AHC: Alan Sugar as British Prime Minister

Considering the fortunes of an Apprentice star in American Politics right now, this got me thinking about whether it would be possible for Trump's British Counterpart to do as well, or maybe even better.

Alan Sugar has supposedly been asked by Labour Party officials to run for London Mayor before, and was made a Lord late on in Gordon Brown's premiership.

How realistic is it that he could have taken a more involved path into politics, with a POD after he had gained more fame in the public's eyes through the BBC show debuts?
 
It takes a lot more time for someone in UK politics to get to the top offices of state. I suppose if he had ran for a seat in 2010 and then found himself as leader before 2015, winning that election, he'd be PM. But it's very difficult to get that to happen.

Also, it's interesting that it isn't clear what party he'd be in. He viewed Labour as "the Tories but better" until 2010. He basically left Labour before the 2015 election, so under Miliband, but didn't move to being a crossbencher until after the election. So he could easily get into the Tories if you play it right.
 
Ken Livingstone falls ill due to a surfeit of truffles just before the London Mayoral elections of 2008, leading to Alan Sugar standing as the Labour candidate. He beats Boris due to similar levels of star-power and being seen as "more serious".

After the rise of Ed Miliband as the new leader of Labour in 2010, Sugar (not a Lord here, since he is mayor) became increasingly convinced that the party was on a dangerous path, and opted to not seek re-election as mayor in 2012, instead seeking to join parliament in the earliest by-election he could find. He would only have to wait 6 months, entering parliament on his first try in the Rotherham by election where the previous (Labour) MP had resigned over false expense claims. In this by election, his theme of "honest dealing" would first take shape.

As an MP, Sugar would become a familiar voice of criticism for Miliband and the coalition government. While his naked ambition would attract plenty of counter-criticism, his energetic support of the party in the by elections leading up to 2015 and the 2015 general election itself gave Sugar a reputation as being "dangerous but loyal".

After the humiliation of the 2015 elections, Miliband would resign and Sugar would put himself forward as new leader, promising to take the party back to "sensible socialism" that would be a friend to good business and hard work, securing the support of the "blairite" wing of the party. At the same time, Sugar's populism would lead to him securing enough votes from the left to secure the leadership, ahead of Jeremy Corbyn who finished in second place.

And now I want to see Alan Sugar doing PMQs with David Cameron...

fasquardon
 
Ken Livingstone falls ill due to a surfeit of truffles just before the London Mayoral elections of 2008, leading to Alan Sugar standing as the Labour candidate. He beats Boris due to similar levels of star-power and being seen as "more serious".

After the rise of Ed Miliband as the new leader of Labour in 2010, Sugar (not a Lord here, since he is mayor) became increasingly convinced that the party was on a dangerous path, and opted to not seek re-election as mayor in 2012, instead seeking to join parliament in the earliest by-election he could find. He would only have to wait 6 months, entering parliament on his first try in the Rotherham by election where the previous (Labour) MP had resigned over false expense claims. In this by election, his theme of "honest dealing" would first take shape.

As an MP, Sugar would become a familiar voice of criticism for Miliband and the coalition government. While his naked ambition would attract plenty of counter-criticism, his energetic support of the party in the by elections leading up to 2015 and the 2015 general election itself gave Sugar a reputation as being "dangerous but loyal".

After the humiliation of the 2015 elections, Miliband would resign and Sugar would put himself forward as new leader, promising to take the party back to "sensible socialism" that would be a friend to good business and hard work, securing the support of the "blairite" wing of the party. At the same time, Sugar's populism would lead to him securing enough votes from the left to secure the leadership, ahead of Jeremy Corbyn who finished in second place.

And now I want to see Alan Sugar doing PMQs with David Cameron...

fasquardon
I don't know if I can see Sugar winning the support of the Labour membership quite so easily. Maybe in 2008 he could be selected to run for Mayor of London, but by the time Ed Miliband is leader the membership is in an increasingly left wing mood and I doubt his win in 2015 can be explained away by populist sentiment within Labour.

There was some of that, but at the same time there was also frustration at the possibility of a move to the right that Corbyn was the only alternative too. Someone who so blatantly criticised Ed Miliband from the right would go down like a lead balloon.
 
I don't know if I can see Sugar winning the support of the Labour membership quite so easily. Maybe in 2008 he could be selected to run for Mayor of London, but by the time Ed Miliband is leader the membership is in an increasingly left wing mood and I doubt his win in 2015 can be explained away by populist sentiment within Labour.

There was some of that, but at the same time there was also frustration at the possibility of a move to the right that Corbyn was the only alternative too. Someone who so blatantly criticised Ed Miliband from the right would go down like a lead balloon.

Yes, possibly. On the other hand, the right criticisms could win over the left, I think. Particularly if Sugar came across as a politician of real conviction and of real loyalty. I think one of the biggest problems that Corbyn's opponents faced is that Corbyn out-did them in genuineness and most of the party (particularly at the grass roots) were exhausted with the Blairite triangulation. The loyalty part is important because I don't think anyone wanted more blairite-brownite factionalism.

fasquardon
 
Perhaps in 2009 he turns down Brown's offer of a peerage and instead wants a seat in the House of Commons. Diane Abbott literally fucking dies or something and he gets selected in Hackney North & Stoke Newington because he's A Right Proper Geeza, winning the seat comfortably. He originally says that he's entering politics to give a voice to business in parliament, but early on into David Miliband's leadership, it's clear that he's running a secret cabal plotting against the leadership, which is dithering from one policy fiasco to another. After Miliband is photographed coughing up a banana, Simon Danczuk announced that he wants to challenge Miliband's leadership. This leads to a few awkward phone calls and Miliband eventually says that he's stepping down. Sir Alan Sugar says he's "reluctantly putting his name forward for the good of the party" and wins simply because no-one else dares to challenge him.

Sir Alan's leadership is initially met with a cautious, even hostile, response from the party membership, feeling that he was put into office by a New Labour conspiracy and lacks a democratic mandate. However, the celebrity appeal helps Labour shoot up the polls and appeal more to Middle England than an incompetent and divided coalition. Labour win a majority similar to the Tories' in 2015.
 
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