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Lists of Heads of Government and Heads of State

The Unthank sisters are quite major in the contemporary folk scene at the minute. As such, they are of course extremely white.

Just looked them up - what is it with folk singers and naval disasters?

(Not that I haven't drunkenly sung along to "Barrett's Privateers" myself of course)
 
2017-2024 - Donald Trump (R-NY) / Mike Pence (R-IN)
2016 - def. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) / Tim Kaine (D-VA)

2020 - def. Joe Biden (D-DE) / Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (Progressive-VT) / Tulsi Gabbard (P-HI)
2024 - Mike Pence (R-IN) / Vacant
2024-2029 -
Mike Pence (R-IN) / Marco Rubio (R-FL)

2024 - def. Lin-Manuel Miranda (D-NY) / various (D and P) [Unity ticket of Democratic, Progressive]
2029-____ - George Kendricks (Christian-Republican-WY) / Paul Haverford (CR-MO)
2028 - def. Marco Rubio (R-FL) / Lamar Harris (R-LA), Mark Zuckerberg (Technocrat-CA) / Andrew Yang (T-NY), Elaine Stafford (Green-WA) / Jillian Cho (G-NJ), Rudolf Hayes (Fascist-OR) / Lee Everett (F-KS), Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) / Alyssa Korrapatti (D-GA)

Joe Biden narrowly wins the 2020 Democratic party. Amidst rumors that this was a "rigged" primary, Bernie Sanders and many progressive Democrats decide to walk out of the convention, and recreate the Progressive Party. Although the party machinery of the Democrats manages to narrowly defeat the Progressives, who've had little time to organize, the split vote leads to a second Trump term, and a rift in the Democratic party.

For the next four years, things are somewhat "normal", except for a recession that hits shortly after the election, but it is smaller than expected and the nation manages to recover by 2022. Pence, the Trump-endorsed candidate, becomes the narrow front-runner, while various candidates jockey for the Democratic and Progressive nomination. However, in April 2024, while President Trump is at a campaign rally for Pence, he is killed by a far-left activist. Mike Pence becomes President, and when all other Republican candidates drop out of the race shortly after, the presumptive nominee. A "stop-Pence" movement quickly appears within both the Democrats and the Progressives, and a coalition candidate is found - Lin-Manuel Miranda, who had succeeded Chuck Schumer in 2022 as a left-leaning Democrat. Miranda would turn 35 on January 16, 2025, and youth is seen as a good thing in this election.

The election of 2024 is exceedingly close, but Mike Pence narrowly wins the Electoral College. Many accuse it of being a "rigged" election, and historians still debate who actually won the election. Anti-Pence sentiment explodes in liberal states, and California becomes the first state to secceed, declaring independence effective January 1, 2025. Several more states follow, and by Pence's inaguration the "Democratic States of America" have formed. During his inaguration speech, Pence officially declares war on the Democratic States of America.

Both sides have disadvantages - although officially certain states of succeeded, DSA-sympthizers and USA-sympathizers establish pockets across the nation. In addition, the majority of the armed forces have remained loyal to the USA, and far-right paramilitary groups declare their alleigance to the USA. However, DSA forces surround the USA capitol of Washington DC, which Pence refuses to evacuate. Congress, however, decides to evacuate to Dallas for the duration of the war, and Vice President Rubio follows them.

The first months of the war are largely just clashes between DSA and USA forces, with borders becoming more concrete, and both sides attempting to minimize destruction as much as possible and being hindered by winter weather. Finally, near the end of March, DSA forces on the East Coast (Pennsylvania) and Midwest (Michigan) try to link up by marching through the USA-occupied Ohio. However, in the Battle of Cleveland on April 2-3, 2025, DSA forces are shattered, and forced to retreat.

DSA forces next try to stage an attack on Washington D.C in late April and early May, which US forces manage to repulse. With two victories under their belt, the US military goes ahead with two operations - Operation Ford, aimed at retaking Michigan and Wisconsin, and Operation Liberty, aimed at retaking all of the East Coast. Despite heavy resistance, the operations succeed within a year. The only holdout is New York City, which finally surrenders in August 2026.

Meanwhile, however, DSA forces have managed to make advances on the Western front, taking parts of Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona. They are defeated at the Battle of Las Vegas in October 2025, for the most part blunting their advance, but they continue to hold their ground.

After the success of Operations Ford and Liberty, the US military turns to the DSA forces in the West Coast, beginning their invasion in June 2025. In the north, they are more successful, pushing into more sympathetic territory in Oregon and Washington. One battle that is concerning to the outside world but forshadowing to historians was the Battle of Portland in October, in which USA troops worked with openly Fascist paramilitaries to take the city, with US Army commanders only barely able to restrain the Fascists from committing genocide. Seattle would prove to be the hardest city to take, only falling in early November 2026.

In the south, however, things are different. California was the heartland of the rebellion, and it proves to be hard to take. Faced with determined, seasoned veterans from both the west and the east, along with sweltering weather and inhospitable conditions, they begin to be thwarted by DSA troops. More than one veteran from the Wars on Terror would compare the fighting to that in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the weather cools in August, US troops, joined by troops that had served in the Northwestern campaign, finally push DSA forces back. The DSA line collapses.

In an act of desperation, DSA forces purposefully set raging wildfires in California. These tactics lose the DSA any sympathy from the outside world, as even liberal nations that had quietly sympathized with the DSA begin to denounce them. The act causes untold destruction across California. To help reconcile themselves with the population, President Pence tasks the US army with putting out the wildfires. This help soften the blow, and re-endear Californians to the USA. On January 3, 2027 - two years and two days after California secceeded - it officially surrenders to US forces. becomes known as Victory Day throughout the US.

The war was over, and unlike the First Civil War, Pence was not in the mood for pardoning many troops and leaders of the rebellion. However, many of them manage to flee to Canada before they can face justice, and Canada refuses to repatriate them, causing a significant amount of friction between Canada and the US.

