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spookyscaryskeletons - Britain Stronger With Europe Mk.2
Britain Stronger With Europe
The POD here is Stanley Baldwin accepting the offer from Bonar Law to become Governor General of South Africa. In his absence upon Law's resignation, there is a closely contested fight to replace him. Chamberlain is out as per OTL, and Curzon is still Curzon so he's not the one ascending to Number 10. Instead, it is Home Secretary William Clive Bridgeman, appointed on the basis of being a 'safe pair of hands'. Bridgeman is unlike Baldwin in that he is not particularly fussed on the issue of tariffs and as such waits out the clock with regards to the election. International affairs concern the British Foreign Office as a harsh military junta is set up in Italy with the King in charge following the failure of some newspaper baron to usurp the government there. The 1926 election from the outset looks like a decent if small victory for the Tories, but the General Strike flares up midway through the campaign. Both Labour and the Liberals see a massive surge, with Churchill's Constitutionalist Bloc securing a dozen seats. Clynes (who because BUTTERFLIES is kept on) secures a coalition with the Liberals in exchange for a compromise on free trade. Social Housing and greater unemployment benefits are introduced, as stimulus is part of Clynes' general manifesto. The nationalization of the Steel industry incites controversy with Labour's coalition partners, but Lloyd George is cautious about wrecking the government when the Depression strikes. Clynes' economic programs help mitigate the harshest effects, and co-operation vis a vis trade with German Chancellor Stressman assists in promoting calm on the continent. These negotiations prove useful in helping Euro-British relations. The junta in Italy is concerning, but Clynes spends more time trying to keep the peace in the unstable Spanish Republic, which ends up paying off years later.
Amery does not win a lofty majority as once predicted, and must go into coalition with Churchill (who now sits well on 22 seats) in order to give his government spine. He is not daft and indeed doesn't undertake harsh cuts to the economy, instead relying on trade with Europe in order to keep the markets afloat. President McAdoo in America is not so useful in this regard, meaning that Amery must establish a great friendship with Chancellor Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck (who sees a turnaround in the German economy after Stressman's tenure, no doubt bolstered by the public morale boost that came after Hugo Eckener's victory in 1932) and French President Astride Briande. Foreign Secretary Winston Churchill fosters the idea of a 'European Community' as early as 1930, when he comes into office as part of a coalition agreement. The immense threat of Stalin's Russia provokes them into action, and a series of negotiations between 1930 and 1934 which eventually produces the trappings of a 'European Union' with the signing of the Nuremberg Treaty on the 23rd of June, 1924. The decision is mostly met with warm welcome from the Liberals and even the opposition leader Oswald Mosley, whose parliamentary party evidently disagree. The ascension of Britain into this new union gives rise to the Communists, who finally secure more than one MP at the 1935 election, which results in a Mosley-jority. Mosley works to secure Indian independence before troubles flare (Amery was hampered by Churchill), and he appoints Britain's first High Ambassador to Luxembourg in the form of Herbert Morrison in an attempt to push him out of the political arena. He also expanded upon Clynes' welfare state, introducing the 'National Hospital Service'. Troops were sent to continue peacekeeping operations in Spain. Mosley would be assassinated in Indonesia by a rogue operative of the Japanese Kempeitai, who feared his military rampup.
Harry Nicolson is the man to step up to the crease in times of national mourning, and he does so with gusto. Overseeing a radical revamping of the UK's transport networks, with an emphasis on creating rail lines in the north, Nicolson would go down as the man who built the trains. He would also enter Britain into a brief skirmish with Japan when the IJN attempted an ambush of British naval forces at Hong Kong. He does not form a National Government, and only accepts help from the Dutch and KMT Governments in combating the Japanese threat. Within a year and with Korea lost to China, Japan is dealt a harsh blow and must retreat into a corner for some time. Nicolson calls an election after the victory is won, but in a shocker, Tony Eden wins (Bill Joyce wins a seat on an anti EU platform, and then resigns after a finance scandal). He spends his time reforming the industrial consensus and introducing reforms to Union strikes. Eden's military rampup keeps the Russians concerned, though relations are thawed somewhat after Stalin has a heart attack and Grand Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky replaces him. During this time, the Communists grow in popularity as Labour is seen as worryingly inefficient. The right of his party, including Lord Churchill, is angered by his concessions to the decolonization supporters with the 'pawning off' of territories in Africa. Eden also introduces key education reforms, an issue both Mosley and Nicolson ignored. He leaves office in 1953 well loved, forever immortalized as Kindly Tony, the man who led the nation through mourning after the death of George V in 1946.. Replacing him is the scot Mungo Murray, whose posh background does not endear him to the general electorate and he loses the majority a month after entering Number 10. Labour just about comes out ahead, with the new Anti-Union Movement coming into fruition, headed by prominent academic Enoch Powell.
