Keep Calm And Carry On: A Political Drama

Mumby

Mumby

Anthony Eden's eyes studied the telegram again. So, the treaty had been signed. It was finally over. With a single signature, the Second World War and specifically Japan's role in it had been ended. He sighed, and looked heavenward. That might be over, but his tribulations had only just begun. While Britain may have until recently been at war, she had in reality been at peace for quite some time. Poor old Winnie had been staggering on, but he had been taking up more and more of the slack. He had almost jacked it in in 1946, what with Simon's death. The thought of his little boy dying in some Burmese hellhole still hung over him, though he had passed out of the darkest days.

With peace in the East, that would mean an election. The election that they'd been promising and avoiding since 1945. Eden hoped that they'd win. He hoped that victory against their foes would be enough. He hoped that having the old stalwart who had led the country through six years of war, and seven years of rebuilding, would be enough. He hoped that Britons would look at their rising standard of living and let be enough. But he doubted that it would be enough. Churchill's stock had reduced considerably over the last seven years, and worse, they hardly even had the glory of victory to cling to as their own. In fact, Eden believed that they might have a better chance if they could convince the old man to step aside. Winnie hadn't been up to the job for years, and he was practically Prime Minister in all but name by now. But Churchill clung to power doggedly, and refused to budge. To make matters worse, he was the only man able to keep the Labour party, or what was left of them since 1945, on side.

He set down the telegram and rubbed his eyes. It was going to be a long few months. He was going to have to start making calls.
 
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Mumby

Mumby

Well, the last one didn't last very long did it?

Turns out it's harder to write something you've been thinking about since childhood than I initially imagined.

Wait a minute... this, this isn't a TLIAW!

Nope.

Is this a TL?

Mibbe.

You're mad.

And you're irrelevant. We only do this for TLIAThings.

Nooooooooo...
 
Mumby

Mumby

Two old, tired men looked at each other over a large desk. The fine splendour of the room just seemed to accentuate their weariness. There was a pregnant silence before one man spoke.

'So, it's finally over. A little bit of you must be relieved?' stated George VI.

'I don't know about relieved, sir. The last seven years have had a certain... stability to them. I knew what I was doing.' replied Winston Churchill.

'From where I've been sitting there has been little certainty. The Opposition benches have filled out considerably since Victory in Europe. By-election after by-election, your Government has bled.' pointed out the King.

'By-elections always punish the government. We will see where we stand after a general election.'

'And that's what you're really here for. To ask me to dissolve Parliament. When exactly do you want your election.'

'After the Treaty actually is activated. My government is a wartime one, I'll be damned if I leave before we have peace.'

'So you are planning to leave?' there was concern in the King's voice, 'Your health isn't what it used to be.'

'I have the constitution of an ox, sir. And besides, this Coalition is mine. I will see another National Government in peacetime.'

'What about Eden? He seems a safe pair of hands.'

'Oh, he's undoubtedly a good office manager, but he's no salesman. He isn't an election winner, too distant from the average voter.'

'Do you remember the last general election, Winston? It was seventeen years ago. That's a very long time. A whole generation have grown up never having gone to the ballot box except for by-elections.'

'Exactly, sir! To that generation, I am The Prime Minister. Not Eden. I am the only one who can lead to victory. Maybe in five years, the country will be ready for Eden. Not now.'

'Very well. When does the Treaty go into action?' the King had taken out a notepad and pen.

'April next year' replied Churchill.

'Next year?' the King had raised an eyebrow.

'Yes, sir. The election would be in May.'

'Don't you think you might be pushing your luck? That is a long time. We have peace now, why not have it be a little sooner?'

'Sooner? I am no hypocrite, sir. I'll have that election when we have a secure peace with our belligerents and no sooner.'

'No-one but a fool could accuse you of hypocrisy, Winston. But they could accuse you of delaying. That is the biggest criticism laid at your door since 1945. This could mar your last days in office.'

Winston just sat and grizzled. The King frowned but wrote down the allotted date anyway. 'I assume you'll go before Parliament to tell everyone your decision?'

'This very afternoon, sir.' the King continued to take notes. This conversation was over. The Prime Minister rose, but before he left the room, the King looked at him.

'I hope you know what you're doing, Winston.'

'So do I your Majesty. So do I.'
 
Mumby

Mumby

zeppelinair said:
Oh wait, is this the San Francisco Treaty? One in 1951?
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Aye, signed in 1951, but only activated in 1952.

In this world, Churchill keeps the War Coalition together until Victory in Asia which in his estimation only takes place with this final treaty.
 
Dan

Dan

Damn you Mumby! :D I'd just gotten my subscription list down to a manageable level as well, then you go and post this. Damn and blast I say.


Damn, Blast and subscribed...
:)
 
Alex Richards

Alex Richards

Donor
Oh wow. So do we have the establishment of the Welfare State seen as an achievement of the War Coalition or is it yet to come? Because that could have very interesting effects rather than it being 'Labour's achievement'
 
Mumby

Mumby

Winston Churchill rose heavily from the bench. He took a deep breath. He could feel history bearing down on him, this moment as important as any that he had written about.

'This morning, I had a meeting with His Majesty, the King. I asked him to dissolve Parliament prior to a general election.' he paused to allow time for the cheering and jeering to subside, 'this general election is to take place after the final peace is made with the Empire of Japan, on April 28th, 1952.' He paused again, and the shouting from the Opposition grew all the louder. 'The Wartime Government's purpose has come to an end, and now is the time for us to move on from the trials and tribulations of the last thirteen years of war.' The Home Secretary rose.

