2051 CE: The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had quite a history in the 21st century. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union in 2019, under a less-than-favourable deal. As many banks and businesses moved from Britain's cities to Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid and Warsaw, and the loss of free trade and free movement, a recession hit the UK. The referendum for Scottish independence was passed in 2020, and the nation became independent in 2023 (joining the EU in 2027 after tense negotiations). In what remained of the UK, the Liberal Democrats and the newly formed Regionalist Coalition attracted many voters, as Labour and eventually the Conservatives split up. As demographics and attitudes shifted in Northern Ireland, the St. George's agreement in 2031 effectively made Northern Ireland a sovereign nation under the UK banner. Northern Ireland was not represented in the House of Commons but was only rarely affected by it, instead the nation had its own constitution, own parliament and took part as itself in the Olympics.
Negotiations to rejoin the EU began in the mid-2030s under the Liberal Progressive Democrat government. A referendum was held in 2035, and 60% of the population voted to rejoin the EU. After 21 years of Brexit, the UK rejoined on the 1st June 2040. However, this was with the knowledge the country would no longer have a special status in the organisation. The UK finally phased out the pound sterling in 2042, replacing it with the Euro, and also phasing in the Electronic Euro economic system. The UK was, like many countries, hit hard by the Telecom Crash in 2044, but recovered from 2047.
London will become the centre of the world's attention in the next months as the 2051 Grand Exhibition opens, following on from the 1851 Great Exhibition and the 1951 Festival of Britain. Thanks to government and EU funding, the Exhibition promises to showcase the world's technological and cultural achievements over the past century, as well as the new technology that will dominate lifestyle in the next century. The city has recovered from the post-Brexit recession in 2019-2025, to again become an important economic centre. The population has swelled to over 10 million, with a metropolitan area of 17 million people that reaches as far as Sussex and the North Sea. Greater London as a county was expanded in 2035, and now reaches as far as Farnborough, Crawley, Maidstone and Luton. Some inner city areas have actually seen a slight population decline as London's population becomes more concentrated in the suburbs.
The House of Commons is still situated in the Palace of Westminster. The House of Commons had a major refurbishment in 2035, and was fitted with the latest technology. The House of Commons, since 2038, has been complemented by the new British Senate, built to replace the House of Lords. The British Senate has 120 seats and is elected through country-wide proportional representation.
The largest party in the House of Commons, and the current governing party of the United Kingdom (in a coalition with Plaid Cymru and the Regionalist Coalition), are the Liberal Progressive Democrats. After Labour's split in the late-2020s, the Liberal Democrats (who gained 62 seats at the 2025 general election) took in many from the centre and centre-left in the party to become the main opposition to the Conservatives and, after the split of the Conservatives in the mid-2030s, the largest party. The Liberal Progressive Democratic (note: the party is colloquially known as the Liberal Democrats still) governments will be best remembered by the introduction of the Alternative Vote system, the abolition of the House of Lords and the creation of the Northern Assembly. The party's platform is one of radical centrism, English liberalism (basically a form of social liberalism formed as a reaction to the growing minarchism of many other liberal parties) and social democracy. The LPD has also tried to create a more adhocratic governance system.
The main opposition party in the UK (especially after the Municipal Party's fall in the ratings) is the Green Co-operative Alliance. After gaining their first MP in 2010, the Green Party of England and Wales slowly gained more parliamentary seats. They grew to 3 MPs in the 2020 general election (gaining the Isle of Wight and Bristol Central as well as keeping Brighton Pavilion), 8 by 2025 (gaining Canterbury, Norwich North, Bristol South and, surprisingly, Poole), and 15 by 2030. But their real increase in popularity came in the 2030s, as the first large crises to do with climate change were occurring. That decade saw the Botswanan Drought, the evacuation of the Maldives, the Bengali Floods and the Southwestern Drought in the United States that caused immense population movement, an economic meltdown, an army coup and almost a revolution. The Greens grew dramatically, especially after the break-up of the Labour Party, and merged with the Co-operative Party. The Green Co-operative Alliance runs on an environmentalist and libertarian socialist platform, and is a party very popular in the southwest and Wales, as well as making inroads into the northeast.
Other popular political parties are the post-conservative Municipal Party, trade unionist Momentum, the Internet Party (successor to the Pirate Party)m the right-wing populist Libertarian Party, a renewed National Health Alliance, the Christian Socialists (a coalition of two former independents who run on a very similar platform) and in the new Manx seats, the Manx Labour Party, a heavily regionalist (some say nationalist) and democratic socialist party.
And the all-important wikiboxes:
NOTE: I have just realised I had not changed the map in the UK infobox. Scotland is independent, and a number of countries (including Bosnia, Iceland and Ukraine) have joined the EU. I will make sure to double check these things in future.