Bevan's fraught term would be dominated by failed attempts to reform the healthcare system, as well as the granting of more powers to the unions in a sop to his Communist coalition partners. He also angers the other EU registrar states with his talk of winding down Labour's involvement in the organization if they dared to make a unilateral declaration on wages and prices as threatened by Sweden. The matter of Europe also splits the Communists, who are divided between Eurocommunist and 'Homeland'-communist schools of thought. The rise of radical right wing parties in Germany (the NSDAP came back after Hitler's death in the mid-30's) and France cause consternation with the higher ups of the EU as Labour wonders if it will ever agree upon Britain's true nature in Europe. Bevan's government collapses and Murray returns to his old residence. Within a year, Japan (in alliance with the hermit state of Italy) restarts tensions as it attempts an invasion of India. Murray, attempting to bring the nation together, forms a War Government as Britain enters a more serious war against the Empire. America joins in, co-operating in a problematic invasion of the Home Islands. Occupation proves to be a serious issue as the opposition call for a quicker withdrawal. Meanwhile, Germany is angered at Britain's lack of involvement with the occupation of Italy, which has a messy transition into a new state. Russia seeks to involve themselves in Asia, seizing Korea upon the Empire's dissolution in a decision that leaves Murray seething. The National Government comes to an end in 1960, and the art-loving Nigel Nicolson wins a majority in 1960. He pushes the art aspect of Britain's appearance on the world stage, vastly increasing funding for arts projects around the country. He also sees the abolition of draconian abortion and divorce laws. Nicolson is in office during the adoption of the 'European Ducat' by many EU members. Nicolson opts out for the time being, but promises a referendum on the matter come 1965 as the Anti-Union movement swells in popularity (the hijacking of it by businessman Oliver Smedley displeases Powell, who spends his years afterwards as an independent). The referendum does come in 1967 and features a testy political debate. Smedley intervenes many times, on one occasion printing several 'Zero Worth Ducats' which eventually become collector's items. The outcome is a narrow rejection of Ducats, and Nicolson is left reeling. While many backbenchers vouch for him, he feels as if he is unable to continue and hands power over to the Grey Bushy-Eyebrowed George Woodcock. Woodcock is able to patch together a Red-Red-Orange coalition in 1969, which features a tremendous surge from the AUM, which seeks to usurp the Liberals for the position of third position. Woodcock's government is filled with blunders as his coalition partners are unable to agree on little bar devolution, which is extended to Scotland in 1971. As the 1974 election nears, many wonder if Leo Blair's promise to hold an EU referendum will hold true...
