Ah nice, some Khasbulatov action, a fascinating fellow, though I'm sure that nothing bad will happen to him due to his Chechian origins and Russia's general instability. Nothing bad at all.
Exocet - the Effects of a different Falklands
- Thread starter Nevran
- Start date
Khasbulatov, as well as having a rad name, is one of the those figures who might've been able to avoid the economically ruinous plan taken by Yeltsin and his oligarchs. But then again, 1990s Russia was a crapshoot so any potential president was probably doomed to suffer.
Kurt Cobain
A/N: This is probably one of the more difficult parts of the TL I’ve written so far, but I hope what I’ve written is respectful both to those who suffer from addiction issues and to Cobain and Love themselves.
I’ve included a helpline for drug addiction in the US and the UK so if you or anyone you know is struggling from addiction issues, please reach out to either SAMHSA at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) if you’re in the US or 0800 77 66 00 (freephone) FRANK (National Drugs Helpline) if you're in the UK.
Kurt Cobain’s life and death is almost Shakespearean in its nature, thanks to both its spectacle, and its tragedy.
Singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic met while attending Aberdeen High School in Washington state. Novolesic and Cobain shared a love of punk and rock, and would eventually form Nirvana. After a well-received first album Bleach, Nirvana (mostly Cobain who served as the band’s main songwriter and composer) began to work on its second, originally titled Sheep. After switching record companies from Sub Pop to DGC, Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with their drummer Chad Channing. Channing also became frustrated in the band, at not being involved in song-writing. However, they found a new drummer, Dave Grohl, whose punk band Scream had dramatically and unexpectedly broke up earlier that year. Together, they began to compose their magnum opus, Nevermind.
Cobain, despite his genius, was troubled and was addicted to multiple drugs including LSD, cannabis and heroin. Throughout his life he also suffered from both alcoholism and solvent abuse. These issues would grow when touring and when preforming. So, with the release of Nevermind and mainstream success of the band, these issues only worsened.
It would be at the height of their acclaim that the band suffered its greatest loss. On January 11, 1992, Nevermind hit No. 1 on Billboard album charts, knocking off Michael Jackson's Dangerous. On the same day, Nirvana made their first appearance on Saturday Night Live, a rite of passage for any new band looking to establish themselves. The next morning, Cobain, 24, was found to have suffered a lethal overdose after injecting heroin; with his then girlfriend Courtney Love, unable to resuscitate him.
The police investigation into Cobain’s death discovered that not only had Love been using heroin herself, but that she was pregnant with Cobain’s child. Love’s testimony afterwards, in which she claimed she was unaware of her pregnancy, was leaked to the press and was met with a barrage of hate and criticism. This incident saw their son Kurt (named after his father), taken away from Love once born and custodially awarded to Love's sister, Jaimee. Love would leave the public eye, in an attempt to both regain custody of her son, and in order to enter rehab to recover.
Shortly after Cobain’s death, DGC and Novoselic and Grohl announced a sizeable percentage of the proceeds and royalties from Nevermind would be given to charities which specialise in helping addicts and funding rehabilitation clinics. Nevermind remained No. 1 for 6 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Albums until it was knocked off by Garth Brooks’ Ropin’ the Wind. Nevermind, however, would be the most popular album of 1992.
Kurt Cobain has become one of the icons of the 1990s, symbolising the decade which followed his death. His band, Nirvana, despite only having released two albums, would become one of the most important bands of the 20th century and popularised both ‘grunge’ and ‘Seattle’ into the cultural zeitgeist.
I’ve included a helpline for drug addiction in the US and the UK so if you or anyone you know is struggling from addiction issues, please reach out to either SAMHSA at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) if you’re in the US or 0800 77 66 00 (freephone) FRANK (National Drugs Helpline) if you're in the UK.
Kurt Cobain’s life and death is almost Shakespearean in its nature, thanks to both its spectacle, and its tragedy.
Singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic met while attending Aberdeen High School in Washington state. Novolesic and Cobain shared a love of punk and rock, and would eventually form Nirvana. After a well-received first album Bleach, Nirvana (mostly Cobain who served as the band’s main songwriter and composer) began to work on its second, originally titled Sheep. After switching record companies from Sub Pop to DGC, Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with their drummer Chad Channing. Channing also became frustrated in the band, at not being involved in song-writing. However, they found a new drummer, Dave Grohl, whose punk band Scream had dramatically and unexpectedly broke up earlier that year. Together, they began to compose their magnum opus, Nevermind.
