What is the most plausible way to get Enoch Powell the job of Prime Minister of the UK, avoiding personality transplants and brainwashing as much as possible?
AHC Enoch Powell as PM of the UK
- Thread starter Galba Otho Vitelius
- Start date
Gallup Polling, April-May 1968
“74 per cent of those asked agreed with his speech and only 15 per cent disagreed, with 11 per cent unsure.”
So if he can navigate party politics somehow the public has zero problems with the Speech.
“74 per cent of those asked agreed with his speech and only 15 per cent disagreed, with 11 per cent unsure.”
So if he can navigate party politics somehow the public has zero problems with the Speech.
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
I liked the general outline of Gordon Banks TL - have Wilson win in 1970, and then Powell emerges as a frontrunner for the Tory leadership.
I think it'd take another loss in 74-5 for the Tories to turn to Powell.
Except those who thankfully disagreed with this ndividual were constituted in large part of the educated political classes. The only way he comes to power is violently as he would not get buy in from any mainstream party I hope we are not having a TL on this as the racism he espoused would make dire reading
Except in the 60s/70s public opinion counted for squat in terms of Conservative party leadership. Even the opinion of the members was a secondary consideration, he needed the parliamentary party onside and the way Powell (as shadow secretary of defence) had attempted to bounce the party into a new policy on home affairs (and more or less tied hat position explicitly to racism) had made him no shortage of enemies there.
you'd probably need a combination of BNP electoral breakthroughs, Labour failures, and getting short shrift by the United States in a major diplomatic engagement for this to happen.
As an aside to this, has anyone ever done an Eric Clapton as a Parliament member for the National Front? Or otherwise becoming a sort of "young hip" Enoch successor?
Apparently in the British parliamentary system it matters little the publics approval of a politician, they vote the party. The party insiders choose the Prime Minister so I don't see a way for Powell to get the post.
And no matter how badly the Yanks slap around the Brits, Powell's anti-Americanism is gonna be a definite deal-breaker for his aspirations. I know it's a High Tory fantasy(popular on AH among other venues), but the idea that the people who were eg. cheering on the Loyalists in Belfast would stand up against the CIA worldview is totally implausible.
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If Clapton was doing as much hard drugs as is generally assumed, that alone is gonna be a bonanza for his political opponents. I think there's a reason why we have actor politicians(eg. Glenda Jackson), writer politicians(eg. Havel), but, as far as I know, no rock star politicians.
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
I did see an infobox once on here with George Harrison as the leader of the Natural Law party.
I believe Tom Driberg(a sexually adventrous socialist MP and reputed crowleyite) is supposed to have encouraged Mick Jagger to run, but that would kinda be like a clown backing a jester, if I may be allowed to coin a phrase.
I fail to follow: right wing Anti-Americanism and the idea that they were, at least partly, fuelling the IRA often went hand in hand.
The list is pretty thin. I only came up with Frank Zappa (fringe member of Czech government) Tony Blair (had played guitar in a band when a teen) and Bill Clinton (played sax). There are more musicians who get involved in political activism with varying degrees of acceptability, but that's a different case.