def: Australia
1939: Australia
def: United Kingdom
1944: Australia
def: New Zealand
1949: South Africa
def: Canada
1954: United Kingdom
def: Australia
1959: [cancelled due to internal differences in GUFL; competing "Classic Universal Football Championship" still in operation]

Winners of the Universal Football Cup ("Global" Ruleset)
1960: United States
def: Ireland
1965: Scotland
def: South Africa
1970: New Zealand
def; Australia
1975: "Exiled" South Africa
def: United States
1980: Ireland
def: England
1985: Canada
def: Irian
1990: Canada
def: Scotland
1995: [cancelled due to Third Irish War of Independence; replaced by charity game between Irian and Canada]
2000: Cape Republic
def: Fiji
2005: United States
def: Ireland
2010: Micronesia
def: Irian
2015: Irian
def: Australia
2020: Australia
def: Canada

Big5: The BIGGEST EVER GUFL Cup Contests!

Wooh hooh! Crack open the bubbly, set up the barbie, and put on Waltzing Matilda, because FOOTER'S COMING HOME! Our boys in green and gold are right where they should be--on top of the world! Mike Cheika and his boys in the Roos have played a blinder of a championship, and after over 80 years of hurt, the Con Hickey Trophy is returning to its rightful place. With that thrill-ride of a game behind us, there's no better time to take a gander over the other great Universal Football World Cups of the past. After all, if you don't know where Everybody's Game came from, you won't know why we're singing that it's coming home at last, will ya? Every cup has its stories, its triumphs and disasters, but these are the ones that'll live on in our hearts 'til we're gone. Or at least, in mine.

Number Five: Port Moresby, 2015
Yeah, yeah, maybe it's cheating to pick one so fresh in the memory, but we can't very well pick this year's one, can we? It's only been three weeks! Plus, we'd look biased. So we've just got to pick the Port Moresby cup, where everything Cheika would go on to have the Roos excel at in Philadelphia shined for the first time. Using a limited amount of sheparding to control the game's tempo without picking up red cards, long passes over the defensive line's heads, that total fluidity in player's roles on the pitch that he learnt so well at Dublin--all of these saw Australia right through the tournament, but couldn't quite overcome the homefield advantage of the Mozzies. It took a few more years of training (not to mention Mark Bontempelli and Sydney Stack coming of age) before the whole became something more than the sum of its parts--but what parts they were, eh?

Of course, it wasn't all Australia's tournament. Irian were ecstatic to host, and played an absolute blinder all tournament--from their 156-0 thrashing of Sunda at the start of the group stages, to the nailbiter that was their 34-31 defeat of the Roos. (The arc of Oea's conversion as it soared over the crossbar is still burnt into so many Aussie retinas.). The whole cup was widely seen as the nation's tribute to the legendary Stanley Gene, who'd, 5 years ago, been narrowly denied a victory before his retirement--a token position as "assistant coach" let him hold the trophy aloft like he should have done as captain. Even outside the Pacific, this cup was a dream-maker. Few would have bet on the Phillipines making it right up to the quarter-finals, or Lebanon making it into the semis, but outside the two well-oiled machines of the cup, football was, as ever, a game for everyone.

I'm an old git, and I'm required to argue that the quality of everything is going downhill. That's why you'd better trust me when I say that the quality of Australian footer--hell, of footer worldwide--has never been better than it is right now. The new way the game's played is quick, changeable, and doesn't stop every few minutes because someone lost an eye. Enjoy it, kids. Make good memories, because they're worth your time making.

Number Four: Toronto, 1975
You'll probably remember this one from your civics textbooks, but let Uncle Phil natter on a bit, won't you? By the Seventies, the old Union of South Africa was breaking down politically. The United Party's tenuous government had collapsed by the start of the Fifties, and the pro-Apartheid, pro-Baasskap National Party were holding the reins of power. Under Havenga and then the ironically-named Svart, the black citizens of South Africa only ever interacted with the whites as master and servant. They were separated in everything else in life, from love to housing to footer. And if you didn't like that state of affairs, you were in jail, dead, or forced out of the country. Unfortunately for the Springboks, that category of people included one of their best ever forwards. Tommy Bedford, kicked out of the national team for playing a friendly with a West Indian side, still had contacts among the anti-Apartheid South African Football Union, but wasn't picking up the ball.