Cobain, despite his genius, was troubled and was addicted to multiple drugs including LSD, cannabis and heroin. Throughout his life he also suffered from both alcoholism and solvent abuse. These issues would grow when touring and when preforming. So, with the release of Nevermind and mainstream success of the band, these issues only worsened.
It would be at the height of their acclaim that the band suffered its greatest loss. On January 11, 1992, Nevermind hit No. 1 on Billboard album charts, knocking off Michael Jackson's Dangerous. On the same day, Nirvana made their first appearance on Saturday Night Live, a rite of passage for any new band looking to establish themselves. The next morning, Cobain, 24, was found to have suffered a lethal overdose after injecting heroin; with his then girlfriend Courtney Love, unable to resuscitate him.
The police investigation into Cobain’s death discovered that not only had Love been using heroin herself, but that she was pregnant with Cobain’s child. Love’s testimony afterwards, in which she claimed she was unaware of her pregnancy, was leaked to the press and was met with a barrage of hate and criticism. This incident saw their son Kurt (named after his father), taken away from Love once born and custodially awarded to Love's sister, Jaimee. Love would leave the public eye, in an attempt to both regain custody of her son, and in order to enter rehab to recover.
Shortly after Cobain’s death, DGC and Novoselic and Grohl announced a sizeable percentage of the proceeds and royalties from Nevermind would be given to charities which specialise in helping addicts and funding rehabilitation clinics. Nevermind remained No. 1 for 6 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Albums until it was knocked off by Garth Brooks’ Ropin’ the Wind. Nevermind, however, would be the most popular album of 1992.
Kurt Cobain has become one of the icons of the 1990s, symbolising the decade which followed his death. His band, Nirvana, despite only having released two albums, would become one of the most important bands of the 20th century and popularised both ‘grunge’ and ‘Seattle’ into the cultural zeitgeist.
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True, economically he was always closer to the Social Democratic/EuroCommunist Wing of the Reformists and so he wouldn’t do the Shock Tactics of Yeltsin.
But also he did ally with as part of the National Salvation Committee, Die Hard Stalinists/National Bolsheviks and a few Fascists in 1993 alongside Rutskoy so...yeah.
Yeah, committing a bit of light treason is always a black mark on you.
Even if he formed this alliance out of political necessity, to try and get enough votes to impeach Yeltsin before the coup, it still sort of blows up his arguments of trying to save the Russian constitution and democracy.
But you know, here he's actually in power and doesn't need the support of these guys, so he might turn out good?
[He doesn't.]
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
My younger brother was a huge Nirvana fan who died last year from a fentanyl overdose at 24. I'd rather see Kurt go out that way than the way he did OTL, as gut wrenching as my own family's experience was.
Oh god, I am so sorry to hear about your brother and I can’t imagine how horrible that must have been to go through. I’m sorry as well that the update would’ve been a difficult and painful one to read, based on you and your family’s experience.
Cobain is one of those tragic figures in history who had so much to offer to the world but couldn’t find a way to balance the fame with his addictions and mental illnesses. I love Nirvana and even if I wasn’t alive during their time, I can imagine how jarring Cobain’s death would’ve been. Hopefully Cobain’s death in this TL (whilst all deaths are tragic) would’ve a least led to some good, or if good isn’t the right word, less pain in the world.
1992 US presidential election
Gary Hart’s vision of a new America hit an almost immediate roadblock after his triumphant election and inauguration. His legislative agenda, vast in both vision and in intended consequences, was too much for the party to swallow. This was because the tensions within the Democratic Party between its various wings worsened. Without a common foe (Reagan in the White House), finding and reaching agreement was almost impossible. Whilst a budget omnibus bill was passed, which repealed some of the more egregious parts of Reaganomics and predicted a budget surplus in 1995, alongside a crime bill (later reviled by liberals and in part repealed), other legislative proposals such as reforms to healthcare were swept under the rug. Meanwhile, scandal seemed rampant in Washington, with House Speaker Jim Wright resigning due to dodgy dealings in his native Texas, the Keating Scandal (which fell the once-promising career of John McCain) and members of the Administration resigning in disgrace, such as Transport Secretary Neil Goldschimdt. Hart, whose campaign was seen as a breath of fresh air after the scandals of the Reagan Administration, had become muddied in the tar.
Even once consensual politics, such as judicial appointments, turned into a gruelling affair. The difficult nomination of Mario Cuomo to the Supreme Court, replacing William Brennan, seemed to replicate the ‘Borking’ faced previously. Against Republican intransigence and hostility from the Southern wing of the party, the process sucked up political capital and the goodwill from Hart’s election. Whilst Cuomo was eventually confirmed, it saw the Administration take a more critical view of Washington. The appointment of Harry Edwards to replace Thurgood Marshall, however, saw little such controversy.
