DBWI: British politics without the Conservative-Labour coalition?

How would British politics have played out if Labour and the Tories hadn't decided to put aside their differences and form the fateful coalition government?
 

Deleted member 94708

Well, healthy electoral competition likely allows Britain to avoid the post-war slow descent into a soft autocracy, for one. It's been clear for decades that the Liberals and the Socialists are both token opposition parties and any position of any importance is contested in the smoke-filled backrooms of National Coalition clubs, not on the ballot.

Anyone been to London lately? I was there on business last month and it has become a veritable panopticon, surveillance gear on every lamppost and street corner. Kinda scary.

(OOC: :p)
 
There'd be anarchy, or at least no economy worth speaking of - if the Coalition hadn't been formed, then recovery from the war would be virtually impossible. That sort of thing is something you can only do with a long-term plan, which in turn means that you need a long-term government. With a more 'democratic' system (and I use the word cautiously, since Britain is still a democracy, no matter what the Radical Party claims in their propaganda; it's just that most people like having a stable government. What would they prefer, people to disagree for the sake of it?), then this would be impossible - every time a new party was elected, they'd tear up the plans of the last party and start from scratch, or face heavy criticism from friends and foes alike. With this sort of electoral seesaw, there'd be nothing that could compare to the Grand Reform Programme, and so no restoration of the British economy.

As for the surveillance - I know Britain is often criticised for this among other countries, but it really is the most sensible way. Only criminals and Radicals have anything to fear from surveillance - the innocent have nothing to hide. In any case, of course the government can be trusted with all this information - after all, they're here to protect the citizens, and allow us to develop correctly, not to oppress us or blackmail us. Perhaps it's just a cultural thing - we Brits know we have leaders who can be trusted with this power, unlike most other countries, after all...
 
There'd be anarchy, or at least no economy worth speaking of - if the Coalition hadn't been formed, then recovery from the war would be virtually impossible. That sort of thing is something you can only do with a long-term plan, which in turn means that you need a long-term government. With a more 'democratic' system (and I use the word cautiously, since Britain is still a democracy, no matter what the Radical Party claims in their propaganda; it's just that most people like having a stable government. What would they prefer, people to disagree for the sake of it?), then this would be impossible - every time a new party was elected, they'd tear up the plans of the last party and start from scratch, or face heavy criticism from friends and foes alike. With this sort of electoral seesaw, there'd be nothing that could compare to the Grand Reform Programme, and so no restoration of the British economy.

As for the surveillance - I know Britain is often criticised for this among other countries, but it really is the most sensible way. Only criminals and Radicals have anything to fear from surveillance - the innocent have nothing to hide. In any case, of course the government can be trusted with all this information - after all, they're here to protect the citizens, and allow us to develop correctly, not to oppress us or blackmail us. Perhaps it's just a cultural thing - we Brits know we have leaders who can be trusted with this power, unlike most other countries, after all...
Quite, quite.
[OOC I would presume I'll be noting anyone who appears to be acting subversively...]
 
Well I don't know about those dastardly Radicals, but I'll be casting my vote for the Commonwealth Party in the next election. We won almost 30 seats in the last election, and if we have a good enough showing the Nationals will have to pay attention.
 
Well I don't know about those dastardly Radicals, but I'll be casting my vote for the Commonwealth Party in the next election. We won almost 30 seats in the last election, and if we have a good enough showing the Nationals will have to pay attention.

The Commonwealth Party aren't subversives, at least - but I still wouldn't trust them with power. With the National Coalition, we know what we're getting - strong and stable government. Why get rid of a government that's already doing a perfectly good job?
 

Deleted member 94708

Anyone else outside Britain care to weigh in? (Sigh)
 
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