It took the expulsion of South Africa from the GUFL (following repeated protests and the Springboks' refusal to play Melanesian teams) to spur him to action. The initial plan was to register as the sports team for one of the Apartheid government's phony "bantustans", but after repeated warnings that his passport would be revoked for going to Toronto, he bit the bullet and declared that they were the real South African team--for all of South Africa. The idea was to shame the government and expose South Africa to outside ideas, even if they didn't get very far. Yet with such a brilliant squad--Magxala's sheer prescence as ruckman, Yeye and Cheeky Watson's synergy as wing attackers, Bedford himself with his tight work on offence--any other team would have predicted a sure victory.

The image of Bedford sharing the trophy with Morgan Cushe, each man half-holding it aloft, became a symbol of the beginning of the end for the Baasskap system. Fittingly, it was a veteran of the Exiles who led the next African team to victory, with Zola Yeye's coaching doing so much to unite a young and fragile nation--yet another testament to footer's ability to bring people together.

Number Three: Dublin, 1960
Of all the cups on this list, this one came the closest to not happening at all. The very fact of its happening in Ireland, one of the two countries the GUFL was tearing itself apart over including, was a symbol of why. As per the GUFL's charter, the ruleset of footer gets updated once every 10 years--normally just a few tweaks, little adaptations to new edge cases or tactics. The update for 1958, though, ended up a maelstrom of controversy. More points for over-bar goals, ending boundary throw-ins, scrimmage lines, forward passing...it may as well have been a whole new sport. The proponents called it "International Football", incorporating the styles of the football of Ireland and of America to expand footer to whole new markets. The opponents called it a bastardisation of the sacred game in the pursuit of profit, and refused to have anything to do with it.

The sport wasn't quite in freefall by 1960, but its situation was still far from stable. The whole Canadian UFL had split off out of a fear of being crushed by their local form of gridiron, and half the major British teams were in open rebellion over the idea of playing games in Ireland. To demonstrate the superiority of the new rules, the cup needed to be an absolute blinder. Luckily for everyone involved, it was. To the surprise of many--even the organisers themselves--the American team were able to hold their own in the face of a sport far more brutal than they were used to, and the new adaptations placed focus on the kickers in a way that allowed for solid leads to quickly vanish. The final match--17-0 by the end of the first half, 23-20 by the end of the second, that last-minute goal by Alvin Kirkland narrowly thrust over the Irish defence--was a nailbiter that made the old system just look dull.

The splitters' attempt at a World Cup ended up a plodding excuse for a friendly match, with England pasting an "United Rest-of-the-World" 20-3. The Canadians ended up returning to the fold a year later, and ironically, thrived--now they could pull talent and tactics from their gridiorn, after all. You can still find True Footer on the satellite box, and fair play to them, they're keeping a tradition they love going. But it's not footer. The vision of that slow, insular, Anglo-dominated game is gone forever, thanks to one majestic scramble in Croke Park.

Number Two: Vancouver, 1995
Yeah, I know, not technically a World Cup final, isn't it? Feel free to carp in the comments, I know and I don't care.

Going to have to go all civics-textbook here again, but at least in this case there's a low chance you'll have done it in school. The winning bid for the 1995 cup was the Irish one--the first time they'd hosted since 1960. The Irish UFL had pretty grand plans, ranging from whole new stadiums to exhibition games of "classic" Gaelic football, but as usual, the plans ran into the real world. Except this time, that didn't just mean "we ran out of money". On the 6th of November, 1994, a van drove out of Swanlinbar towards the British border, and didn't stop once it hit the customs check. Or, for that matter, once it hit the front wall of a house on a British side, right through a family sitting room. One thing led to another, two governments who hated each other found an excuse, and by the time the new year arrived half the Irish footer team had been conscripted into the Republican Army to shoot at, among others, several members of the English footer team. The cup was unceremoniously cancelled under the circumstances.

