"A Very British Transition" - A Post-Junta Britain TL
- Thread starter powerab
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Generally supportive, Britain is behind the developed world when it comes to IT with computer ownership at around 44% internet access at just 38% so they are trying to boost the IT sector, but this is mostly for domestic benefit, Britain's not going to be an international computing powerhouse anytime soon.
In countries with politicised militaries parades and the like play a very important purpose, not only are they useful for intimidating potential internal enemies but they also act as a propaganda victory for the military. Keeping the parades is worth a lot more to Guthrie than any goodwill to be gained from agreeing to cuts.
Traditional benefits such as unemployment are fairly generous with current unemployment benefit a little under 50 euros a week. However more "modern" benefits such as maternity leave and disability allowance are lot less generous due to the conservative views of the Junta. The Junta saw social security as a way of keeping the public out of trouble, rather than seeing them as a social justice or poverty issue. The Government is working to change this but progress is slow.
Wikibox: Kent Election 2005
The 2005 Kent regional election was held on 14 March 2005, to elect the Parliament of the Province of Kent. All 33 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held alongside the 2005 United Kingdom general election.
Results in Kent were influenced by political controversy derived from the 10 March train bombings in Tonbridge. The ruling National Party exceeded opinion poll expectations by securing a comfortable majority. Incumbent Michael Howard was thus able to be re-elected as President of the Regional Government of Kent. This marked his seventeenth year in the role.
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I know the central focus is meant to be on Britain post-junta, but I’m deeply curious to know which otl brits have/are making names for themselves in Ireland, particularly in politics or entertainment. In much the same way otl Ireland has had kickback against Plastic Paddies, I can see similar kickback in the UK against Bakelite Brits, ie exiles or their kids who claim British heritage who are looked down upon for not having lived through the Junta
How did the Junta approach this newfangled thing called "the Internet", both when it was first introduced, and as it developed around the world?
ITTL, are Birmingham, London and Gloucester still places where there are a large Afro-Caribbean population, as in OTL, or is there a major divergence?
In terms of policing, do we still have forces like West Mercia, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Gwent etc.?
In terms of policing, do we still have forces like West Mercia, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Gwent etc.?
Continues to be one of the best reads on the Board. Thoroughly enjoy each update and look forward to them.
Yes absolutely, so some notable politicians who fled to Dublin include most surviving members of Wilson's Cabinet, such as James Callaghan, Dennis Healey and
John Silkin. People from the art world include Sean Connery, The Smiths, and Sean Bean.
Yes there is absolutely a divide between the exile community and those who "stuck it out" especially on the political left, a lot of folks involved in the armed struggle were suspicious of political exiles.
There were some limited censorship but nothing approaching great firewall levels, in the initial days of the Internet most Brits were so poor and internet infrastructure was so bad it wasn't really a problem, its only as computers became more available and the infrastructure got slightly better that it became a threat, and by then the Junta was collapsing anyway. Even after the fall of the Junta only a minority of Brits have access to the internet.
Was access to the internet restricted only to loyalists (or those who could pay bribes)?
Afro-Carribrean populations remain only slightly lower than OTL as most of them migrated before the coup happened and the Junta tigtened it's borders. Afro-Carribean folk are still numerous in the inner cities, many of them would be active in resistance movement with organisations like the London Black Panthers popping up in black areas like Tottenham. Many of these black leaders like Diane Abbott would go onto to become elected officials.
Policing is handled by the provinces so most metropolitan police services no longer exist.
There was no direct legislation mandating "you must be this loyal to ride". But as computers were so rare and expensive, in reality only elites could get a hold of them, and most elites tended to be loyalists (for obvious reasons). If you weren't in the upper classes the only way to access computers was through the black market.
You mentioned that the regime liberalized in the 1990s and attracted foreign investment. What drove this foreign investment? It can't be cheap labour, since Britain's wages are too high to compete with East Asian emerging economies. It can't be IT, since Britain lacks the educated workforce. North Sea oil would be attractive, but will cause the Dutch disease on the rest of the economy. I'm not sure how this doesn't lead to a financial crisis in the late 1990s or early 2000s. That would line up perfectly with the regime's decline, though.
90s Junta external investment still wasn't particularly high, it was just better than zero. It was mostly foreign consumer goods as Britain had a population of 60 million who whilst weren't rich, were still better off than many of those in the Eastern Bloc. Oil of course was another major investment and when that Bubble burst in the last 90s it led to a financial crisis that contributed to the fall of the Junta.
Seeing how the coup had the backing of the Johnson administration and given the anti communist and militaristic nature of the Junta along with a probable need for continuing US support did Britain become involved in the Vietnam War in any way?
Johnson IOTL was very keen for Britain to play a greater role in the conflict. This may have been a condition for US support for the Junta
Johnson IOTL was very keen for Britain to play a greater role in the conflict. This may have been a condition for US support for the Junta
I imagine a lot of junta-connected businessmen borrowed to the hilt in dollars, egged on by the junta itself in order to buy a few more years. Then perhaps TTL's crisis of the late 90s starts in Britain, rather than Southeast Asia. The Pound Sterling collapses, the businessmen go bust, the middle class lose their life savings, etc. The junta plead for financial aid from the US, but the Clinton Administration refuses.
IOTL, that crisis led to a mass revolt in Indonesia and the collapse of Suharto's New Order regime, and ITTL we could assume the same thing occurred, and that Britain's junta saw the events in Jakarta with horror. However, the military retained a role in politics for a years afterward, and perhaps the British junta decided that it could survive in similar circumstances.
IOTL, that crisis led to a mass revolt in Indonesia and the collapse of Suharto's New Order regime, and ITTL we could assume the same thing occurred, and that Britain's junta saw the events in Jakarta with horror. However, the military retained a role in politics for a years afterward, and perhaps the British junta decided that it could survive in similar circumstances.
British forces were sent to Vietnam but this was kept limited due to Britain's political instability at home and the war's unpopularity. There was no draft only professional British soldiers, similar to New Zealand's contribution except on a much larger scale.