Throughout the war, it becomes clear that President Pence is an ineffective commander during war-time, and more and more affairs begin to be run by the military. By the end of the Second American Civil War, Pence has become a figure-head, with General George Kendricks becoming the power behind the throne. The "Kendricks Plan" is implemented to employ veterans of the Second Civil War to help in the reconstruction of war-damaged areas, and proves to be very effective and popular.

In 2028, Pence is pressured to leave the presidency, and does so. Although Vice President Rubio manages to gain the Republican nomination over Kendricks, Kendricks forms a new Christian Republican party, which easily sweeps to victory over other newly formed parties.

To help consolidate support in the nation, Kendricks demands that Canada return the DSA expirates to America for them to be tried. Canada, which has been lead by a NDP Prime Minister since the election of 2024, refuses. In response, Kendricks invades Canada in March, and by the end of May Canada has been completely pacified. In an unprecedented move the United States annexed Canada, meeting sanctions from many other nations.

America is now in a precarious situation - recovering from a civil war, digesting new land, and facing opposition from the international community. It is unknown if Kendricks will attempt to seize even more power for himself, or continue to maintain American democracy, or how he will react in the face of global opposition.
 
Your country needs you! Enlist with General Boles today!

Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom

2019-2019: Boris Johnson (Conservative minority)
Oct 2019: Parliament suspended, formation of 'Church House' Parliament
2019-2020: Boris Johnson (Direct Executive Government - 'No Deal' Conservatives / Brexit / 'No Deal' Labour / UKIP)
2020-2020: Dominic Raab (Direct Executive Government - 'No Deal' Conservatives / Brexit / UKIP)
2020-2021: Nigel Farage, 1st Baron Farnborough (Direct Executive Government - 'No Deal' Conservatives / Brexit / UKIP)
2021-2021: Dominic Cummings (Direct Executive Government - Brexit / No Deal Independents / UKIP)

First Minster, Church House Parliament

2019-2020: Ken Clarke (Independent Conservative leading First National Government)
2019 formed of Labour, Independent Conservatives, SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Change UK, The Independents} and Greens
2020-2020: Rory Stewart (Independent Conservative leading First National Government)
2020 Stewart appointed caretaker PM
2020-2021: Hilary Benn (Labour leading Second National Government)
2020 formed of Labour, Independent Conservatives, SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Change UK, The Independents} and Greens
2021-2021: Hilary Benn (Labour leading Third National Government)
2020 formed of Labour, National Liberals, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Change UK, The Independents} and Greens

Commander in Chief of the Free British Forces

2019-2020: Dan Jarvis (Regular Military)
2020-2020: Nick Boles (Free Citizen Militias)
2020-2021: Nick Boles (New Republic Army)

President of the Executive Council of the British Republic

2021-2022: Hilary Benn (Nonpartisan)
2021 (Constitutional Convention with National Liberals, Labour, Euro '21: The Liberals and Change UK) def. Dominic Raab (Conservative and Brexiteer)
2022-2037: Gen. Nick Boles (National Liberal)
2022 (National Government with Euro '22 and Change UK) def. Hilary Benn (Progressive), Ash Sarkar (Labour), Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative and Brexiteer)

"The Second British Civil War began with Johnson's second prorogation of parliament in October 2019 and an attempt to arrest the PM which was foiled by rogue pro-Brexit elements in the police force and a growing pro-No Deal paramilitary movement. With the PM suspending parliament to break the law, with the assent of the crown, the country errupted first into rioting and then into violence. The cabinet continued to claim authority through legally dubious 'Executive Government' and MPs formed their own alternative 'Church House Parliament' as authority broke down, and soon pro-Brexit militias aligned with the Conservative and Brexit parties and UKIP would be merged with 'Pro-Government' army and police elements into a new National Patriotic Army and pro-Remain groups would form a loose alliance of 'Free British Forces' under the command of a Commander in Chief appointed by the Church House Parliament. It was these forces which gave rise to Nick Boles, who first served as Commander in Chief as the nominal head of an alliance of centre-right militias, before becoming more active as the first leader of the New Republic Army. Boles' position was further strengthened with the 2021 secession of Scotland as many became disillusioned with the ineffectual Church House Parliament and began to see the NRA as the true authority in Remain controlled territories, a position supported by the formation of the National Liberals by Rory Stewart as an informal 'General's Party'. Though regarded as a hero by many for his capture of Baron Farnborough (which caused the final collapse of all but the most hardcore elements of the Executive Government), Boles has also received international condemnation for his pseudo-authoritarian posturing, and for his prolonged war on the countryside. After the collapse of Dominic Cummings' frantic dictatorship and a brief constitutional convention General Boles would be elected as the British Republic's new head of state, beginning his long and controversial reign..."
 
July 2019-October 2019: Boris Johnson (Conservative)

The third and least lamented Brexit era Prime Minister, Boris (as he is most often remembered in history) refused to ask for the fourth Article 50 extension, causing a legal crisis and his resignation.

October 2019-January 2020: James Cleverly (Conservative)

James Cleverly had the shortest time in office all Brexit era Prime Ministers - enough time to negotiate the fourth Article 50 extension - to 31 January 2020, and the fifth - to 31 August 2021. He is mostly remembered as the lamentable joiner between the Year of the Three Prime Ministers and the Year of the Five Prime Ministers.

January-March 2020: Dominic Raab (Conservative)

The second of five 2020 Prime Ministers, Raab was elected by his party to bring about Brexit immediately with no deal. A decision which he could not carry out without a snap election.