As the economy entered a slump in 1990, voters cared more about their check-book balances rather than foreign adventurism and the foreign policy successes seen with the end of the Cold War. It would be domestic issues which dominated the 1990 midterms, and this was, in part, responsible for the Republican Party winning control of the House of Representatives, for the first time since 1955.
Hart, now a lame duck, was unpopular in both the country and his party. However, when former Senator Bill Bradley (one of the Democratic casualties of 1990, who lost Christine Todd Whitman) announced he was running for President, he struggled to replicate Kennedy’s challenge to Carter in 1980. Whilst not winning a single contest, Bradley gained a respectable share of the primary vote, mostly from liberals and organized labor disenchanted with Hart.
The Republicans, meanwhile, attempted to find a candidate to return them to the White House. The initial front-runners such as Bob Dole, Lynn Martin and Pete Wilson, were seen as too liberal for the increasingly conservative party, which had swelled in the Southern states after 1990. Enter Tommy Thompson, a fresh-faced Republican and two-term governor of Wisconsin. A principled conservative, Thompson made frequent boasts that as governor he had had "never raised taxes" and appealed to social conservatives on welfare reform he enacted. Thompson tapped into the Republican base who were tired of moderate establishment heavyweights. His selection of Lamar Alexander as his running mate, complemented Thompson’s own strengths of being young(ish), and representing principled and reformist conservatism.
The election was one of the most interesting in American history, mostly thanks to the quixotic independent campaign of populists Ross Perot and John Silber, who polled in first place in August 1992 at 37%, slowly declined as prolonged exposure and a confident Republican campaign sapped their support base. A convincing debate performance by Hart aside, Thompson ran on bread-and-butter economics, and borrowing a phrase asked Americans “are you better off than you were four years ago?” Like with Carter before, the phrase killed Hart’s re-election chances. The sniping by former Fed Chairman (and later Treasury Secretary) Alan Greenspan, who had been summarily dismissed as the economy stagnated in the early 1990s recession, further damaged Hart. It was "the economy stupid", surmised by Democratic political commentator James Carville, that doomed Hart.
Gary Hart, thus, would be consigned to become a one-term President. Like Carter before him, Hart was a good man who had been elected promising renewal and change and would be undone by circumstances outside their control and be replaced by a sunny conservative in the White House. Unlike his Republican contemporaries and predecessors however, Thompson would enjoy a trifecta in Washington, with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate.
Even once consensual politics, such as judicial appointments, turned into a gruelling affair. The difficult nomination of Mario Cuomo to the Supreme Court, replacing William Brennan, seemed to replicate the ‘Borking’ faced previously. Against Republican intransigence and hostility from the Southern wing of the party, the process sucked up political capital and the goodwill from Hart’s election. Whilst Cuomo was eventually confirmed, it saw the Administration take a more critical view of Washington. The appointment of Harry Edwards to replace Thurgood Marshall, however, saw little such controversy.
As the economy entered a slump in 1990, voters cared more about their check-book balances rather than foreign adventurism and the foreign policy successes seen with the end of the Cold War. It would be domestic issues which dominated the 1990 midterms, and this was, in part, responsible for the Republican Party winning control of the House of Representatives, for the first time since 1955.
Hart, now a lame duck, was unpopular in both the country and his party. However, when former Senator Bill Bradley (one of the Democratic casualties of 1990, who lost Christine Todd Whitman) announced he was running for President, he struggled to replicate Kennedy’s challenge to Carter in 1980. Whilst not winning a single contest, Bradley gained a respectable share of the primary vote, mostly from liberals and organized labor disenchanted with Hart.
The Republicans, meanwhile, attempted to find a candidate to return them to the White House. The initial front-runners such as Bob Dole, Lynn Martin and Pete Wilson, were seen as too liberal for the increasingly conservative party, which had swelled in the Southern states after 1990. Enter Tommy Thompson, a fresh-faced Republican and two-term governor of Wisconsin. A principled conservative, Thompson made frequent boasts that as governor he had had "never raised taxes" and appealed to social conservatives on welfare reform he enacted. Thompson tapped into the Republican base who were tired of moderate establishment heavyweights. His selection of Lamar Alexander as his running mate, complemented Thompson’s own strengths of being young(ish), and representing principled and reformist conservatism.