The replacement wasn't anything spectacular. With a good third of the top-flight teams at war, it couldn't really be. The 1995 Footer World Cup Final was the first to take place without any qualifying stages leading up to it. Canada was the reigning champions and their UFL came up with the idea. Irian had "won" the qualifiers (highest average score per game) and, unlike the other "winner" (most games won), New Zealand, were willing to take part. Still, the fans rallied round, with a fire in their hearts. The main notable thing about the game itself was the way the profits were to be divided. Ticket sales, merchandise sales, even most of the players' salaries, all of it, minus the amount that covered the match, was going to charity. Specifically, the Red Cross's Anglo-Irish Relief Fund. The war might have interfered with footer, but footer did its level best to interfere with the war right back. And to the tune of 13 million dollars, it did.

Eventually, after too many dead, Francis Ross and Michael Forsyth shook hands in Dundalk and both sides slinked back to the status quo. The world-beaters that were the 1995 Harpers never played a match--just like the 1990 Springboks, whose country collapsed under them, or the 1929 Lions, shot down in Flanders, or...the list goes on. Some like to joke about sport substituing for war, and I bloody hope it will do someday. Until then, that Canada vs Irian game will remain a symbol of the best a community can do to make up for the holes war leaves.

Number One: Melbourne, 1919
The Southern Pride. The Big One. The original, the most important, and the best. There's very little new I can say here, but who gives a stuff? The old story is just as good. Let's start at the beginning, shall we? By the turn of the century (The other century! Whippersnappers!) something a bit like modern footer was established in Australia, called "Australian rules football". A niche game originating from various elite universities, it faced serious competition on all sides from soccer, rugby, and cricket, and was unable to expand outside of Australia--or north of Victoria, for that matter. Back in Blighty, a schism over compensation for work-hours lost had led to the formation of the "Rugby League", a splinter from mainstream rugby who went on to introduce their own rules to change up the game. New rules that created a game with a distinct similarity to Australian football, and that proved popular in Australia.

As early as 1908, a mere year after "League rugby" had landed in Australia, there were discussions about a merged game. By 1914, after a tour by the British League rugby team hit Sydney at the same time as the Interstate Carnival, the idea of unity could no longer be ignored. Financially, both leagues would be better off without competition. From a fan point of view, more international and interstate matches could only be a good thing. League rugby itself was a young sport, so a drastic shakeup of the rulebook wouldn't go over too badly. The unifiers had triumphed totally by the end of 1915, and the first exhibition match at the Adelaide Oval would be joined by many others for the upcoming season. In the UK, reception was choppier, but the Northern clubs were quickly won round once Con Hickey extended an offer to "see how the game is played down South". A British expeditionary team arrived in Victoria on the 12th of May, 1919, and quickly headed to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The 67-12 defeat for the Lions was taken in good spirits by men who'd barely been outside Yorkshire and Lancashire before, and as the trophy was lifted over the victorious Roos, the era of a truly universal football had arrived.

Who can say how things might have turned out, had that not come to pass? The Aussie state leagues were all for it--you'd have to send the country to war to get something else on their minds--but the Poms were more hesitant. Imagine, for a minute, a world without footer. A world where there's no common game binding us from Sydney to Sri Lanka, from the Mersey to the Mississippi, from Dublin to Durban. Without that sense of a worldwide community, a sport that's unbound by petty nationalisms, and truly for everyone. I'm glad I don't live there. I'm glad I live in the world of footer, and the world of Melbourne, 1919.
 
TheKennedyMachine said:


2001 - 2005: George W. Bush / Dick Cheney (Republican)
2000 def. Al Gore / John Lieberman (Democratic), Ralph Nader / Winona LaDuke (Green)

2005 - 2009: John Kerry / John Edwards (Democratic)
2004 def. George W. Bush / Bill Frist [replacing Dick Cheney] (Republican)

2009 - 2013: John McCain / John Lieberman (Republican/Independent)
2008 def. John Kerry / John Edwards (Democratic)
Click to expand...

kerry wins exactly 270 electoral votes and then the jOHN EWARDS elector causes an 1800 style crisis imo
 