March 2020: Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) [281] Dominic Raab (Conservative) [268] Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) [49] Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat) [19] Rory Stewart (Moderate Centre) [11] Arlene Foster (DUP) [8] Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein) [7] Adam Price (Plaid Cymru) [3] Naomi Long (Alliance) [2] Sian Berry and Jon Bartley (Green Party England & Wales) [1] Sylvia Herman (Independent) [1]

March 2020-July 2020: Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) coalition with Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat), Rory Stewart (Moderate Centre)

A No Deal Brexit was meant to be the Conservative Party's ultimate vote-winner, and in fact most polls up to election day showed that Raab had a healthy margin for victory. On the night, however, the votes weren't there. The Liberal Democrats and their "Moderate Centre" allies eventually agreed to prop up a government of the SNP and Labour, provided that it focused entirely on negotiating a soft brexit deal and putting it to the public.

July 2020-November 2020: Yvette Cooper (Labour) coalition with Nicola Sturgeon (SNP), Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat), Rory Stewart (Moderate Centre)

While Corbyn remained leader of the Labour Party, he was unpopular with the other parties in his coalition and further, proved unable to negotiate a deal that satisfied his remainer allies. This lead to a vote of no confidence passing in his leadership in June, but not the end of the Remain coalition. Yvette Cooper was seen as a reasonable compromise for a new round of negotiations, although her leadership was never accepted by the Labour Party itself and she was unable to achieve anything beyond negotiating a deal that would mean free trade and freedom of movement with the EU.

October 2020 EU Referendum: Remain: 55.2% Deal: 44.8%

Yvette Cooper's deal was too weak for Leaver's to get behind, and was supported mostly by people who actually wanted to remain in the EU. The result was a decisive victory for remain in the third European referendum, but no great unifying moment for the country.

October 2020-October 2031: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative)

October 2020: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative) [352] Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) [244] Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat) [13] Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) [12] Arlene Foster (DUP) [7] Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein) [7] Rory Stewart (Moderate Centre) [5] Adam Price (Plaid Cymru) [4] Naomi Long (Alliance) [3] Yvette Cooper (Reform) [2] Sian Berry and Jon Bartley (Green Party England & Wales) [1] Sylvia Herman (Independent) [1]
The final Prime Minister in the year of the five Prime Ministers would go on to restore a measure of stability to the UK. In September 2021, contrary to the result of the last referendum, he left the EU without a deal in a flurry of riots, border issues, and medical shortages. This action secured his reputation as the most hated Prime Minister among remainers. Protests of various shades would define his time as Prime Minister and the practice of pushing these further and further from parliament lead to increased violence, which spilled over into open rioting in 2024, including an attempt on the Prime Minister's life. Following this, greater security was introduced around parliament and the palace. Further riots in 2025 lead to these areas being cordoned off forming a restricted zone that would in time become known as "The Citadel".
October 2025: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative) [295] Rory Stewart (European Democratic Party) [148] Laura Pidcock (Labour) [143] Mhairi Black (SNP) [44] Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein) [10] Nuala McAllister (Alliance) [9] Adam Price (Plaid Cymru) [3] Emma Little Pengelly (DUP) [2]
Labour, formerly the second party of the UK, never quite got over most of the parliamentary party "betraying" Jeremy Corbyn. The 2025 party was a much purged and extreme organisation which also pursued a neutral policy on Europe - an issue that was coming to hold a symbolic value to much of the country. The new EDP was formed out of the Liberals, Reform, and the Moderate Centre. While it would take a long time for them to make progress in Labour heartlands the new party emerged as the party of opposition. However, only the Conservatives were in anything like a position to form government and they lacked the allies to actually do so. Jacob Rees-Mogg continued as Prime Minister without a functional parliament.
November 2025: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative) [305] Rory Stewart (European Democratic Party) [174] Laura Pidcock (Labour) [88] Mhairi Black (SNP) [56] Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein) [12] Nuala McAllister (Alliance) [4] Steven Morrissey (For Britain) [3] Adam Price (Plaid Cymru) [3] Emma Little Pengelly (DUP) [5]
Once again, no majority existed in the country, but with Christmas coming and all the parties having depleted resources the next election was held off for as long as possible. While Jacob Rees-Mogg couldn't do a great deal in this time, it would provide a prototype for the process of ruling the UK without parliamentary consent which would become important in the late Brexit era.
May 2026: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative) [327] Rory Stewart (European Democratic Party) [177] Laura Pidcock (Labour) [62] Mhairi Black (SNP) [59] Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein) [12] Nuala McAllister (Alliance) [7] Steven Morrissey (For Britain) [1] Adam Price (Plaid Cymru) [3]

After three attempts, Rees-Mogg finally emerged with a majority, however slight. However, the country was divided. There were now clear majorities for independence in Northern Ireland and Scotland and London was a firm EDP stronghold. While Rees-Mogg continued to rule with the consent of parliament, far more decisions were being made by statutory instrument and ministerial fiat. Even so, the ardently conservative Prime Minister kept away from social matters, where his majority was weakest, and focused on reorganising healthcare, lowering taxes, and reducing regulations.

A new National Police Force was organised and given direct control over security at the Citadel, and enhanced security and surveillance powers were introduced to deal with ongoing, now somewhat traditional, political violence. Clashes between violent forces connected to UKIP and to the antifa movement were standard, eco-terrorism was increasing, and even the Rejoin movement had a growing number of violent people in what was thought of as the Blue Bloc.

2031-3036: Thomas Berns (European Democratic Party) coalition with Alan Osmond (Labour)
May 2031: Thomas Berns (European Democratic Party) [321] Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative [184] Alan Osmond (Labour) [59] Mhairi Black (Scottish) [59] Siobhan O'Donnavan (Irish) [19] Mia Lloyd (Plaid Cymru) [6]

Thomas Berns would be the last British Prime Minister to serve only after winning a general election. He would try to bring some normality back to British politics and pushed for the great unfinished projects of British social reform - LGBTQ+ inclusive education, gender self-ID, polyamorous marriage, and repeal of the porn laws. However, he also had to deal with Scottish and Northern Irish nationalism. August 2032 saw a border poll in Northern Ireland and a decision to reunite Ireland. The deadline for this was set for 2035 and before this could even go through, the Scottish parliament declared independence without a referendum. British military assets were activated, along with the national constabulary, and the Scottish Parliament was suspended.