1922-1923: Andrew Bonar Law (Conservative)
1922 (Majority) def. J. R. Clynes (Labour), H. H. Asquith (Liberal), David Lloyd George (National Liberal)
1923-1926: William Clive Bridgeman (Conservative)
1926-1930: J. R. Clynes (Labour)
1926 (Coalition with Liberals) def. William Clive Bridgeman (Conservative), David Lloyd George (Liberal), Winston Churchill (Constitutionalist), Albert Inkpin (Communist)
1930-1935: Leo Amery (Conservative)
1930 (Coalition with Constitutionalists) def. J. R. Clynes (Labour), David Lloyd George (Liberal), Winston Churchill (Constitutionalist), Albert Inkpin (Communist)
1935-1939: Oswald Mosley (Labour)
1935 (Majority) def. Leo Amery (Conservative + Constitutionalist), Issac Foot (Liberal), Henry Hogbin (Continuity Constitutionalist), Shapurji Saklatvala (Communist)
1939-1944: Harold Nicolson (Labour)
1940 (Majority) def. Philip Cunliffe-Lister (Conservative), Issac Foot (Liberal), Willie Gallacher (Communist)
1944-1953: Anthony Eden (Conservative)
1944 (Majority) def. Harold Nicolson (Labour), Gwilym Lloyd George (Liberal), Willie Gallacher (Communist), William Joyce (Anti Europe Coalition)
1949 (Coalition with Liberals) def. Harold Nicolson (Labour), Gwilym Lloyd George (Liberal), Bob Stewart (Communist)
1953-1953: Mungo Murray (Conservative)
1953-1955: Anuerin Bevan (Labour)
1953 (Coalition with Communists) def. Anthony Eden (Conservative), Gwilym Lloyd George (Liberal), Harry Pollitt (Communist)
1955-1956: Mungo Murray (Conservative)
1955 (Majority) def. Aneurin Bevan (Labour), Ivor Davies (Liberal), Wogan Philipps (Communist), Enoch Powell (Anti-Union Movement)
1956-1960: Mungo Murray (Conservative leading War Government with Labour, Liberals, War Communist, Anti-Union Movement)
1960-1967: Nigel Nicolson (Labour)
1960 (Majority) def. Mungo Murray (Conservative), Ivor Davies (Liberal), Wogan Philipps (War Communist), Enoch Powell (Anti-Union Movement), Annie Maxton (Anti-War Communist)
1964 (Majority) def. Anthony Nutting (Conservative), Ivor Davies (Liberal), J. R. Campbell (Communist), Oliver Smedley (Anti-Union Movement)
1967-1974: George Woodcock (Labour)
1969 (Coalition with Liberals and Communists) def. Anthony Nutting (Conservative), Ivor Davies (Liberal), Oliver Smedley (Anti-Union Movement), Hugh Scanlon (Communist)
The POD here is Stanley Baldwin accepting the offer from Bonar Law to become Governor General of South Africa. In his absence upon Law's resignation, there is a closely contested fight to replace him. Chamberlain is out as per OTL, and Curzon is still Curzon so he's not the one ascending to Number 10. Instead, it is Home Secretary William Clive Bridgeman, appointed on the basis of being a 'safe pair of hands'. Bridgeman is unlike Baldwin in that he is not particularly fussed on the issue of tariffs and as such waits out the clock with regards to the election. International affairs concern the British Foreign Office as a harsh military junta is set up in Italy with the King in charge following the failure of some newspaper baron to usurp the government there. The 1926 election from the outset looks like a decent if small victory for the Tories, but the General Strike flares up midway through the campaign. Both Labour and the Liberals see a massive surge, with Churchill's Constitutionalist Bloc securing a dozen seats. Clynes (who because BUTTERFLIES is kept on) secures a coalition with the Liberals in exchange for a compromise on free trade. Social Housing and greater unemployment benefits are introduced, as stimulus is part of Clynes' general manifesto. The nationalization of the Steel industry incites controversy with Labour's coalition partners, but Lloyd George is cautious about wrecking the government when the Depression strikes. Clynes' economic programs help mitigate the harshest effects, and co-operation vis a vis trade with German Chancellor Stressman assists in promoting calm on the continent. These negotiations prove useful in helping Euro-British relations. The junta in Italy is concerning, but Clynes spends more time trying to keep the peace in the unstable Spanish Republic, which ends up paying off years later.
