AHC: Best possible surviving British Empire

In TLs I've seen where the British Empire survives, social progress is always retarded compared to OTL (the most egregious example being Turtledove's The Two Georges). Let's not do that--in fact, if possible, let's do the opposite; give me a plausible, even if barely so, TL where the Empire liberalizes earlier and in a way where it doesn't shed colonies.
 
not shedding its colonies, but still is socially liberal... probably ASB. However perhaps the United Kingdom could elevate the status of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and keep them within the fold.
 
The problem is that full liberalization and social progress requires giving a full voice and rights to all its inhabitants, and thus such a liberalized British Empire would be neither British nor an Empire.
 
That's not a problem for me. And I reckon that if you get people to think of themselves as citizens of the empire more, it won't be much of a problem for them, either.
 
That's not a problem for me. And I reckon that if you get people to think of themselves as citizens of the empire more, it won't be much of a problem for them, either.

Getting people to think of themselves that way is not easy. The main obstacle is population: in most scenarios, what you descibe would inevitably become the Indian Empire. There being so many people in India and all, democracy + truly equal representation would automatically mean that India controls the empire.

Therefore, I'd suggest having Britain not gain India in the first place. If they then reform their empire, turning it into an imperial federation, it could work out. Citizens would consider themselves "Irish citizens of the Empire," "Australian citizens of the Empire" or "South African citizens of the Empire," but they'd all consider the British monarch as their head of state, and London as the capital of the civilized world.
 
You'd probably need a 2-tiered empire: white colonies become members of an imperial federation, the other colonies remain with limited/no rights, and maybe become commonwealths at some point. The federal parliament in Westminster decides issues wrt foreign affairs, the military, India, etc.
 
Or what about creating an Indian or Anglo-Indian Empire?

Probably because the British Empire derived much of its justification to rule on unashamedly racist attitudes. The United Kingdom would be likelier to cast India out, loss of prestige be damned, than to permit Indian influence over Britain.

Perversely, a situation where the UK suffers major colonial losses to France or some other European power would probably aid the survival of the British Empire. It would permit the UK and the Dominions (those with populations mostly descended from Britons) to become more unified in the face of Great Threat X (the French, the Americans, the Russians, who knows?), without the problem of having to give voting rights to many millions of "racially inferior" people.

Take away British racism and you take away Britain's main justification to rule its colonies in the first place. This strikes me as incompatible with the idea of a surviving British Empire.
 
Problem with that is that we need to get them those rights eventually.

Surely new justifications can be dreamed up when the racist ones become politically incorrect; I mean hell, just switch it from "White Man's Burden" to "Civilized Man's Burden". (Well, not "just", obviously; there's going to need to be real changes to how the empire is run, after all.)
 
Or what about creating an Indian or Anglo-Indian Empire?

A split would be cool. Say Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and maybe South Africa stay within the empire. Of course.with much elevated positions. I think they would need a proportional say in foreign policy. They rest of the Empire is lead by India. There would have has to be a POD that somehow increase India's power and ability to project it in order to maintain sure a empire.
 
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