Following this, Europe made it clear that they would not tolerate similar delays or prevarications in Northern Ireland, even going so far as to station military troops in the Republic of Ireland.
May 2036: Thomas Berns (European Democratic Party) [278] Alison Keys-Clarke (Unionist & Conservative Party) [268] Alan Osmond (Labour) [19] Mhairi Black (Scottish) [24] Mia Lloyd (Plaid Cymru) [11]
Once again, an election passed without a clear majority but this time, it was not even clear who had the upper hand - the EDP had more seats, but the newly restructured UCP had more votes. The Scottish and Welsh Parties refused to work with either group and that left both without a majority. A second UDI crisis sparked off in Scotland in June and by July a new election date had still not been set, a queen's speech and a formal opening of parliament was not forthcoming, but the UK government seemed to be negotiating Scottish independence for its own party political ends.

Summer was mostly spent on legal disputes over whether any of this could be done, leading to UCP backed officers from the National Police Force to attempt to arrest Thomas Berns in 2036. The National Police Force hit a roadblock when the London Police Department wouldn't allow Berns to be held in their cells, and he gave an order to remove the NPF from the Citadel. They refused to leave.
2039-2042: Alison Keyes-Clarke (Unionist & Conservative Party) OR Thomas Berns (European Democratic Party)

A few days after the beginning of a police standoff in the Citadel a special meeting of 286 MPs passed a vote of no confidence in Thomas Berns, and shortly after the leader of the UCP established a permanent new parliament in Colchester, which claimed sole legitimacy. While the monarchy called for calm, the NPF was now in open conflict with city police forces across the UK. When Thomas Berns banned the new Colchester Parliament outright and sent the LPD into Essex to make the arrest, the army became involved.

The army held the line, but their attempt to invade London caused open civil war - London civilians fighting the army and eventually London military assets defending the city against the British army. London would hold out for the full three years of the war, but in the rest of the country much of the professional army sided with the UCP.

March 2042-May 2042: Alison Keyes-Clarke (Unionist & Conservative Party)
Finally ensconced in The Citadel, Keyes-Clarke wasted no time in calling an election to secure her legitimacy as Prime Minister. This was, in some ways, a strange move. Historians have spent a large amount of time trying to understand why she did this. Pro-Brexit historians usually assume that she was a true democrat who wanted to restore parliament, while Remainers feel she likely thought that enough EDP and Nationalist politicians were in prison that the election would be a cake-walk. One factor that both agree on is that Alison had been living mostly in UCP strongholds and had unrealistic notions about how British people had experienced the past two years.

2042-2086: Devon Laing (European Democratic Party)
2042: Devon Laing (European Democratic Party) [316] Alison Keys-Clarke (Unionist & Conservative Party) [232] Alan Osmond (Labour) [52]
Devon Laing was born in 2016, a month after the second European Referendum, and distinguished themself during the civil war as part of the armed forces. They had no political experience and likely wouldn't have become an MP, much less a party leader, without the chaos of the past three years. Following their surprise election, only the direct intervention of Alison Keyes-Clarke prevented their arrest and allowed the EDP to form a government. Devon ignored Alison's request for a coalition government, but didn't authorise her arrest. He did learn from her mistakes, however. In their time in office Devon would take direct control of the National Police Force and the Army, purge and restructure both, and substantially increase defences around The Citadel.

In 2047, Devon called for a year's delay to the election to allow time for reconstruction, this was delayed again in 2048. In 2050 the election was delayed again, this time by five years. After that people allowed the issue of a general election to be dropped. Even the term "Prime Minister" would fall out of favour - it was clear that Devon's power came from the police, not from Parliament. The 2050s was a chaotic time for the whole world, with the EU replaced by a quasi-fascistic Alliance of European Nations and the USA falling prey to political dynasties. Starvation, disease and climate chaos were rife and by the time the British people looked up and realised they were living in a dictatorship, the system was well established. The era of parliamentary constitutional monarchy was over.
 
July 2019-September 2019: Boris Johnson (Conservative)

Backed into a corner, his party and Cabinet starting to fray, and severely depressed that the job isn't how he dreamed, Johnson resigned shortly after the forced return of parliament.

September 2019-October 2019: Dominic Raab (Conservative)

Raab slipped into the role of PM because, as First Secretary, technically he had seniority and nobody had the time to challenge it yet. Clearly prefering a no-deal Brexit but not quite admitting to it in front of his party, Raab announced plans for an October election and that "whoever is the next government" could decide what to do with the extension; the opposition voted to run.

While no formal agreement was made with the Brexit Party, Farage dropped a few hundred seat bids ("never had people for them," came the dark whispers) and focused on Labour-held areas. Similarly, dark deals were made in various seats between Labour, SNP, and Lib Dem, an agreement that some would be 'off limits'.

October 2019-February 2020: Jeremy Corbyn (Labour)

Under FPTP, the Brexit Party had gained some seats in northern Labour heartlands (some of them horrifying losses for Labour) but not as much as they, and Raab, had hoped - not enough to make up for the pro-Remain and centre-right voters abandoning the Conservatives for the Liberal Democrats, or for the loss of Scotland, or for the handful of seats retained by 'Independent Conservatives' who agreed to Swinson's 'soft whip', or for Labour claiming some of the swing seats.

But Labour lacked a majority and could not rely on the Liberal Democrats for supply-and-control (Swinson's base would not permit), and could not agree a formal deal with the SNP for fear of spooking England. A shaky minority government would have to woo each of these parties for votes and that was not possible for a deal - and frankly, Labour couldn't get a deal in time from their standing start. The dusted-off Theresa May deal was put forward and passed with Conservative support, to disgust and dismay all round.

Historians have said that if Farage and the Brexit Party had campaigned for Leave again instead of calling for a boycott of the "sham", Leave would have won. Instead, Remain would by 60%. A few riots duly broke out.