Amery does not win a lofty majority as once predicted, and must go into coalition with Churchill (who now sits well on 22 seats) in order to give his government spine. He is not daft and indeed doesn't undertake harsh cuts to the economy, instead relying on trade with Europe in order to keep the markets afloat. President McAdoo in America is not so useful in this regard, meaning that Amery must establish a great friendship with Chancellor Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck (who sees a turnaround in the German economy after Stressman's tenure, no doubt bolstered by the public morale boost that came after Hugo Eckener's victory in 1932) and French President Astride Briande. Foreign Secretary Winston Churchill fosters the idea of a 'European Community' as early as 1930, when he comes into office as part of a coalition agreement. The immense threat of Stalin's Russia provokes them into action, and a series of negotiations between 1930 and 1934 which eventually produces the trappings of a 'European Union' with the signing of the Nuremberg Treaty on the 23rd of June, 1924. The decision is mostly met with warm welcome from the Liberals and even the opposition leader Oswald Mosley, whose parliamentary party evidently disagree. The ascension of Britain into this new union gives rise to the Communists, who finally secure more than one MP at the 1935 election, which results in a Mosley-jority. Mosley works to secure Indian independence before troubles flare (Amery was hampered by Churchill), and he appoints Britain's first High Ambassador to Luxembourg in the form of Herbert Morrison in an attempt to push him out of the political arena. He also expanded upon Clynes' welfare state, introducing the 'National Hospital Service'. Troops were sent to continue peacekeeping operations in Spain. Mosley would be assassinated in Indonesia by a rogue operative of the Japanese Kempeitai, who feared his military rampup.
Harry Nicolson is the man to step up to the crease in times of national mourning, and he does so with gusto. Overseeing a radical revamping of the UK's transport networks, with an emphasis on creating rail lines in the north, Nicolson would go down as the man who built the trains. He would also enter Britain into a brief skirmish with Japan when the IJN attempted an ambush of British naval forces at Hong Kong. He does not form a National Government, and only accepts help from the Dutch and KMT Governments in combating the Japanese threat. Within a year and with Korea lost to China, Japan is dealt a harsh blow and must retreat into a corner for some time. Nicolson calls an election after the victory is won, but in a shocker, Tony Eden wins (Bill Joyce wins a seat on an anti EU platform, and then resigns after a finance scandal). He spends his time reforming the industrial consensus and introducing reforms to Union strikes. Eden's military rampup keeps the Russians concerned, though relations are thawed somewhat after Stalin has a heart attack and Grand Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky replaces him. During this time, the Communists grow in popularity as Labour is seen as worryingly inefficient. The right of his party, including Lord Churchill, is angered by his concessions to the decolonization supporters with the 'pawning off' of territories in Africa. Eden also introduces key education reforms, an issue both Mosley and Nicolson ignored. He leaves office in 1953 well loved, forever immortalized as Kindly Tony, the man who led the nation through mourning after the death of George V in 1946.. Replacing him is the scot Mungo Murray, whose posh background does not endear him to the general electorate and he loses the majority a month after entering Number 10. Labour just about comes out ahead, with the new Anti-Union Movement coming into fruition, headed by prominent academic Enoch Powell.
Bevan's fraught term would be dominated by failed attempts to reform the healthcare system, as well as the granting of more powers to the unions in a sop to his Communist coalition partners. He also angers the other EU registrar states with his talk of winding down Labour's involvement in the organization if they dared to make a unilateral declaration on wages and prices as threatened by Sweden. The matter of Europe also splits the Communists, who are divided between Eurocommunist and 'Homeland'-communist schools of thought. The rise of radical right wing parties in Germany (the NSDAP came back after Hitler's death in the mid-30's) and France cause consternation with the higher ups of the EU as Labour wonders if it will ever agree upon Britain's true