Popes of the Roman Catholic Church

1963-1968: Pius XIII - The death of Pope (now Saint) John XXIII during the middle of the Second Vatican Council forced what is thought to have been one of the most fractious Conclaves of modern times. With considerable differences already clear by liberal and conservative elements, it was clear to most Vatican observers that a compromise candidate would emerge amongst the various camps. In the end, however, the Cardinals elected Giacomo Lercaro, Archbishop of Bologna, to the role. Having originally expressed concerns at the pace of the changes to the liturgy, Lercaro had grown closer to the late Pontiff's position, albeit expressing caution at the speed with which they had been implemented. Despite misgivings from traditionalists, both inside and without the Sistine Chapel, Lercaro was elected with the support of Cardinal Montini's moderate faction. Already aging, Pius XIII pledged to be a "transitory" figure, seeing the implementation of the mandates of the Second Vatican Council, which he re-convened immediately upon his coronation. As with his predecessor, his brief Pontificate was noted for his personal warmth and charisma, as well as his commitment to the principles of poor relief and peace. Shortly before his death in late 1968, he made a guarded, but rare, intervention into non-theological matters by speaking out against the "rise of extremism" within the Italian body-politic, following the rise of the neo-Fascist Italian Social Movement and the subsequent student riots and occupation of university campuses. Despite the controversies associated with Vatican II, Pius XIII continues to remembered as the second of the "Two Smiling Popes", offering as his did a sense of paternal reassurance during a time of dramatic social and political change across the Catholic world.

1968-1985: Gregory XVII - As Italy and the rest of the world cleared the debris of the summer riots, it was unsurprising that even as august a body as the Catholic Church would not be immune from a conservative backlash. After a decade of liberal control over the organs of power, the conservative faction of the Church finally revolted at the Conclave of December 1968, electing one of their most vocal members to the Fisherman's Throne. Long considered one of the most charismatic and conservative voices in the Curia, Giuseppe Siri, Cardinal Archbishop of Genoa, had been narrowly passed over for the position on the previous two occasions. In dubbing himself after the last Pope Gregory, who had likewise objected to liberalising movements, Siri made a clear statement of intent that he would hold firm against the modernising ethos that had held sway in the Vatican under his two predecessors. Yet, in doing so, Siri would prove to be a disappointment to many ultraconservative elements within the Church. Whilst retaining the Papal Tiara and clerical vestments shunned by his predecessor, Siri did little to row back on many of Vatican II reforms - judging (probably accurately) that it would lead to further disunity within the Catholic Church. His personal friendship with doctrinal purists such as Marcel Lefebvre prevented the long-threatened schisms from breaking out, but he soon found himself as another "prisoner of the Vatican". His posthumous memoirs noted his irritation at the lack of freedoms associated with a position he had long ceased to covert. Nevertheless, his Pontificate, at 17 years, was long and came at a time of tremendous international change. In 1971, he became the first Pope since 1809 to travel outside Italy, setting a reputation as a "Ambassador of the Faith" that his successors have maintained to this day. His staunch conservatism and anti-Communist tendencies made him a popular figure both amongst Nato leaders and anti-Communist activists in the Warsaw Pact, although his dismissal of Liberation Theology in Latin America continues to arouse controversy. Following the re-elected President Romney in 1972, he visited the White House for the first time, and made the first state-visit by a Pope to the United Kingdom five years later, which would influence a generation of young Catholic men. In 1982, he vocally denounced the imprisonment of Cardinal Wojtyła in Poland, considered to be an instrumental event in the Cracow Spring that would ultimately lead to limited reforms being introduced by the Government there. Although he died four years prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain, Siri is nevertheless considered to be on of the most significant figures of the Cold War endgame. Despite considering his liturgical legacy to have been a failure, he set a new, assertive role for the temporal strength of the Catholic Church.