With this done, with Brexit finally over, Corbyn wanted to focus more on anything else but trapped in minority, his support lost for bringing in May's old bill with Tory support, and the economy strained, he was vulnerable to a Labour coup.

February 2020 - 2024: Hilary Benn (Labour)

A Remainer hero and able to claim he'd brought down Boris, Benn was someone the Lib Dems could supply-and-control with. In an announced spirit of unity, Benn kept a good chunk of Corbyn's Cabinet and policies (and waited to take on the Corbynites within the party's machinery). Simply by being the Prime Minister doing something not Brexit gave him a boost with the public, so did the economy improving, and so did the basic promise of stability and things being fixed and the idea that at least all the arguments had gone. The end of austerity, the delayed LGBT+ reforms, and Labour's planned housing reforms could all finally start.

The fact the Conservative Party was a shattered mess involved in a civil war helped a lot.

The honeymoon period ended in May with the local elections - many English councils and eight mayors, including London, all up for election, and many of them Labour-held. Many remained Labour held. A number of Tory ones flipped to the Liberal Democrats. The Mayor of London flipped Lib Dem, an embarrassing loss but fine -- but the Brexit Party had done better an expected in their first elections too, and another wave of local and independent councillors had done even better, in line with 2019. It was clear that there were a lot of unhappy people across the country and they didn't entirely trust the big parties to fix things.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats focused a lot on social services and 'local reforms for local people' to head off the independent surge, at the cost of focusing on national infrastructure or the devolved parliaments. In 2022, Sturgeon startled Westminster with another referendum, this one demanding the promised and never-delivered "DevoMax" - and won. Questions were asked in North England why the Northern Powerhouse infrastructure and investment was still lacking.

A relatively bright spot remained climate change: the COP26 climate summit in 2020 went well from an optics POV, the government committed to a 2045 target (by means to be determined later), and there were commitments for British support to helping poorer developing nations de-carbon. While the government did not go as far as it needed on nationwide climate plans, the number of local efforts across England and Wales exploded (Scotland ran its own plan).

The dark spot remained the Brexit Party, which was good at getting its message out but starting to struggle at getting seats as Benn's term went on - and those it had, it was narking off a lot of the locals by not being very competent. Unable to pull off being a proper political party, it doubled down on attacking the system, the establishment, the vote-riggers, the people coming over here, the Them; someone should do something. Complaints about the Northern Powerhouse, complains about trans rights, even now complaints that climate change wasn't being stopped yet THOSE people are coming here and taking limited resources, all grist for the mill. All helped by the Conservatives being too damaged to lay claim to the right wing.

In the 2024 election - national, Scotland, and London - it's clear the arguments have not all gone - the BP, the growing power of Scotland, climate change, North-South divides, and the ever-marching nature of society and who makes it up. Nothing gets solved.

Savid Javid hopes to bring the Conservatives back to a position of being able to do something; Benn hopes the pledge of Northern Powerhouse finally happening and a focus on national work will gain Labour a majority at last; Swinson hopes Londoners will re-elect her party and that Holyrood, with all its Devo Max power, will fall to the Liberal Democrats; Sturgeon hopes the SNP's time of dominance isn't over; Farage hopes everyone will listen and the hungry wolves in his 'shadow cabinet' hope he'll lose his damn seat so one of them can rule.

In the Beano, Minnie the Minx is running agaisnt Corky the Cat (Make Dandy Weekly Again Party) for Beanotown & Dandytown MP. That one, we know Minnie's going to win.
 
List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
1994-1995:
Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions)
1994 def: Vacant (Labour), Ken Clarke (Alliance for Britain)
1995-1996: Eddie George (Independent)
1996-1998:
Vince Cable (Democrats)
1996 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions), Nigel Farage (Anti-Union)
1998-2000: Peter Mandelson (Democrats)
2000-2001: Gordon Brown (Democrats)
2001-2006:
Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions)
2001 def: Paddy Ashdown (Democrats), Tony Benn (Labour Renewal)
2006-2008: Vince Cable (Democrats)
2006 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas)
2008-2011: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas)
2008 def: Ken Livingstone (Democrats), William Hague (Centre Union)
2011-2013: Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (Independent)
2013-2014:
Jeremy Hunt (Democrats)
2013 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas), John Cleese (For Britain), Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (DIGBY)
2014-0000: Chuka Umunna (Democrats)


Brought low by sleaze, Major loses the confidence of the House in 1994. Before nominations close, two things happen: a run on the banks, leading to the remains of the Conservative Party forming an electoral alliance with the Lib Dems just to salvage the family silver; and the death of John Smith, causing uncertainty as to who exactly would be Labour's Prime Minister. The stage is set for Robert Kilroy-Silk to re-enter politics with a populist vehicle that has - somehow - weathered the political storms of post-Thatcherite Britain for two decades.

Now, however, the waxen face of Kilroy is old news, and new parties of the Right are on the rise. Holding back the brink is the last, best hope of European Social Democracy, Chuka Umunna. As Italy prepares to hold a referendum on whether to leave the EU, who knows what 2016 will bring in Britain?
 
List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
1994-1995:
Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions)
1994 def: Vacant (Labour), Ken Clarke (Alliance for Britain)
1995-1996: Eddie George (Independent)
1996-1998:
Vince Cable (Democrats)
1996 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions), Nigel Farage (Anti-Union)
1998-2000: Peter Mandelson (Democrats)
2000-2001: Gordon Brown (Democrats)
2001-2006:
Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions)
2001 def: Paddy Ashdown (Democrats), Tony Benn (Labour Renewal)
2006-2008: Vince Cable (Democrats)
2006 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas)
2008-2011: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas)
2008 def: Ken Livingstone (Democrats), William Hague (Centre Union)
2011-2013: Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (Independent)
2013-2014:
Jeremy Hunt (Democrats)
2013 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas), John Cleese (For Britain), Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (DIGBY)
2014-0000: Chuka Umunna (Democrats)


Brought low by sleaze, Major loses the confidence of the House in 1994. Before nominations close, two things happen: a run on the banks, leading to the remains of the Conservative Party forming an electoral alliance with the Lib Dems just to salvage the family silver; and the death of John Smith, causing uncertainty as to who exactly would be Labour's Prime Minister. The stage is set for Robert Kilroy-Silk to re-enter politics with a populist vehicle that has - somehow - weathered the political storms of post-Thatcherite Britain for two decades.

