UK AHC: PM from Northern Ireland?

[RogueBeaver]

In an ATL where the Ulster Unionists remain in the Tory caucus, could one of their own acceed to the party leadership and eventually No 10? POD 1970.

[Æsir]

Maybe Enoch Powell during the time he was representing South Down?

[The Red]

More or less ASB barring some sort of Cabinet wipeout in a terrorist attack leaving the NI secretary the most prominent member alive.

Powell wasn't going to be Tory leader after 1970.

[RogueBeaver]

Originally Posted by The Red

More or less ASB barring some sort of Cabinet wipeout in a terrorist attack leaving the NI secretary the most prominent member alive.

Maybe not in the '70s, but why not closer to the present day? To make it easier, we could set the POD at 1960. I'm guessing that NI has to be as close to "a region like the others" as possible (no Troubles) for this to work...

[The Red]

Originally Posted by RogueBeaver

Maybe not in the '70s, but why not closer to the present day? To make it easier, we could set the POD at 1960. I'm guessing that NI has to be as close to "a region like the others" as possible (no Troubles) for this to work...

Even without the troubles it's a long shot, you'd probably need a PoD before Irish Independence to be honest.

[The Oncoming Storm]

I think it would need NI politics to be more integrated into those of the UK, for a start you need to prevent Stormont from having been created and for a less sectarian.

It's more likely that an NI born politician could become PM by having moved to GB at a young age and then worked their way up the ladder, Kate Hoey and Lembit Opik were both born here so it's possible that someone with more ability than them could do it.

[Sir John A.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Col...rmy_officer%29

Collins has been approached by both the Conservative Party and the Ulster Unionist Party to run for Parliament, though has not made any commitment to either party. During the 2005 Ulster Unionist leadership election he was cited by a number of prominent Ulster Unionists as an outside figure who would make a good leader, but Collins declined as he felt he had "no experience of politics."[17]

Make this guy agree to enter politics, do a good enough job, get elected leader and later become PM!

[Lord Brisbane]

You would have to avoid the 'particularism' of NI politics from really developing for this to happen IMHO.

James Molyneaux was vice president of the Monday Club, but his leadership style and timing would be pretty much impossible.

Ironically I think post Good Friday Agreement it might be possible with enough personal butterflies in the right direction for an individual. At a stretch, maybe David Trimble, somehow.

[SlickWilly]

AFAIK Jim Callaghan's father came from N. Ireland.

[Arachnid]

No Stormont and have the Ulster Unionist Party remain as integral a part of the Westminster Conservative and Unionist Party as the Scottish Unionist Party.

[Gallowglass]

Andrew Bonar Law, sort of? He was born in Canada, but to a Northern Irish family and grew up in Coleraine for a large part. Although he'd equally be a Canadian or Scottish PM.

[Will Ritson]

Not as a Unionist politician, but with a POD of 1970 you could have Kate Hoey as a Northern Irish woman, becoming PM in the early noughties.

[Lord Brisbane]

Well the original question needs clarification.

Can they merely be from NI or do they have to hold a seat there? The former is much easier to achieve.

[Alex Richards]

If we're counting simply born in NI, then frankly it's not as if Scotland or Wales are doing much better. Blair and Brown were the first Scots in No. 10 since Ramsay Macdonald, and Lloyd George was the last Welshman.

[RogueBeaver]

From NI, but preferably they hold a seat there.

[Arachnid]

The best bet post 1922 is have the Ulster Unionist Party follow the route of the Scottish Unionist Party and be merged into the national Conservative Party. Now in OTL this was disastrous for the Scottish Tories as it made them switch from being seen as an authentically Scottish right-wing party to an English import but it's not impossible to have the NI version also be "reformed".

After that just have an ambitious NI politician rise inside the Tory Party and become leader and win a General Election.