nature in Europe. Bevan's government collapses and Murray returns to his old residence. Within a year, Japan (in alliance with the hermit state of Italy) restarts tensions as it attempts an invasion of India. Murray, attempting to bring the nation together, forms a War Government as Britain enters a more serious war against the Empire. America joins in, co-operating in a problematic invasion of the Home Islands. Occupation proves to be a serious issue as the opposition call for a quicker withdrawal. Meanwhile, Germany is angered at Britain's lack of involvement with the occupation of Italy, which has a messy transition into a new state. Russia seeks to involve themselves in Asia, seizing Korea upon the Empire's dissolution in a decision that leaves Murray seething. The National Government comes to an end in 1960, and the art-loving Nigel Nicolson wins a majority in 1960. He pushes the art aspect of Britain's appearance on the world stage, vastly increasing funding for arts projects around the country. He also sees the abolition of draconian abortion and divorce laws. Nicolson is in office during the adoption of the 'European Ducat' by many EU members. Nicolson opts out for the time being, but promises a referendum on the matter come 1965 as the Anti-Union movement swells in popularity (the hijacking of it by businessman Oliver Smedley displeases Powell, who spends his years afterwards as an independent). The referendum does come in 1967 and features a testy political debate. Smedley intervenes many times, on one occasion printing several 'Zero Worth Ducats' which eventually become collector's items. The outcome is a narrow rejection of Ducats, and Nicolson is left reeling. While many backbenchers vouch for him, he feels as if he is unable to continue and hands power over to the Grey Bushy-Eyebrowed George Woodcock. Woodcock is able to patch together a Red-Red-Orange coalition in 1969, which features a tremendous surge from the AUM, which seeks to usurp the Liberals for the position of third position. Woodcock's government is filled with blunders as his coalition partners are unable to agree on little bar devolution, which is extended to Scotland in 1971. As the 1974 election nears, many wonder if Leo Blair's promise to hold an EU referendum will hold true...
1922-1923: Andrew Bonar Law (Conservative)
1922 (Majority) def. J. R. Clynes (Labour), H. H. Asquith (Liberal), David Lloyd George (National Liberal)
1923-1926: William Clive Bridgeman (Conservative)
1926-1930: J. R. Clynes (Labour)
1926 (Coalition with Liberals) def. William Clive Bridgeman (Conservative), David Lloyd George (Liberal), Winston Churchill (Constitutionalist), Albert Inkpin (Communist)
1930-1935: Leo Amery (Conservative)
1930 (Coalition with Constitutionalists) def. J. R. Clynes (Labour), David Lloyd George (Liberal), Winston Churchill (Constitutionalist), Albert Inkpin (Communist)
1935-1939: Oswald Mosley (Labour)
1935 (Majority) def. Leo Amery (Conservative + Constitutionalist), Issac Foot (Liberal), Henry Hogbin (Continuity Constitutionalist), Shapurji Saklatvala (Communist)
1939-1944: Harold Nicolson (Labour)
1940 (Majority) def. Philip Cunliffe-Lister (Conservative), Issac Foot (Liberal), Willie Gallacher (Communist)
1944-1953: Anthony Eden (Conservative)
1944 (Majority) def. Harold Nicolson (Labour), Gwilym Lloyd George (Liberal), Willie Gallacher (Communist), William Joyce (Anti Europe Coalition)
1949 (Coalition with Liberals) def. Harold Nicolson (Labour), Gwilym Lloyd George (Liberal), Bob Stewart (Communist)
1953-1953: Mungo Murray (Conservative)
1953-1955: Anuerin Bevan (Labour)
1953 (Coalition with Communists) def. Anthony Eden (Conservative), Gwilym Lloyd George (Liberal), Harry Pollitt (Communist)
1955-1956: Mungo Murray (Conservative)
1955 (Majority) def. Aneurin Bevan (Labour), Ivor Davies (Liberal), Wogan Philipps (Communist), Enoch Powell (Anti-Union Movement)
1956-1960: Mungo Murray (Conservative leading War Government with Labour, Liberals, War Communist, Anti-Union Movement)
1960-1967: Nigel Nicolson (Labour)
1960 (Majority) def. Mungo Murray (Conservative), Ivor Davies (Liberal), Wogan Philipps (War Communist), Enoch Powell (Anti-Union Movement), Annie Maxton (Anti-War Communist)
1964 (Majority) def. Anthony Nutting (Conservative), Ivor Davies (Liberal), J. R. Campbell (Communist), Oliver Smedley (Anti-Union Movement)
1967-1974: George Woodcock (Labour)
1969 (Coalition with Liberals and Communists) def. Anthony Nutting (Conservative), Ivor Davies (Liberal), Oliver Smedley (Anti-Union Movement), Hugh Scanlon (Communist)
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