Anarchy in the UK

[Justin Pickard]

What POD (after 1990) would be needed to have the UK in a state of civil war / general anarchy by 2010? Fighting on the streets of London etc. The later the POD, the better.

Ideally, it should get to a point where citizens are afraid to go outside, and where banknotes are burnt to keep people warm.

I'm aiming for a world which feels similar enough to our own to be readily recognisable, but - apart from that - the more divergences, the better. Keep it realistic though.

 

[Thande]

After 1990 is difficult...after the Winter of Discontent etc.

Maybe the Tories do some more elections shenanigans than they did in OTL to try and stave off a Labour landslide and the people get fed up? (I believe in OTL they just altered some electoral constitutiency boundaries, gerrymandering as I believe it's called).

Alternatively something to do with the EU (government signs up to even more outrageous things without consulting the people) or the Iraq war (gets very bloody and the US is seen to not treat Britain any better than it did the countries which stayed out).

 

[Kyle]

Global oil crisis? A major oil provider starts withholding it from everyone? Prices go up sharply everywhere, Britain takes it particularly hard (along with other countries in Europe) due to the already massive taxation on gas. Removing the taxes would make it slightly more attainable for a person to fill their tank, but the government refuses to lower it. Something along those lines could happen any year after 1990, but after 2001 might be even better and more likely.

 

[csa945]

Maybe this was in a dream I had or something like that, but I remember while watching BRAVEHEART on one of those movie+commentary things on TV -- not the History Channel's History vs. Hollywood, but more like DVD on TV (FX) or Dinner & a Movie (TBS) -- it said that BRAVEHEART inspired the Scottish to push for independence in the late 90's -- like '97 or '98.

If I have not dreamed this up, maybe London would try to prevent the breakaway more forcefully (ala Chechnya, perhaps), and seeing the atrocities committed by the British gov't, the Welsh declare independence as well.
Thus Britain would go into a civil war between English, Welsh, Scottish and might as well throw in the Irish, too.

This is pretty darn unrealistic, though.

 

[Nik]

Poll Tax riots ??

Nearly came to that-- and I'm using it as one of several 'subtle' PODs in a story to remind readers that things are different here...

 

[Karlos]

Islamic terrorist spread biological weapons -deadly virus- in USA and UK. People die by hundreds of thousands. USA and UK devastate Syria and Iran in retalliation, muslim world erupts. There is war in Saudi Arabia, coup d'etat evereywhere, oil stops flowing. UK orders internement of all people from arabic origin, but they get weapons and a small guerrilla war erupts in London, where half the population has died from the virus and the economy has collapsed.

 

[Tyr]

Meh Scotland were given their independance anyway, Braveheart had nothing to do with it there was a big devolution movement.
I think to get this you would have to muck up most of the world.