1985-1993: Leo XIV - The Conclave of 1985 was a return to form. After the long and tempestuous Papacy of Gregory XVIII, there was a feeling amongst most Vatican commutators that the assembled Cardinals would select a more temperate figure, but one who would nevertheless retain the late-Pope's approach to ecumenicism and wider politics. The era of quiet theologians was, in the eyes of many, at and end. Consequently conservatives rallied behind Josef Ratzinger, the Archbishop of Munich, who is believed to have come close to election, but subsequently withdrew his candidacy. After four days of balloting, the Conclave therefore selected the amicable Sebastiano Baggio, the late-Pope's Secretary of State, to the position. Although sharing many of Gregory XVII's conservative views, Baggio presented a more relatable, humble approach to the Papacy, epitomised with his rejection of the elaborate coronation ceremony in place of the simpler inauguration, which is retrained to this day. Baggio's tenue was marked by the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, as well as reforms to the position of the Church's role in Latin America. Less opposed to the principles of liberation theology, whilst nevertheless sceptical of the at-times left-leaning approaches of its adherents, Leo XIV patronised a new generation of clergymen across the global south, most prominently by elevating Óscar Romero to the Cardinalate in 1987. Romero, who had narrowly avoided assassination on numerous occasions owing to his opposition to the military government of El Salvador, had been considered a symbol of the reformist elements within the Church, despite holding largely doctrinal views on most social issues. Leo's eight-year Papacy largely weathered the political storms elsewhere, although it has been criticised in recent years owing to the large number of sexual abuse scandals that have emerged around senior figures, most of whom were appointed by Baggio during his tenure as head of the Congregation for Bishops. His Beatification in 2019 remains controversial.

1993-2004: Paul VI - Meeting under a cloud caused by both the death of Leo XIV and, more ominously, the aftermath of the Empire State Bombings, the election of Cardinal Carlo Martini as Supreme Pontif marked a sea-change after the long-period of conservatism under his predecessors. Taking the name Paul, the first to be so-called since the long-reigning Paul V who had rebuilt St Peter's and supported Galileo, Martini threw himself into the reformist tendencies he had associated himself in during his time as Archbishop of Milan. A firm supporter of social reforms, he ingratiated himself to the public (if not the Curia) with the publication of his landmark Encyclical of 1998, Sulla Santa Carne (On the Holy Flesh), which set out means by which unmarried and divorced couples could receive communion. Although widely controversial amongst traditionalists, it was endorsed by the Sacred Congregation of Rites the following year, just ahead of the Millennial Jubilee. The decree nevertheless led to a serious schism within the Church, which saw a number of senior American clerics, led by the firebrand Archbishop of Boston, Raymond Burke, to establish the traditionalist Continuing Catholic Church of North America. The latter half of Martini's Papacy was marked with efforts to reconcile the warring factions of the Papacy, broken with the uneasy truce that had emerged from moving too fast, and with insufficient support, from various wings of the Church. Already ailing from Parkinson's, he made the decision to resign as Pope in the spring of 2004 - the first Pope to do so since Gregory XII in 1415. He spent the last years of his life in quiet seclusion at a small villa on the grounds of the Castel Gandolfo. A well-received dramatisation of his resignation and relationship with his successor The Old Popes, aired on TeleSAT last summer.

2004-2017: Clement XV - The first Conclave of the 21st Century was a fraught one. The resignation of Paul VI had been unexpected to the majority of Cardinals, and the conservative opposition to his liturgical reforms struggled to find a candidate to rally behind. For a while, it seemed as if the liberal-wing would, surprisingly, maintain their grip on the levers of power. Reports indicate that the 59 year old Cardinal Schönborn of Austria had come within a dozen votes of being elected. In the end, however, the conservatives found their candidate in the former of Jorge Medina, Archbishop of Santiago. As the first non-Italian Pope since the 16th Century, and the first from Latin America, the doctrinal conservative took the name Clement XV, in what was seen as a mark of his return to a unified approach to doctrine (the last Pope Clement had suppressed the Jesuits for extensive influence in temporal politics). His election was not without controversy. Having supported the military junta that had governed Chile during the 1980s, he had placed himself firmly against the reform-minded nature of the Liberation Theologians that had been supported by Leo XIV. Despite these misgivings, Clement XV steadied an unstable ship. During his eight-year Pontificate, he distanced himself from his more conservative supporters, focusing instead on internal administration and reform, including returning almost half of the CCCNA back into the Latin fold. Nevertheless, the publication of the Milan Papers by La Repubblica in 2013 caused uproar in both Catholic and secular circles. Detailing a liturgy of sexual-assault cases by senior Church figures (and subsequent cover-up), the reports lead to the Italian Government and United Nations opening a general commission of inquiry. Fearing the possible abolition of the Vatican's unique geo-political position and even a review of the Lateran Treaty, the Curia had little choice but to agree to a wide-scale review of the inner workings of the Church. At a extraordinary summit in 2015, the Pope issued a firm and unequivocal apology for "decades of profound and tragic errors", although he stopped short of a formal apology to individual victims. Eighteen months later, on the eve of his 90th birthday, he announced his resignation as Pope. He formally stepped down early in the New Year.