'May I congratulate the Prime Minister on his twelve years of office. He promised us blood, toil, tears and sweat, and by Jove he gave it, but in return he also gave us liberty. Liberty from the monstrous possibility of a Nazi Europe, and Asia under the Japanese boot. It has also been our privilege to see a real peace be built. No 'peace in our time' mackled together between premiers, whose feet are made of clay. Real time and effort has been needed and a real peace has been delivered. I can only hope the honourable members of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition remember that.' Herbert Morrison sat down, but on the other side of the aisle, Clement Attlee stood up.

'I would be the first to praise the Prime Minister's wartime record. He led us steadfastly through some of the blackest years our country will ever know. But let us not pretend that we have been at war for thirteen years. This final treaty may officially end the war, but this country has effectively been at peace for six years. Japan unconditionally surrendered in 1945 after the nuclear destruction of two its cities. That was when the government should have come to an end. And now this House is told that the election is to be held months from now. This is just another delaying tactic by an old government which has become frightened of the electorate!' Attlee sat down amid a chorus of cheers from the Opposition. Anthony Eden rose.

'The Right Honourable Member raises a good point. Japan did surrender in 1945. But these last seven years have been consumed by the work of securing peace after the most apocalyptic war in human history. Only with this peace treaty is Britain released from the commitments of war. It would not have been right to relinquish government despite the period of fighting being over.' He had barely seated himself before the Leader of the Opposition was standing.

'I'm glad to see the Honourable Member stand, as it is with him that many of the faults of this government lie! The government has bungled on many issues, most obviously the issue of Indian independence, and has rendered this country a laughing stock. This government clings to the mandate it won seventeen years ago, and it clings to a Victorian legacy which is quite withered.' Richard Acland seated himself and smiled. Anthony Eden was visibly shaken by the verbal assault.

'Our policy has been that we have been at war until this treaty and that Indian independence was to be undertaken when we had peace. We could not have foreseen Indian impatience and the violence that was it's result.' the words were practised, hollow and stilted. He bowed his head and let the catcalls of the Opposition wash over him. He looked over to Winston. His face was pale, but he stood firm and looked across at Acland's smirking face.

'Another consequence of the government's hidebound insistence that a state of war persists when it does not.' Acland gestured to the Government benches. 'The Honourable Members seated opposite must remember how full those seats were seven years ago, and how empty these were. The government's fear has seen two splits, and crippling losses in by-elections. This Government is no War Coalition. It is the pre-war National Government in all but name, and Herbert Morrison is the Ramsay MacDonald of our generation.' Morrison's face darkened, there were cries of shame, and more than a few sour faces on the Opposition benches directed toward Acland. The Speaker interrupted, insisting that they refrain from making personal remarks. Acland nodded his head, but the damage was done. The Prime Minister rose again.

'While the Opposition contents itself with making cheap accusations and denigrating this Government's hard-won record in government, perhaps it should look to the National Government's record of economic stability in the 1930s and then look to the scarcity of an alternative over the last twenty years. Perhaps then, they should consider whether they ought to be so confident in the coming election.' They were strong words, but the wind had been sent up him, and the Opposition was too confident to pay his words any heed.

The next hours continued in a similar strain, a back and forth of the Government defending their record and the decision to hold the election next year, while the Opposition parried and piggled at every achievement and every mistake. Eden's mind was increasingly set. Winston was a great man, but he had to go. He was an old remnant of the pre-war world, a reminder that this government had perhaps outstayed its welcome. And they would have to hold the election sooner than Winston planned. It was a long time, time in which any chance of victory could be lost. But how could he remove the man who had essentially been his patron? How many people in the party could agree with it? And could he hold together the National Government without the old man at the top? But it remained a fact that Churchill represented the stale air which had laid thick upon the Government. He needed to open a window.
 

mlp

I'm kinda doubting Eden would do a great job at this time. Sure Churchill has to go, but he's not a better alternative. Better be that the Opposition wins the general election.
 

Octosteel

zeppelinair said:
I'm kinda doubting Eden would do a great job at this time. Sure Churchill has to go, but he's not a better alternative. Better be that the Opposition wins the general election.
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Yeah, Eden always seemed to me like an old school imperialist born in the wrong era.
 

mlp

By the way Mumby, would you be interested in (writing or helping write) a British TL where a Japan's LDP-esque scenario occurs? It'd be horrifying, of course, but I'd like to explore how plausible Britain having a massive right-wing party is. At a later date, of course.
 
Mumby

Mumby

zeppelinair said:
By the way Mumby, would you be interested in (writing or helping write) a British TL where a Japan's LDP-esque scenario occurs? It'd be horrifying, of course, but I'd like to explore how plausible Britain having a massive right-wing party is. At a later date, of course.
Click to expand...

Didn't the LDP arise in very specific circumstances? Which would be quite difficult to replicate in Britain?

Thanks for all the comments everyone.
 

mlp

Mumby said:
Didn't the LDP arise in very specific circumstances? Which would be quite difficult to replicate in Britain?

Thanks for all the comments everyone.
Click to expand...

I suspect mcdo would be more an expert than myself on this, but for what I know the LDP arose from the 55 system with a merger between two centre-right parties with the urging of the US, as a giant against the JSP(Japanese Socialist Party).
What I thought was that, if there is a greater threat of Communism, perhaps in the 20s and 30s, we could see a merger between two large right-wing parties that continues to dominate British politics(as in, no PMs from the Opposition) until the fall of Communism.
Please forgive me if I'm just saying jackshit, I basically don't know British politics.
 
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