AHC: Balkanise the UK

Hi everyone.

I've been reading a few TLs (Land of Confusion, Road to Willa Castra) where the USA never formed or broke up into parts.

With the idea of a British election TL where its broken up into parts in the back of my head. I set the challenge of plausibly dividing the UK into smaller countries.

Bonus points for:
  • At least one being a democratic republic
  • More than one being kingdoms (possibly with rulers within the same family)
  • One or more not being along the lines of individual sub-states (Ireland/NI, Wales, Scotland, England)
  • The Closest PoD to the present.
I'll try and attempt this shortly
 
The Scottish devolution referendum of 1979 reaches its threshold and a Scottish Assembly is created eighteen years early, elected by First Past the Post. When the Tories lose power in the UK in 1991, Labour enters office, but its one-term Government is perceived to be a failure, allowing for the SNP to enter office in a coalition with the Liberals in the 1995 Scottish election. A referendum on independence is narrowly won by the Scots in 2002, following the re-election of Michael Portillo's Conservative government.

Meanwhile, in their 91-96 term in office, Labour introduced devolved assemblies for Wales and the English regions, and these proved to be strong bedrocks of Labour power in the country, elected by STV every three years. By 2013, the North East regional assembly has never passed out of Labour majority control, and Wales and the North West have only been held briefly by Conservative-led coalitions. With the West and East Midlands being the only regional assemblies likely to swing in either direction, serious consideration is being given by the unpopular Conservative UK government to the abolition of the system, which is strongly opposed by Labour.

In 2007, following the death of Princess Diana and a record rise in unpopularity for the monarchy, Scotland under a Lab/SDP coalition holds another referendum on whether to become a republic, which is won by the narrowest of margins.

This sounds like a terribly interesting TL, I have to say. Here are the Governments I had in mind.

UK Government
1979-1991: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)
1991-1996: Roy Hattersley (Labour)
1996-2003: Michael Portillo (Conservative)
2003-present: ? (Conservative)

Scottish Government
1981-1986: Conservative/Liberal coalition (Devolved)
1986-1995: Labour majority (Devolved)
1995-1999: SNP/Liberal coalition (Devolved)
1999-2003: SNP majority (Devolved)
2003-2006: SNP majority (Independent)
2006-present: Labour/SDP coalition (Independent)

Welsh Government
1996-1999: Conservative/SDP coalition
1999-2008: Labour/Liberal coalition
2008-2011: Labour majority
2011-present: Labour/Plaid coalition

North East Government
1996-present: Labour majority

North West Government
1996-1999: Conservative/Liberal coalition
1999-2002: Labour/SDP coalition
2002-present: Labour majority

West Midlands Government
1996-2005: Conservative majority
2005-present: Labour majority

East Midlands Government
1996-2002: Conservative majority
2002-2005: Conservative/Liberal/SDP coalition
2005-2008: Labour majority
2008-present: Labour/Liberal coalition

South East Government
1996-2005: Conservative majority
2005-2008: Labour/Liberal/SDP coalition
2008-present: Conservative majority

South West Government
1996-1999: Conservative majority
1999-2002: Liberal/Labour coalition
2002-2005: Conservative majority
2005-2008: Liberal majority
2008-present: Conservative/Labour coalition
 
I don't think that'll work. The North-East England devolution referrendum indicates it was quite probably the least popular government reorganisation to ever be seriously suggested in the last 20 years.
 
What about: The Winter of Discontent goes colder and colder, Unions strike longer and in more areas (of business). The "Crisis? What crisis?" attitude carries on much longer, but when there is a real crisis (unburied dead in masses, no fuel,...), Jimmy orders the Army in.

The Army suppresses the revolts brutally, which ruins Jimmys reputation. Additionally, Jim introduces laws that disallow any payrises (or cap them at a very low limit, like 0,5 %) which is not struck down by the courts.

The Trade Unions protest for such a long time that an "independence movement" forms and the Syndicalist Republic of the Midlands is proclaimed around August 1979.

Realistic?
 
What about: The Winter of Discontent goes colder and colder, Unions strike longer and in more areas (of business). The "Crisis? What crisis?" attitude carries on much longer, but when there is a real crisis (unburied dead in masses, no fuel,...), Jimmy orders the Army in.

The Army suppresses the revolts brutally, which ruins Jimmys reputation. Additionally, Jim introduces laws that disallow any payrises (or cap them at a very low limit, like 0,5 %) which is not struck down by the courts.

The Trade Unions protest for such a long time that an "independence movement" forms and the Syndicalist Republic of the Midlands is proclaimed around August 1979.

Realistic?

Honestly? If we get anywhere near the point where the government can claim the Unions have shut down the country, then even if Westminster have been completely incompetent the best the unions can really hope for is a 'pox on both your houses' attitude from the public. A change of government is possible, the idea of an independent essentially communist government run by the people who have apparently brought communism to her knees at the height of the Cold War is not. Besides opening themselves up to charges of being stooges of Moscow, Britain and the US aren't going to tolerate that sort of thing. Suffice to say you've probably just set a course of events in motion that kills the Trade Unions (and by extension probably the Labour Party).

Britain'll suffer though, and you might get things like Scotland breaking off, something awful going down in NI. Could make a good TL...
 

Dirk_Pitt

Banned
The Nazis invade Brit--


NO!

Oh, okay...:eek:

The Normans fail in their invasion of Britain and the Anglo-Saxons continue on, but fracture at some point in the future. See I did it without the Unmentionable SeaMamal!
 
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