The Measure Of A Man Under Socialism
Seemingly overnight, Wilde had become a political martyr albeit a living one. From the bully pulpit of a courtroom, Wilde defended himself from accusations of homosexual conduct, and while he was found guilty his speech found plaudits from across Europe, particularly in Germany where he was particularly held aloft by Eduard Bernstein. When Wilde fled the country ahead of a prison sentence, it was into the arms of the Germans he went. From exile, Wilde continued to write and deliberately had his works published in Britain under sardonic monikers and in the 'papers of the criminal class' with which he now identified. At the same time, he became immersed in the circles of German socialism, where he honed the utopian principles he had espoused in The Soul Of Man Under Socialism. Accompanying his literary works he often published essays on socialism.
Wilde remained in exile until 1906, when the Liberal landslide gave a sudden opportunity. Winston Churchill, a Liberal MP, and newly minted Under Secretary of State for the Colonial Office, interceded upon Wilde's behalf. A begrudging pardon was handed down - some thirteen years in exile was deemed equivalent to two years hard labour. Wilde returned to British shores and hurriedly threw himself into politics, finding himself repudiated from the social waters he once slid through.
Wilde was unique, in many regards, as an open uranian in British society. Few accepted him for who he was, even fewer embraced him. Nevertheless, in the years prior to the 1914 Crisis, uranianism became more accepted in British societies. Uranic pubs, societies, coffee houses and tea shops opened up in London and Wilde once more enjoyed a social life outside the cliques of socialist intellectuals who were overwhelmingly dionian in behaviour and outlook.
The Crisis of 1914 saw the German Social Democrats prevent the threat of a general war in Europe, by aligning with French trade unionists to bring both major powers to an economic deadlock and forcing the Great Powers of Europe the negotiating table. In the months afterwards, there was an attempted suppression of socialist and trade union activity, even as new borders were drawn across the Balkans to acclaim the new peace. However the success in bringing an end to the possibility of an outright war served to rally and remoralise the ranks of socialists across the continent.
1915 onwards saw a wave of strikes and militant socialist activity across Europe in reaction to attempts at state repression. In Britain it was felt most keenly as many in the country felt that the Crisis had been a German victory, as the German economy outstripped Britain's, even with their mighty empire. This culminated in the General Strike of 1921. At the same time over the preceding years, the government had become increasingly socially authoritarian, using wide powers to clamp down on uranian literature and organisation. Thus, when the strike began, the uranian movement came out strongly in support. The quixotic combination of uranian urban intellectuals marching alongside coal miners and railwaymen was a powerful image.
At this time, Churchill had ascended from a lowly Under Secretary of State to Prime Minister. His attempts to bloodily crack down on the Strike drew recriminations from his own party and necessitated the formation of a 'Constitutional Coalition' that itself further fractured the party system. The snap elections intended to shore up his position instead delivered scores of Socialist deputies to Parliament. The parliamentary arithmetic was shaky already before the young King intervened.
The Quiet Revolution of 1922 saw the formation of a broad coalition of Socialists, Irish Nationalists and various anti-Churchill hangers on. Sweeping reforms ensued, from Home Rule All Round to Land Reform to the nationalisation of numerous utilities and industries, to the rolling back of Victorian social authoritarianism. And the now grand old man at the centre of Britain's first Socialist government was Oscar Wilde.
Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1924) / Chief Ministers of the United Kingdom of the Britons and Irish (1924-0000)
1892-1894: William Gladstone (Liberal)
1892 (Minority, w. Irish Nationalist c&s) def. Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative & Liberal Unionist), Justin McCarthy / John Redmond (Irish Nationalist)
1894-1895: Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (Liberal minority, with Irish Nationalist confidence and supply)
1895-1902: Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative & Liberal Unionist)
1895 (Majority) def. Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (Liberal), John Dillon / John Redmond (Irish Nationalist)
1900 (Majority) def. Henry Campbell-Bannerman (Liberal), John Redmond (Irish Nationalist)
1902-1905: Arthur Balfour (Conservative & Liberal Unionist majority)
1905-1907: Henry Campbell-Bannerman, 1st Earl of Belmont (Liberal)
1906 (Majority) def. Arthur Balfour (Conservative & Liberal Unionist), John Redmond (Irish Nationalist), Keir Hardie (Socialist)
1907-1915: H.H. Asquith (Liberal)
1909 (Majority) def. Arthur Balfour (Unionist), John Redmond / William O'Brien (Irish Nationalist), Arthur Henderson (Socialist)
1914 (Minority, w. Socialist & Irish Nationalist c&s) def. Bonar Law (Unionist), Ramsay MacDonald (Socialist), John Redmond / William O'Brien (Irish Nationalist)
1914 Formation of National Government with Unionists; ejection of Socialists and 'Liberal-Socialists' from government
1915-1916: Edward Grey (Liberal-Unionist National Government, with Irish Nationalist confidence and supply)
1916-1922: Winston Churchill (Liberal)
1916 (Minority) def. Bonar Law (Unionist), John Redmond / William O'Brien (Irish Nationalist), Ramsay MacDonald / Christopher Addison / Jim Larkin (Socialist), Horatio Bottomley (John Bull)
1917 (Majority) def. Austen Chamberlain (Unionist), George Lansbury / Cecil L'Estrange Malone / Jim Larkin (Socialist), John Redmond (Irish Nationalist), Horatio Bottomley (John Bull)
1918 Women's Suffrage referendum; 71% YES
1921 (Constitutional Coalition with John Bull-Unionists) def. George Lansbury / Jim Larkin (Socialist), Austen Chamberlain (Reform-Unionist), Joe Devlin (Irish Nationalist), David Lloyd George (Radical-Liberal)
1922-1924: Oscar Wilde (Socialist)
1922 (National Coalition w. Reform-Unionists, Irish Nationalists, and Radical-Liberals) def. Winston Churchill / Hilaire Belloc (Constitutional Coalition)
1924-0000: Jim Larkin / Tom Mann / Sylvia Pankhurst (Socialist)
1924 (Minority) def. Austen Chamberlain (Reform), W.T. Cosgrave (Irish Nationalist), Oswald Mosley (Constitution), David Lloyd George (Liberal)
Kings of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1924) / Kings of the United Kingdom of the Britons and Irish (1924-0000)
1837-1901: Victoria (Hanover)
1901-1910: Edward VII (Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
1910-1916: George V (Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
1916-0000: Edward VIII (Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)