Now, however, the waxen face of Kilroy is old news, and new parties of the Right are on the rise. Holding back the brink is the last, best hope of European Social Democracy, Chuka Umunna. As Italy prepares to hold a referendum on whether to leave the EU, who knows what 2016 will bring in Britain?

@Comisario smashes through the wall
 
List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
1994-1995:
Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions)
1994 def: Vacant (Labour), Ken Clarke (Alliance for Britain)
1995-1996: Eddie George (Independent)
1996-1998:
Vince Cable (Democrats)
1996 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions), Nigel Farage (Anti-Union)
1998-2000: Peter Mandelson (Democrats)
2000-2001: Gordon Brown (Democrats)
2001-2006:
Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions)
2001 def: Paddy Ashdown (Democrats), Tony Benn (Labour Renewal)
2006-2008: Vince Cable (Democrats)
2006 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas)
2008-2011: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas)
2008 def: Ken Livingstone (Democrats), William Hague (Centre Union)
2011-2013: Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (Independent)
2013-2014:
Jeremy Hunt (Democrats)
2013 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas), John Cleese (For Britain), Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (DIGBY)
2014-0000: Chuka Umunna (Democrats)


Brought low by sleaze, Major loses the confidence of the House in 1994. Before nominations close, two things happen: a run on the banks, leading to the remains of the Conservative Party forming an electoral alliance with the Lib Dems just to salvage the family silver; and the death of John Smith, causing uncertainty as to who exactly would be Labour's Prime Minister. The stage is set for Robert Kilroy-Silk to re-enter politics with a populist vehicle that has - somehow - weathered the political storms of post-Thatcherite Britain for two decades.

Now, however, the waxen face of Kilroy is old news, and new parties of the Right are on the rise. Holding back the brink is the last, best hope of European Social Democracy, Chuka Umunna. As Italy prepares to hold a referendum on whether to leave the EU, who knows what 2016 will bring in Britain?
Mandelson is a very good D’Alema, I have to admit.

Also, I suppose by implication, Giuliano Amato lost out on heading up the IMF because of his defence of the lira?
 
Putting On A Front

1957-1961: Harold Macmillan (Conservative)
1959 (Majority) def. Hugh Gaitskell (Labour), Jo Grimond (Liberal)
1961-1961: Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative majority)
1961-1962: Reginald Maudling (Conservative majority)
1962-1969: Tony Greenwood (Labour)
1962 (Majority) def. Reginald Maudling (Pro-EEC Conservative), Jo Grimond (Liberal), Rab Butler (Anti-EEC Conservative)
1966 (Majority) def. Ted Heath (Moderate-Liberal Alliance), Duncan Sandys (Conservative)

1969-1971: Ian Mikardo (Labour majority)
1971-1976: Jeremy Thorpe (Liberal-Moderate Alliance)
1971 (Majority) def. Ian Mikardo (Labour), Richard Body (Conservative), A.K. Chesterton (National Front)
1973 (Coalition with Democrats) def. Ian Mikardo (Labour), John Kingsley Read (Conservative), John Tyndall (National Front), Dick Taverne (Democratic)

1976-1978: Ted Heath (Liberal-Moderate Alliance-Democratic coalition)
1978-1979: Mary Whitehouse (Independent)
1978 (Minority pact with Conservatives and National Front) def. Tony Benn (Labour), Ted Heath (Liberal-Moderate Alliance)
1979-XXXX: Mary Whitehouse (National Democracy)
1979 (Majority) def. Ted Short (Labour), Ted Heath (Alliance), Cyril Smith (Independent Liberal)

A new take on one of my favourite PODs, namely a Thor missile exploding (not detonating) at Ludford Magna an RAF base 12 miles east of Lincoln, in 1960.

The scattering of weapons grade material over an area of 300 square miles - requiring the evacuation of much of Lincolnshire and the establishment of an exclusion zone saw the sudden reversal of Harold Macmillan's fortunes. The disaster had been caused by RAF engineers clandestinely interfering in the Thor missile's two key launch sequence, attempting to find a back door that would allow Britain to launch the American missiles without seeking Washington's permission. This understandably caused an international crisis, and in combination with Macmillan's other liberal or permissive instincts, by 1961 his position was untenable and was removed via internal party coup.

The eventual Tory leader was Maudling, who had ascended to his permission with the implicit backing of the anti-Americans in the Conservative Party, and with the Empire crumbling thanks to Macmillan, he was forced to go cap in hand to the EEC. This was too much for a specific wing of the party, who along with opportunists like Butler, brought down the Government. In the meantime, Gaitskell was removed by internal leadership election - his pro-nuclear instincts looked ill-judged post-Ludford Magna. Greenwood won a landslide majority, helped along by the bitter Tory split and the shocking re-emergence of the Liberals to electoral relevancy.

Greenwood would usher in a new age of Red Prosperity, rejecting the EEC to forge bonds with the post-imperialist states of Africa and Asia, encouraging detente between the Germanies and in general trying to make a neutral, disarmed Britain a handy go between the Western and Eastern blocs. As the political right tore itself apart, and Greenwood was able to hammer through even his more controversial policies, concerns grew that the United Kingdom could become the next domino to fall to the left in the Cold War.