2017-0000: Adrian VII - Still reeling from the aftermath of the Milan Papers, the Conclave of 2017 found Cardinals in a challenging position. With the eyes of the world watching, a number of candidates previously considered Papabile were now seen as out of the running. In the end, the red electors turned to the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Universal Inquisition, who had won kudos amongst secular and religious commentators alike for his handling of the crisis. As the second Englishman to wear the Fishman's Shoes, there was little surprise when John McDonnell took the name Adrian. Born into an Irish Catholic family in Liverpool, McDonnell had almost left the Church entirely, but had returned to the priesthood, eventually rising to the position of Archbishop of Westminster. Despite being considered on the liberal-wing of Catholicism, he nevertheless publicly clashed with Prime Minister Booth's social reforms, at one point rejecting her from taking communion. Nevertheless, the two reconciled towards the end of her time in office, and prior to his elevation to the Cardinalate in 2004, he was tipped for appointment to the House of Lords (his successor as Archbishop, Michael Pennington, was elevated to the Upper Chamber last year in Tom Watson's resignation honours). Despite a challenging start to his pontificate, Adrian VII has received support for his open attitude towards the aftermath of the Milan Papers, as well as his liberal attitude to ecumenicism and inter-faith outreach.
 
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Heat said:
jack.
Click to expand...

Haha. I was largely motivated by how many people in the UK seem to have trained for the Priesthood and subsequently left and basically just worked backwards from there.

I like to think that Jorge Bergoglio is a moderately successful retired businessman who introduced soft-serve ice-cream to Argentina.
 
I've been having some really fucked up dreams recently

2005-2006: Boris Johnson (Conservative)
1985: Oxford Student Union President; 1987-2006: MP for Yeovil; 1992-1997: Minister for Defence Procurement; 1997-2001: Shadow Minister of Defence; 2001-2004 Shadow Foreign Secretary; 2004-2005 Leader of the Opposition

Ultimately, every dingle decision that led to the American Invasion of the UK is Boris Johnson's fault. Starting as Minister for Defence Procurement he bought into the idea of a strategic orbital energy weapons programme spinning off from America's recently abandoned Star Wars system. As Shadow Minister of Defence he took to scoring points against Labour by pushinbg them on the unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This annoyed the Americans and meant that when things went wrong, there was no trust.

In 2006 the British Laser Array was ready for a test firing, and Boris had only one problem. Blair had pushed out one of his friends' firms from a lucrative contract developing the targeting system. In a fit of pique, Boris demanded that his friend's company be allowed to programme the system. Unfortunately, they had no access to the hardware schematics and while they gave it a best guess, mistakes were made.

The British orbital laser attack of Washington DC destroyed the White House and killed the President and vice president, leaving Dennis Hastert as President. Boris was arrested immediately, of course but in general nobody really stopped American troops from taking government buildings. It was generally understood that some form of occupation would be necessary. Destroying the capitol and killing the head of state of the world's pre-eminent nuclear power is the kind of thing that has to have consequences.

2006-2008: Robert Tuttle (Occupation)
1985-1989: Director of Whitehouse Presidential Personnel; 2005-2006: US Ambassador to the United Kingdom

The occupation of the United Kingdom was generally amicable, however there were issues. A general military rebellion had to be put down when the UK military refused to submit to US controls and weapons inspectors, a resistance movement started up. Tuttle's primary job was to bring the UK military under control and hold an election.

2008-2021: Tony Blair (National Labour)
2006: Baron Blair of Sedgefield; 2006-2008: Member of National Advisory Forum

Blair's second time in office can be split into three parts based on American presidents.

Between 2008 and 2012 Dennis Hastert was president and Britain was expected to support America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Iran. British troops were essential in pacification and state forming in these regions and the United Kingdom became a key ally to the newly formed governments. While Democrats were concerned with Britain introducing conscription they saw the wisdom in breaking down traditional UK military elitism and encouraging a bigger, low tech, military force.