2051 CE
2051 American presidential election
The United Kingdom has had quite a history in the 21st century. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union in 2019, under a less-than-favourable deal. As many banks and businesses moved from Britain's cities to Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid and Warsaw, and the loss of free trade and free movement, a recession hit the UK. The referendum for Scottish independence was passed in 2020, and the nation became independent in 2023 (joining the EU in 2027 after tense negotiations). In what remained of the UK, the Liberal Democrats and the newly formed Regionalist Coalition attracted many voters, as Labour and eventually the Conservatives split up. As demographics and attitudes shifted in Northern Ireland, the St. George's agreement in 2031 effectively made Northern Ireland a sovereign nation under the UK banner. Northern Ireland was not represented in the House of Commons but was only rarely affected by it, instead the nation had its own constitution, own parliament and took part as itself in the Olympics.
Negotiations to rejoin the EU began in the mid-2030s under the Liberal Progressive Democrat government. A referendum was held in 2035, and 60% of the population voted to rejoin the EU. After 21 years of Brexit, the UK rejoined on the 1st June 2040. However, this was with the knowledge the country would no longer have a special status in the organisation. The UK finally phased out the pound sterling in 2042, replacing it with the Euro, and also phasing in the Electronic Euro economic system. The UK was, like many countries, hit hard by the Telecom Crash in 2044, but recovered from 2047.
London will become the centre of the world's attention in the next months as the 2051 Grand Exhibition opens, following on from the 1851 Great Exhibition and the 1951 Festival of Britain. Thanks to government and EU funding, the Exhibition promises to showcase the world's technological and cultural achievements over the past century, as well as the new technology that will dominate lifestyle in the next century. The city has recovered from the post-Brexit recession in 2019-2025, to again become an important economic centre. The population has swelled to over 10 million, with a metropolitan area of 17 million people that reaches as far as Sussex and the North Sea. Greater London as a county was expanded in 2035, and now reaches as far as Farnborough, Crawley, Maidstone and Luton. Some inner city areas have actually seen a slight population decline as London's population becomes more concentrated in the suburbs.
The House of Commons is still situated in the Palace of Westminster. The House of Commons had a major refurbishment in 2035, and was fitted with the latest technology. The House of Commons, since 2038, has been complemented by the new British Senate, built to replace the House of Lords. The British Senate has 120 seats and is elected through country-wide proportional representation.
The largest party in the House of Commons, and the current governing party of the United Kingdom (in a coalition with Plaid Cymru and the Regionalist Coalition), are the Liberal Progressive Democrats. After Labour's split in the late-2020s, the Liberal Democrats (who gained 62 seats at the 2025 general election) took in many from the centre and centre-left in the party to become the main opposition to the Conservatives and, after the split of the Conservatives in the mid-2030s, the largest party. The Liberal Progressive Democratic (note: the party is colloquially known as the Liberal Democrats still) governments will be best remembered by the introduction of the Alternative Vote system, the abolition of the House of Lords and the creation of the Northern Assembly. The party's platform is one of radical centrism, English liberalism (basically a form of social liberalism formed as a reaction to the growing minarchism of many other liberal parties) and social democracy. The LPD has also tried to create a more adhocratic governance system.
The main opposition party in the UK (especially after the Municipal Party's fall in the ratings) is the Green Co-operative Alliance. After gaining their first MP in 2010, the Green Party of England and Wales slowly gained more parliamentary seats. They grew to 3 MPs in the 2020 general election (gaining the Isle of Wight and Bristol Central as well as keeping Brighton Pavilion), 8 by 2025 (gaining Canterbury, Norwich North, Bristol South and, surprisingly, Poole), and 15 by 2030. But their real increase in popularity came in the 2030s, as the first large crises to do with climate change were occurring. That decade saw the Botswanan Drought, the evacuation of the Maldives, the Bengali Floods and the Southwestern Drought in the United States that caused immense population movement, an economic meltdown, an army coup and almost a revolution. The Greens grew dramatically, especially after the break-up of the Labour Party, and merged with the Co-operative Party. The Green Co-operative Alliance runs on an environmentalist and libertarian socialist platform, and is a party very popular in the southwest and Wales, as well as making inroads into the northeast.
Other popular political parties are the post-conservative Municipal Party, trade unionist Momentum, the Internet Party (successor to the Pirate Party)m the right-wing populist Libertarian Party, a renewed National Health Alliance, the Christian Socialists (a coalition of two former independents who run on a very similar platform) and in the new Manx seats, the Manx Labour Party, a heavily regionalist (some say nationalist) and democratic socialist party.
And the all-important wikiboxes:
NOTE: I have just realised I had not changed the map in the UK infobox. Scotland is independent, and a number of countries (including Bosnia, Iceland and Ukraine) have joined the EU. I will make sure to double check these things in future.
2051 CE
2051 American presidential election
