alternatehistory.com
KingCrawa - UK gets a Tricameral Legislature
A Tricameral Legislature.
Lord Presidents of the Council.
Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher: 1951 – 1961
Archbishop Michael Ramsey: 1961 – 1974
Alexander Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home: 1974 – 1983
Francis “Frank” Pakenham 7th Earl of Longford: 1983 – 1993
Bernard Weatherill Baron Weatherill of North East Croydon: 1993 – 2003
Archbishop Rowan Williams: 2003 – 2012
Sayeeda Warsi Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury: 2012 – 2016
Alan West Baron West of Spithead: 2016 – Present.
Leader of the House of Commons
Hugh Gaitskell (Labour): 1951 – 1955
RA Butler (Unionist): 1955 – 1962
Peter Thorneycroft (Unionist): 1962 – 1968
George Brown (Labour): 1968 – 1972
Roy Jenkins (Labour): 1972 – 1974
David Ormsby-Gore (Unionist): 1974 – 1983
Shirley Williams (Labour): 1983 – 1993
Chris Patten (Unionist): 1993 – 1997
Jack Cunningham (Labour): 1997 – 2003
George Robertson (Labour): 2003 – 2009
David Willets (Unionist): 2009 – 2013
Hilary Benn (Labour): 2013 – Present
The POD here is that the Abdication crisis gets worse. Edward VIII insists on getting his way and the Tories split into two factions, one pro monarchy the other not. Eventually the King is convinced to step aside and when the war begins the some of the anti-monarchy faction hastily reform into the Unionist party. While this group led by Lord Halifax is the nominal leader of the national government, Labour actually hold seats.
Come the Fifties it is suggested by the King that in order to avoid another situation where a party split could lead to governmental turmoil the job of head of government should be split between the Prime Minister and the leader of a small group of the Privy Council, who would oversee legislation and advise both the PM and the King. This would lead to the UK having a tricameral legislature split between the Commons, the Lords and the Council (which would be formed of both MPs and Peers but the leader would always be a Peer). As part of this the Prime Minister assumed the title of Leader of the House while the title of Lord President of the Council was formally attached to the leader of the Council.
In order to create a sense of impartiality the first two Lord Presidents were Archbishops of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher and Michael Ramsey. However, after Ramsey’s retirement it was decided that it would be better to move away from religious figures and a ten-year maximum term limit was introduced. With the position, up for grabs, Ormsby-Gores newly elected government nominated beloved former Leader of the Lords Alec Douglas-Home to the position. While the role is officially neutral, following Labour’s victory in the 1983, Home stepped down announcing that he had come in with the Unionists and he would leave with them too.
The William’s government nominated former cabinet member Lord Longford to the role and during his tenure he pushed for the continuation of the social liberalisation that had begun but come to a swift end under Roy Jenkins who had succeeded Brown when he lost his seat in 1972 . Longford and Williams both lasted ten years before being replaced by former Speaker Bernard Weatherill and Chris Patten respectively. Weatherill got on well with both Unionist and Labour leaders, but when he stepped aside in 2003, Labour leader George Robertson decided it was time for a non-political candidate and tapped newly enthroned Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for the role.
Williams was a popular – if divisive – figure who unlike some of his predecessors made plenty of press appearances. It is suggested that the uptick in church attendance can be traced to his work. He stepped down from the role when he retired as Archbishop. Unionist leader David Willets hoping to score points by installing the first female and minority candidate to the Presidency on his watch nominated Baroness Warsi. While initially popular, Warsi was not quite enough to secure Willets re-election and she quit after only four years in the role, following disagreements over Labour’s foreign policy. To counteract this, Leader of the House Benn nominated former First Lord of the Admiralty Lord West of Spithead, who has already proven to be popular choice due to his blunt and outspoken nature.
Lord Presidents of the Council.
Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher: 1951 – 1961
Archbishop Michael Ramsey: 1961 – 1974
Alexander Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home: 1974 – 1983
Francis “Frank” Pakenham 7th Earl of Longford: 1983 – 1993
Bernard Weatherill Baron Weatherill of North East Croydon: 1993 – 2003
Archbishop Rowan Williams: 2003 – 2012
Sayeeda Warsi Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury: 2012 – 2016
Alan West Baron West of Spithead: 2016 – Present.
Leader of the House of Commons
Hugh Gaitskell (Labour): 1951 – 1955
RA Butler (Unionist): 1955 – 1962
Peter Thorneycroft (Unionist): 1962 – 1968
George Brown (Labour): 1968 – 1972
Roy Jenkins (Labour): 1972 – 1974
David Ormsby-Gore (Unionist): 1974 – 1983
Shirley Williams (Labour): 1983 – 1993
Chris Patten (Unionist): 1993 – 1997
Jack Cunningham (Labour): 1997 – 2003
George Robertson (Labour): 2003 – 2009
David Willets (Unionist): 2009 – 2013
Hilary Benn (Labour): 2013 – Present
The POD here is that the Abdication crisis gets worse. Edward VIII insists on getting his way and the Tories split into two factions, one pro monarchy the other not. Eventually the King is convinced to step aside and when the war begins the some of the anti-monarchy faction hastily reform into the Unionist party. While this group led by Lord Halifax is the nominal leader of the national government, Labour actually hold seats.
Come the Fifties it is suggested by the King that in order to avoid another situation where a party split could lead to governmental turmoil the job of head of government should be split between the Prime Minister and the leader of a small group of the Privy Council, who would oversee legislation and advise both the PM and the King. This would lead to the UK having a tricameral legislature split between the Commons, the Lords and the Council (which would be formed of both MPs and Peers but the leader would always be a Peer). As part of this the Prime Minister assumed the title of Leader of the House while the title of Lord President of the Council was formally attached to the leader of the Council.
In order to create a sense of impartiality the first two Lord Presidents were Archbishops of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher and Michael Ramsey. However, after Ramsey’s retirement it was decided that it would be better to move away from religious figures and a ten-year maximum term limit was introduced. With the position, up for grabs, Ormsby-Gores newly elected government nominated beloved former Leader of the Lords Alec Douglas-Home to the position. While the role is officially neutral, following Labour’s victory in the 1983, Home stepped down announcing that he had come in with the Unionists and he would leave with them too.
The William’s government nominated former cabinet member Lord Longford to the role and during his tenure he pushed for the continuation of the social liberalisation that had begun but come to a swift end under Roy Jenkins who had succeeded Brown when he lost his seat in 1972 . Longford and Williams both lasted ten years before being replaced by former Speaker Bernard Weatherill and Chris Patten respectively. Weatherill got on well with both Unionist and Labour leaders, but when he stepped aside in 2003, Labour leader George Robertson decided it was time for a non-political candidate and tapped newly enthroned Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for the role.
Williams was a popular – if divisive – figure who unlike some of his predecessors made plenty of press appearances. It is suggested that the uptick in church attendance can be traced to his work. He stepped down from the role when he retired as Archbishop. Unionist leader David Willets hoping to score points by installing the first female and minority candidate to the Presidency on his watch nominated Baroness Warsi. While initially popular, Warsi was not quite enough to secure Willets re-election and she quit after only four years in the role, following disagreements over Labour’s foreign policy. To counteract this, Leader of the House Benn nominated former First Lord of the Admiralty Lord West of Spithead, who has already proven to be popular choice due to his blunt and outspoken nature.
- KingCrawa
- Word Count: 690