Between 2012 and 2016, Hilary Clinton was president and relations between the USA and the UK government was strained. In 2013 following a bad election result the National Unity Government held together only because they bought in Emma Nicholson (Leader of the Liberal Democrats) and Nigel Farage (leader of UKIP). Many in America felt that the British democratic system was becoming corrupt and there were growing calls for an untangling of American and British interests. With less American support, the national government became more and more draconian. The forcible police crackdown on the Scottish Independence referendum of 2014 was a low point, and violent interventions were not repeated when Ireland reunified following a border poll in 2016.

From 2016 President Trump has pursued a more openly colonial relationship with Britain and this has worked well for the National government. The Black Lives Matter riots of 2016 were dispersed by the military in the UK, and the same method was applied in the UK and the States for the Black Lives Matter protests of 2018. The UK government is widely believed to have mishandled the pandemic however, like the riots, it boosted government popularity and allowed them to increase their powers. The only problem was the revelation that Tony Blair had held lavish parties for commercial and military allies at Buckingham Palace during lockdowns. He was forced to resign in disgrace in 2021.

2021-2022: Mike Gapes (National Labour)
1992-20XX: MP for Ilford South; 2008-2015: Minister for UK Self-Defense Force; 2015-2021: Minister for External Relations

A key Blair ally, Gapes was seen as a safe pair of hands by the committee and compromising interests that made up the National government coalition. His time in office was however very short. Internationally, he is arguably one of the greatest statesmen of his age. Gapes helped to broker the Treaty of Helsinki, which established peace with Russia through clearer rights for Russians in the Baltic, partition of Ukraine and Georgia and the Moldovan occupation of Transneister. The treaty also marked the end of NATO. Mistrust had been growing on both sides since two NATO powers since the Washington DC attack and the occupation of the UK. From this point onwards, the Coalition of the Willing allowed a smaller number of US allies to have a closer relationship with the super power.

On the home front, Gapes led Britain through the social unrest of the anti-Occupation riots and the General Strike. It was the first time in British history when tanks were used against British protestors. Gapes never apologised for this, and the government holds that their handling of the strike is popular according to official government polling. However, critics of the government suggest that if a pgovernment deploys tanks against its critics, they can't be surprised when people refuse to openly criticise the government. It's notable that the national government stood at 7-11% in opinion polls by the time Gapes resigned.

2022-Present: Rory Stewart (National Unionist)
2008-20XX: MP for Montgomeryshire; 2011-2017: Middle East Minister; 2018-20XX: Leader of National Unionist Party; 2020-2022: Minister of Homeland Security

Stewart is the first prime minister from the former Conservative Party since Boris Johnson, although he is a National MP through and through. He has been personally associated with quelling every riot since Black Lives Matter and is reviled by the nation's dissidents. However he is also a reformer. Under Stewart the government is looking at legalising gay marriage, privatising the BBC and other government run communications systems, and allowing pubs to stay open to 10 pm when there's no curfew in place. His vision is a Britain that any tourist or visitor will recognise as a modern, first world, state. It's a popular idea. The Nationals are polling over 20% again. It remains to be seen if this will be enough to win the elections in May. Certainly anti-government groups are preparing for a summer of riots over Make Votes Matter - so time will tell.
 
"I'm Afraid I Have No Politics..."
Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative majority) 1963-1969
1964 [maj.]: def. Harold Wilson (Labour), Jo Grimond (Liberal)
Harold Wilson (Labour majority, then minority) 1969-1974
1969 [maj.]: def. Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative), Jeremy Thorpe (Liberal), William Wolfe (SNP)
Edward du Cann (Conservative and Patriotic Labour 'compact') 1974-1975
1974 [min., with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]: def. Harold Wilson (Labour), Jeremy Thorpe and The Duke of Devonshire (Liberal and Pro-EEC Conservative), William Wolfe (SNP)
Harold Wilson (Labour minority with support from Liberals, Pro-EEC Conservatives, SNP and Plaid Cymru) 1975
1975 [min.]: def. Edward du Cann and Douglas Jay (Conservative and Patriotic Labour), Jeremy Thorpe and The Duke of Devonshire (Liberal and Pro-EEC Conservative), William Wolfe (SNP)
Edward du Cann (Conservative and Patriotic Labour 'compact') 1975-1981
1975 [min., with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]
1976 [maj. with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]: def. Harold Wilson (Labour), Jeremy Thorpe and The Duke of Devonshire (Liberal and Pro-EEC Conservative)
Harold Wilson (Labour minority with support from Liberals and Alliance) 1981-1983
1981 [min.]: def. Edward du Cann and Douglas Jay (Conservative and Patriotic Labour), Jo Grimond (Liberal), Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler (Alliance)
David Owen (Labour minority with support from Liberals and Alliance) 1983-1986
Edward du Cann (Conservative and Patriotic Labour 'compact') 1986-1991
1986 [maj. with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]: def. David Owen (Labour), Jo Grimond (Liberal), Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler (Alliance)
1990 [maj. with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]: def. John Smith (Labour), Ken Clarke (EPP), Peter Tatchell (Ecology)
Francis Pym (Conservative and Patriotic Labour 'compact') 1991-1995
John Smith (Labour majority) 1995-????
1995 [maj.]: def. Francis Pym and Peter Shore (Conservative and Patriotic Labour), Ken Clarke (EPP), Peter Tatchell (Ecology)

