Obviously we're never going to get a BUF-run Britain short of something seriously weird or ASBs, but that doesn't mean that Oswald Mosely doesn't lend himself to some interesting WIs...
1: Very Dead Mosley
The plane crash that OTL left Mosley with a permanant limp (obligatory sarky comeback: "A limp what?") goes a little differently, and the young aristocrat becomes a line on Winchester College's war memorial. Wither interwar British fascism? Does the movement remain very much on the lunatic fringe and future allohistorians futilely spend their time trying to shoehorn Rotha Lintorn-Orman or Arnold Leese into the position of a British Fuhrer instead of Mosely? I have a feeling that without a leader of Mosley's standing the various British fascist movements would be even more hopelessly balkanised and inconsequential then OTL. The lack of the BUF would also probably keep quite a few people who became fascists OTL inside their respective parties, which might cause some interesting butterflies. No Public Order Act of 1936? More focus on the Communists as a potential fifth column perhaps? One interesting change is that the flag of the Singaporean People's Action Party is going to be different, as it's a straight copy of the BUF's...
2: Mosley wins Birmingham Ladywood
OTL, Mosley stood against Neville Chamberlain in the 1924 election- he lost by just 77 votes. Let's reverse this, and have Chamberlain being the one who's narrowly defeated. Effects? Well, Mosley's going to have more time to build up a power-base within the Labour Party which can only be a good thing for him. Assuming he comes up with a variation on his OTL economic plan (which is pretty likely IMO) Mosely could very well find himself the head of a large school of thought within the Labour party arguing for radical economic intervention. Mosely probably gets a more juicy cabinet post then OTL, but when he inveitably resigns in frustration at Macdonald he's rather well-placed IMO to become leader of the post-split Party, if A: He can resist his temptation to leave it and start afresh, and B: he retains his seat in 1931. Which would be fun... Do we still need to wait for 1945 for Labour to get in power or would Mosley's decisive leadership seriously weaken the National goverment? Ooh, Mosley as Labour leader would probably bugger around with the abdication, though I've no idea what his stance on that was. Probably pro-David though. Hmmm... might we get an unwisely-called election on the issue that brings down Baldwin and gets Labour into office? Probably not but it'd be an entertaining TL... Any idea where this might go?
3: The Labour delegates adopt the "Mosely Memorandum" in 1930
Really just a variation on #2 with a later PoD- Or does the conference's brave move rescue the Labour government? Such radical policy changes would probably neccesitate the calling of an early election, and would do something to remove the impression of hopeless drift, "boneless-wonders" etc that Labour was giving off at the time.
4: A more successful New Party
Probably needs #2 as a PoD... Mosley gets more of a following in Labour, and when he breaks off in 1930 he takes a dozen MPs with him instead of six. This is a decent nucleus of MPs. In a butterfly, Mosely decides to emphasise the origins of his grouping, and calls his party "New Labour"...
(that phrase really does seem to fit Mosely). In any case, Mosely realises that to truly break the mold of British politics an ally is needed- and who better then that great man of British politics David Lloyd George? Mosley and Lloyd George had similar economic views and Mosley repsected the Welsh Wizard as a man of action so it might not be too implausible. When the election comes round it's fought under a "New Labour/Liberal Alliance" coupon- and Lloyd George's illness means that Mosely takes the dominant role in the partnership over the course of the campaign. With Liberal support the Alliance is able to get getting on for 60 MPs, which is a good start especially if Labour's completely demolished as OTL... Does this create a viable "third force" in British politics, or is it just the SDP-Liberal alliance half a century early? Which is in itself interesting of course...
Thoughts?
1: Very Dead Mosley
The plane crash that OTL left Mosley with a permanant limp (obligatory sarky comeback: "A limp what?") goes a little differently, and the young aristocrat becomes a line on Winchester College's war memorial. Wither interwar British fascism? Does the movement remain very much on the lunatic fringe and future allohistorians futilely spend their time trying to shoehorn Rotha Lintorn-Orman or Arnold Leese into the position of a British Fuhrer instead of Mosely? I have a feeling that without a leader of Mosley's standing the various British fascist movements would be even more hopelessly balkanised and inconsequential then OTL. The lack of the BUF would also probably keep quite a few people who became fascists OTL inside their respective parties, which might cause some interesting butterflies. No Public Order Act of 1936? More focus on the Communists as a potential fifth column perhaps? One interesting change is that the flag of the Singaporean People's Action Party is going to be different, as it's a straight copy of the BUF's...
2: Mosley wins Birmingham Ladywood
OTL, Mosley stood against Neville Chamberlain in the 1924 election- he lost by just 77 votes. Let's reverse this, and have Chamberlain being the one who's narrowly defeated. Effects? Well, Mosley's going to have more time to build up a power-base within the Labour Party which can only be a good thing for him. Assuming he comes up with a variation on his OTL economic plan (which is pretty likely IMO) Mosely could very well find himself the head of a large school of thought within the Labour party arguing for radical economic intervention. Mosely probably gets a more juicy cabinet post then OTL, but when he inveitably resigns in frustration at Macdonald he's rather well-placed IMO to become leader of the post-split Party, if A: He can resist his temptation to leave it and start afresh, and B: he retains his seat in 1931. Which would be fun... Do we still need to wait for 1945 for Labour to get in power or would Mosley's decisive leadership seriously weaken the National goverment? Ooh, Mosley as Labour leader would probably bugger around with the abdication, though I've no idea what his stance on that was. Probably pro-David though. Hmmm... might we get an unwisely-called election on the issue that brings down Baldwin and gets Labour into office? Probably not but it'd be an entertaining TL... Any idea where this might go?
3: The Labour delegates adopt the "Mosely Memorandum" in 1930
Really just a variation on #2 with a later PoD- Or does the conference's brave move rescue the Labour government? Such radical policy changes would probably neccesitate the calling of an early election, and would do something to remove the impression of hopeless drift, "boneless-wonders" etc that Labour was giving off at the time.
4: A more successful New Party
Probably needs #2 as a PoD... Mosley gets more of a following in Labour, and when he breaks off in 1930 he takes a dozen MPs with him instead of six. This is a decent nucleus of MPs. In a butterfly, Mosely decides to emphasise the origins of his grouping, and calls his party "New Labour"...
(that phrase really does seem to fit Mosely). In any case, Mosely realises that to truly break the mold of British politics an ally is needed- and who better then that great man of British politics David Lloyd George? Mosley and Lloyd George had similar economic views and Mosley repsected the Welsh Wizard as a man of action so it might not be too implausible. When the election comes round it's fought under a "New Labour/Liberal Alliance" coupon- and Lloyd George's illness means that Mosely takes the dominant role in the partnership over the course of the campaign. With Liberal support the Alliance is able to get getting on for 60 MPs, which is a good start especially if Labour's completely demolished as OTL... Does this create a viable "third force" in British politics, or is it just the SDP-Liberal alliance half a century early? Which is in itself interesting of course...Thoughts?