This fear didn't manifest itself under the premiership of the handsome, charismatic and quite thoroughly British Greenwood - he seemed an appropriate Prime Minister for an age of prosperity, radical liberalisation of social norms, and of course James Bond. His replacement however was the brilliant but short-tempered and undeniably Jewish Mikado. Mikado inherited Greenwood's legacy - namely a steadily overheating economy. Nonetheless, as rebellion and revolution began to tear down the crowned heads of Europe, in 1969 it seemed that Greenwood had been vindicated and Mikado was happy to bask in that warm afterglow. However, bare months later, the Summer of Socialism was over and the Winter of Discontent began. The United States backed a hard-right military coup in Germany one that returned Kiesinger to power and ended the British-engineered Ostpolitik. Jaques Massu bloodily put down those who had overthrown de Gaulle and the boomerang of fighting communism with military juntas in Latin America and Southeast Asia came home to roost.

Britain was isolated now, more so than it had ever been. And Mikado reacted, trying to shore up Britain's democracy against the seemingly inevitable tanks on Whitehall. They never came, and as inflation rose and the unions demanded higher wages, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. It came as no surprise when the Liberal-Moderates triumphed at the general election, albeit only narrowly.

Thorpe renormalised relations with Washington and with the EEC, and slowly but surely prised open the steel jaws of dictatorship. A new administration in the White House backed him to the hilt and soon the talk was of joining the EEC now its members had agreed timetables for restoring democracy. The snap election of 1973 was a slight downer as British scepticism of European unity saw the government lose its majority - but the pro-European wing of the Labour Party was there to keep them in power. 1973 also saw the slow re-emergence of the Right - as the rump Tories and the crypto-fascist National Front slowly began to see eye to eye more often than not.

The revelation of first Thorpe's homosexuality (which wasn't illegal, but was certainly frowned upon by many) and then his attempted murder of his lover (very much illegal), ended the dream of soft gooey centrist government. Ted Heath struggled on, but a bachelor like himself faced a barrage of allegations from the gutter press and the increasingly bitter right-wing opposition. The new Labour leader was ironically a defender of Heath's integrity, but when it came to policy was his bitter rival - proposing a radical programme to restore British industry and build a new high-technology socialism. Meanwhile, the Tories and National Front locked step behind Mary Whitehouse's Moral Majority movement and her independent candidacy against the permissiveness that had been allowed to fester (or thrive, depending on your point of view). The election proved shockingly close - between Labour and Whitehouse anyway, the Democrats were wiped out and the Liberal-Moderates reduced to a fraction of their previous numbers. But the Right had narrowly carried the day - and they wasted no time. The coalition was formalised into the National Democracy Party and their combined manifesto began its implementation.

Behind the scenes, the chessboard shifted. Tony Benn was slain by a carbomb, apparently planted by the IRA. Heath formalised the Alliance but clung firmly to the leadership - after Thorpe he didn't quite trust anybody else to take the reins. Cyril Smith led a contingent of Independent Liberals out - effectively a group of municipal pork barrellers who seemed a bit too enthusiastic about the new administration. The snap election of 1979 was held amidst Labour's leadership election and produced a heavy majority for the government. What happens next, as the timetables for restoring democracy in the Elysee and the Bundestag are torn up? Who knows.
 
List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
1994-1995:
Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions)
1994 def: Vacant (Labour), Ken Clarke (Alliance for Britain)
1995-1996: Eddie George (Independent)
1996-1998:
Vince Cable (Democrats)
1996 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions), Nigel Farage (Anti-Union)
1998-2000: Peter Mandelson (Democrats)
2000-2001: Gordon Brown (Democrats)
2001-2006:
Robert Kilroy-Silk (Three Lions)
2001 def: Paddy Ashdown (Democrats), Tony Benn (Labour Renewal)
2006-2008: Vince Cable (Democrats)
2006 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas)
2008-2011: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas)
2008 def: Ken Livingstone (Democrats), William Hague (Centre Union)
2011-2013: Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (Independent)
2013-2014:
Jeremy Hunt (Democrats)
2013 def: Robert Kilroy-Silk (Libertas), John Cleese (For Britain), Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham (DIGBY)
2014-0000: Chuka Umunna (Democrats)


Brought low by sleaze, Major loses the confidence of the House in 1994. Before nominations close, two things happen: a run on the banks, leading to the remains of the Conservative Party forming an electoral alliance with the Lib Dems just to salvage the family silver; and the death of John Smith, causing uncertainty as to who exactly would be Labour's Prime Minister. The stage is set for Robert Kilroy-Silk to re-enter politics with a populist vehicle that has - somehow - weathered the political storms of post-Thatcherite Britain for two decades.

Now, however, the waxen face of Kilroy is old news, and new parties of the Right are on the rise. Holding back the brink is the last, best hope of European Social Democracy, Chuka Umunna. As Italy prepares to hold a referendum on whether to leave the EU, who knows what 2016 will bring in Britain?
Putting On A Front

1957-1961: Harold Macmillan (Conservative)
1959 (Majority) def. Hugh Gaitskell (Labour), Jo Grimond (Liberal)
1961-1961: Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative majority)
1961-1962: Reginald Maudling (Conservative majority)
1962-1969: Tony Greenwood (Labour)
1962 (Majority) def. Reginald Maudling (Pro-EEC Conservative), Jo Grimond (Liberal), Rab Butler (Anti-EEC Conservative)
1966 (Majority) def. Ted Heath (Moderate-Liberal Alliance), Duncan Sandys (Conservative)

1969-1971: Ian Mikardo (Labour majority)
1971-1976: Jeremy Thorpe (Liberal-Moderate Alliance)
1971 (Majority) def. Ian Mikardo (Labour), Richard Body (Conservative), A.K. Chesterton (National Front)
1973 (Coalition with Democrats) def. Ian Mikardo (Labour), John Kingsley Read (Conservative), John Tyndall (National Front), Dick Taverne (Democratic)

1976-1978: Ted Heath (Liberal-Moderate Alliance-Democratic coalition)
1978-1979: Mary Whitehouse (Independent)
1978 (Minority pact with Conservatives and National Front) def. Tony Benn (Labour), Ted Heath (Liberal-Moderate Alliance)
1979-XXXX: Mary Whitehouse (National Democracy)
1979 (Majority) def. Ted Short (Labour), Ted Heath (Alliance), Cyril Smith (Independent Liberal)

A new take on one of my favourite PODs, namely a Thor missile exploding (not detonating) at Ludford Magna an RAF base 12 miles east of Lincoln, in 1960.

