AHC: Sanders for Prime Minister, Corbyn for President

So this is a rather fun AHC - have Bernie Sanders be Leader of the Labour Party, and Jeremy (or, let's Americanize) Jerry Corbyn a Senator from some place (you can think that place through - Maine perhaps?) who is running/ran for President.
 
Last edited:
Can you remove the "Bernie" from "Bernie Sanders"? Sorry to be so nitpicky, but there's no need to have things be that specific, especially when we already know what you mean in the title of the thread. :)

And no, this isn't some sort of ploy to have you replace "Bernie Sanders" with a less-specific "Sanders" so that I can use Bernie's elder brother Larry Sanders to more realistically meet your demands. No, not at all, not one bit.
 
Can you remove the "Bernie" from "Bernie Sanders"? Sorry to be so nitpicky, but there's no need to have things be that specific, especially when we already know what you mean in the title of the thread. :)

And no, this isn't some sort of ploy to have you replace "Bernie Sanders" with a less-specific "Sanders" so that I can use Bernie's elder brother Larry Sanders to more realistically meet your demands. No, not at all, not one bit.

Maybe Bernie, not Larry, moves overseas. ;)
 
Can you remove the "Bernie" from "Bernie Sanders"? Sorry to be so nitpicky, but there's no need to have things be that specific, especially when we already know what you mean in the title of the thread. :)

And no, this isn't some sort of ploy to have you replace "Bernie Sanders" with a less-specific "Sanders" so that I can use Bernie's elder brother Larry Sanders to more realistically meet your demands. No, not at all, not one bit.
Given that his brother is a British politician, I think leaving it in makes sense.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Sanders_(politician)
 
It seems relatively easy to get Bernie to move to the UK given that his brother did so and did become a Labour member till leaving under Blair. But I have no idea how you would get Corbyn to move to the US, given his political differences with just about every US government. And even then, you have the whole 'natural born citizen' issue which has to be removed either through constitutional amendment, or to have Corbyn born in completely different circumstances, in which case he isnt really Corbyn anymore.
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
Moving to ASB in three...two...one...
It's not ASB; Sanders himself could have moved to the United Kingdom in his youth and become involved in politics growing up. There would have been a lot for a young intellectual to work with during the 60's and 70's, and if we really want to do a 1 on 1 analogy, he could become involved in Civil Rights activism in the Province before the situation disintegrated. This scenario would mean he's either killed by Loyalists, or becomes something resembling the current Shadow Chancellor John MacDonnell. How he can become Prime Minister is a little beyond me, but I can see Sanders ceiling as the Cabinet/Shadow Cabinet.

Corbyn however is the tricky goose. His parents, Conway Hallist peace activists who met at a meeting to support the Spanish Republic aren't exactly the types who'd move to America. I can see him immigrating in his youth, but the ceiling then becomes Senatorial or Governorship, not Presidential.

And also, can we please stop throwing ASB around, because this isn't ASB.
 

Wallet

Banned
Have Sanders Jewish polish parents immigrate to Britain not America. This is the same story with Ed Milibrand.

He wins the 1991 general election after years of Thatchar
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
Have Sanders Jewish polish parents immigrate to Britain not America. This is the same story with Ed Milibrand.

He wins the 1991 general election after years of Thatchar
Then his Father (the Polish Jewish Immigrant) would have never met his Mother (the second generation Russo-Polish Jewish immigrant who was born in America), thus meaning he would have never been born.

And the second half is as likely as Corbyn having won that election.

EDIT: To build on this, let's assume that Sanders is still born in America 1941, and his parents move to the United Kingdom in 1948-1952, for whatever reason. The earliest Sanders could plausibility be elected to Parliament is at the age of 21, so the first election he can actually contest is 1966. Now Bernie doesn't strike me as the kind of man who would go into politics so suddenly, at least in the sense of entering Parliament. So lets say he defers for a few years and enjoys the the White Heat, assuming he's even a Labour member, maybe running in a Council seat. So he runs in 1970. Not a good year for Labour or the Liberals, and as an American Jewish Immigrant, he's not really going to do well anyway. So he tries again in 1974. Maybe he can get in on a sliver, riding on the dissatisfaction of the Tories, cementing himself with a larger majority in the second '74 election.

Or maybe he doesn't get selected until 1979, when a safe seat with a large Jewish population (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) is opened for him. So he enters Parliament now- he retains the seat in 1983, and is able to steadily build his majority in 1987, avoiding deselection like Ernie Roberts. But where does Bernie stand? Does he stand on the Labour left, which would mean any kind of potential is killed in 1985 and the following years, or does he stand on the right, in which he might find a cushy position in Kinnock's cabinet and in the Modernizers, maybe even defect to the SDP. However, he's not yet prime for Leadership. He's been there for only two Parliaments, and assuming his moving to Britain hasn't caused butterflies of gargantuan proportion, Kinnock isn't going to stand down for him, especially if Thatcher is hanging on for 1991, which would be a Labour slam dunk.
 
Last edited:
Top