Angie Bracks: "Hold on a minute, girl. Do you vote? We here in this house take our politics seriously."
Jackie Worthing: "Well, I'm afraid I don't really vote, for I vote for the Patriotic Labour Party."
Angie Bracks: "Oh. They count as Tories. Or at least they sit with us at any rate."
 
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Turquoise Blue said:
"I'm Afraid I Have No Politics..."
Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative majority) 1963-1969
1964 [maj.]: def. Harold Wilson (Labour), Jo Grimond (Liberal)
Harold Wilson (Labour majority, then minority) 1969-1974
1969 [maj.]: def. Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative), Jeremy Thorpe (Liberal), William Wolfe (SNP)
Edward du Cann (Conservative and Patriotic Labour 'compact') 1974-1975
1974 [min., with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]: def. Harold Wilson (Labour), Jeremy Thorpe and The Duke of Devonshire (Liberal and Pro-EEC Conservative), William Wolfe (SNP)
Harold Wilson (Labour minority with support from Liberals, Pro-EEC Conservatives, SNP and Plaid Cymru) 1975
1975 [min.]: def. Edward du Cann and Douglas Jay (Conservative and Patriotic Labour), Jeremy Thorpe and The Duke of Devonshire (Liberal and Pro-EEC Conservative), William Wolfe (SNP)
Edward du Cann (Conservative and Patriotic Labour 'compact') 1975-1981
1975 [min., with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]
1976 [maj. with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]: def. Harold Wilson (Labour), Jeremy Thorpe and The Duke of Devonshire (Liberal and Pro-EEC Conservative)
Harold Wilson (Labour minority with support from Liberals and Alliance) 1981-1983
1981 [min.]: def. Edward du Cann and Douglas Jay (Conservative and Patriotic Labour), Jo Grimond (Liberal), Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler (Alliance)
David Owen (Labour minority with support from Liberals and Alliance) 1983-1986
Edward du Cann (Conservative and Patriotic Labour 'compact') 1986-1991
1986 [maj. with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]: def. David Owen (Labour), Jo Grimond (Liberal), Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler (Alliance)
1990 [maj. with Douglas Jay (Patriotic Labour)]: def. John Smith (Labour), Ken Clarke (EPP), Peter Tatchell (Ecology)
Francis Pym (Conservative and Patriotic Labour 'compact') 1991-1995
John Smith (Labour majority) 1995-????
1996 [maj.]: def. Francis Pym and Peter Shore (Conservative and Patriotic Labour), Ken Clarke (EPP), Peter Tatchell (Ecology)

Angie Bracks: "Hold on a minute, girl. Do you vote? We here in this house take our politics seriously."
Jackie Worthing: "Well, I'm afraid I don't really vote, for I vote for the Patriotic Labour Party."
Angie Bracks: "Oh. They count as Tories. Or at least they sit with us at any rate."
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"They dine with us, or come to Step Aerobics with us at any rate"
 
Sideways said:
The twist - @Lord Roem . The ending!
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Literally motivated by how many people in public life in the UK seem to have trained for the priesthood before dropping out. @AlfieJ suggested that the one thing missing was a reference to ABC Chris Bryant but I thought Monsignor Johnny Vegas was pushing it far enough as is.
 
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