The scattering of weapons grade material over an area of 300 square miles - requiring the evacuation of much of Lincolnshire and the establishment of an exclusion zone saw the sudden reversal of Harold Macmillan's fortunes. The disaster had been caused by RAF engineers clandestinely interfering in the Thor missile's two key launch sequence, attempting to find a back door that would allow Britain to launch the American missiles without seeking Washington's permission. This understandably caused an international crisis, and in combination with Macmillan's other liberal or permissive instincts, by 1961 his position was untenable and was removed via internal party coup.

The eventual Tory leader was Maudling, who had ascended to his permission with the implicit backing of the anti-Americans in the Conservative Party, and with the Empire crumbling thanks to Macmillan, he was forced to go cap in hand to the EEC. This was too much for a specific wing of the party, who along with opportunists like Butler, brought down the Government. In the meantime, Gaitskell was removed by internal leadership election - his pro-nuclear instincts looked ill-judged post-Ludford Magna. Greenwood won a landslide majority, helped along by the bitter Tory split and the shocking re-emergence of the Liberals to electoral relevancy.

Greenwood would usher in a new age of Red Prosperity, rejecting the EEC to forge bonds with the post-imperialist states of Africa and Asia, encouraging detente between the Germanies and in general trying to make a neutral, disarmed Britain a handy go between the Western and Eastern blocs. As the political right tore itself apart, and Greenwood was able to hammer through even his more controversial policies, concerns grew that the United Kingdom could become the next domino to fall to the left in the Cold War.

This fear didn't manifest itself under the premiership of the handsome, charismatic and quite thoroughly British Greenwood - he seemed an appropriate Prime Minister for an age of prosperity, radical liberalisation of social norms, and of course James Bond. His replacement however was the brilliant but short-tempered and undeniably Jewish Mikado. Mikado inherited Greenwood's legacy - namely a steadily overheating economy. Nonetheless, as rebellion and revolution began to tear down the crowned heads of Europe, in 1969 it seemed that Greenwood had been vindicated and Mikado was happy to bask in that warm afterglow. However, bare months later, the Summer of Socialism was over and the Winter of Discontent began. The United States backed a hard-right military coup in Germany one that returned Kiesinger to power and ended the British-engineered Ostpolitik. Jaques Massu bloodily put down those who had overthrown de Gaulle and the boomerang of fighting communism with military juntas in Latin America and Southeast Asia came home to roost.

Britain was isolated now, more so than it had ever been. And Mikado reacted, trying to shore up Britain's democracy against the seemingly inevitable tanks on Whitehall. They never came, and as inflation rose and the unions demanded higher wages, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. It came as no surprise when the Liberal-Moderates triumphed at the general election, albeit only narrowly.

Thorpe renormalised relations with Washington and with the EEC, and slowly but surely prised open the steel jaws of dictatorship. A new administration in the White House backed him to the hilt and soon the talk was of joining the EEC now its members had agreed timetables for restoring democracy. The snap election of 1973 was a slight downer as British scepticism of European unity saw the government lose its majority - but the pro-European wing of the Labour Party was there to keep them in power. 1973 also saw the slow re-emergence of the Right - as the rump Tories and the crypto-fascist National Front slowly began to see eye to eye more often than not.

The revelation of first Thorpe's homosexuality (which wasn't illegal, but was certainly frowned upon by many) and then his attempted murder of his lover (very much illegal), ended the dream of soft gooey centrist government. Ted Heath struggled on, but a bachelor like himself faced a barrage of allegations from the gutter press and the increasingly bitter right-wing opposition. The new Labour leader was ironically a defender of Heath's integrity, but when it came to policy was his bitter rival - proposing a radical programme to restore British industry and build a new high-technology socialism. Meanwhile, the Tories and National Front locked step behind Mary Whitehouse's Moral Majority movement and her independent candidacy against the permissiveness that had been allowed to fester (or thrive, depending on your point of view). The election proved shockingly close - between Labour and Whitehouse anyway, the Democrats were wiped out and the Liberal-Moderates reduced to a fraction of their previous numbers. But the Right had narrowly carried the day - and they wasted no time. The coalition was formalised into the National Democracy Party and their combined manifesto began its implementation.

Behind the scenes, the chessboard shifted. Tony Benn was slain by a carbomb, apparently planted by the IRA. Heath formalised the Alliance but clung firmly to the leadership - after Thorpe he didn't quite trust anybody else to take the reins. Cyril Smith led a contingent of Independent Liberals out - effectively a group of municipal pork barrellers who seemed a bit too enthusiastic about the new administration. The snap election of 1979 was held amidst Labour's leadership election and produced a heavy majority for the government. What happens next, as the timetables for restoring democracy in the Elysee and the Bundestag are torn up? Who knows.
You're both always so very good at this!
 
1989-1991: George Bush (Republican)
1988 def. Jesse Jackson (Democratic), Paul Simon (Moderate)
1991-1992: Jack Kemp (Republican)
1992-1993: Jack Kemp (An American Party)

1993-2001: Bob Kerrey: (Moderate)
1992 def. Pat Buchanan (Republican), Jerry Brown (Reform), Jack Kemp (An American Party)
1996 def. Phil Gramm (An American Party), Ralph Nader (Reform), Pete Wilson (Serve America Movement), Dan Burton (Independence)

A quick-and-dirty attempt to make a backstory for my "Centrist Third Parties Party System" project.
 
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