The election was one of the most interesting in American history, mostly thanks to the quixotic independent campaign of populists Ross Perot and John Silber, who polled in first place in August 1992 at 37%, slowly declined as prolonged exposure and a confident Republican campaign sapped their support base. A convincing debate performance by Hart aside, Thompson ran on bread-and-butter economics, and borrowing a phrase asked Americans “are you better off than you were four years ago?” Like with Carter before, the phrase killed Hart’s re-election chances. The sniping by former Fed Chairman (and later Treasury Secretary) Alan Greenspan, who had been summarily dismissed as the economy stagnated in the early 1990s recession, further damaged Hart. It was "the economy stupid", surmised by Democratic political commentator James Carville, that doomed Hart.
Gary Hart, thus, would be consigned to become a one-term President. Like Carter before him, Hart was a good man who had been elected promising renewal and change and would be undone by circumstances outside their control and be replaced by a sunny conservative in the White House. Unlike his Republican contemporaries and predecessors however, Thompson would enjoy a trifecta in Washington, with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate.
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February 1993 Conservative Party leadership election
Heseltine had only just managed to cling on to power in 1991, re-entering Downing Street damaged, with his authority shot. This made his backbenchers even more rebellious and raucous, forcing the government to spend more time fighting fires in their own lobby, rather than taking the fight to newly elected Labour leader Robin Cook. Alongside negative polling and continual by-elections defeats across the country the government’s already tenuous position in parliament continued to weaken. The press and Fleet Street soon began to predict that either Heseltine would call an early election, or go down in a vote of no confidence, within two years.
Further, the Conservative-UUP pact virtually destroyed the government authority and credibility in Northern Ireland with moderate nationalists. This meant that attempts to negotiate a sustainable peace for Northern Ireland were (again) shelved and the tentative negotiations abandoned as part of this pact. A planned mortar attack on Downing Street, which was discovered and was thwarted by police, raised tensions and fears across the nation. After all, the nation had already lost one PM in the last decade.
What triggered the end of the Heseltine Government, has summarily been called the 'Realignment Crisis' and began on Black Thursday. The British pound in the E.E.R.M, which was pegged against the Deutschmark at £1-2.85DM, was widely seen by investors as set at a too high rate and thus unsustainable. So, on September 17, 1992, Black Thursday, investors began scrambling to sell the pound, believing that the pound would crash out the E.E.R.M. This speculative death spiral was a self-fulfilling prophecy and so the Government quickly reacted to stabilise the currency while remaining in the E.E.R.M, with the Bank of England raising interest rates from 10% to an eye-watering 12%.
This did little to stop the outflows of sterling and so, rather than force the Bank of England to issue another interest rate hike, Heseltine and his Chancellor Tom King frantically contacted the German government and used Heseltine’s close relationship with German Chancellor Späth to try and negotiate a lower interest rate from the Bundesbank. Späth reluctantly agreed, fearful of seeing one of biggest economies in the EU crash out of the E.E.R.M. This, alongside a devaluation of the pound to £1-2.60DM within the E.E.R.M, was just enough to keep the pound above the lower currency exchange band. This process took two days and it took a further two weeks for markets to calm down, during which the Bank of England lost billions of pounds in reserves.
This was a humiliation for the government, with cartoons lampooning Heseltine as having gone cap-in-hand to beg for money from Späth. This, alongside the economic effects of the devaluation, was the final straw for euroskeptic backbenchers. Over Christmas, these backbenchers (called the 'cabal' by an overly dramatic press) schemed to force Heseltine’s resignation. Coordinating with party grandees like Nigel Lawson and Norman Tebbit, the cabal organised resignations from cabinet such as John Redwood and Norman Lamont (who resigned as Wales and Transport secretary respectively) and increasing levels of press hostility towards his leadership with damning editorials.
Heseltine, angered by this shadow campaign against him, in a fiery speech from Number 10's garden, announced that he would resign as Conservative leader, and that a leadership election would be held on the 2 February 1993. “Back me, or sack me” became Heseltine's mantra and against Norman Lamont (the most well-known and electable member of the cabal) Heseltine easily won, successfully clearing the necessary 15% margin to remain leader.
Yet, the leadership election had done little to cement his authority, with even allies speaking of a post-Heseltine future before the next election. Meanwhile, the opposition and Cook began to organise for a no confidence vote, hoping for support from the most euroskeptic Conservatives, including those which jumped ship after the leadership contest and joined the Referendum Party.
Number 10 insiders and advisors told Heseltine that he realistically had 6 months left as PM and that further, they couldn’t guarantee enough votes if a no confidence motion was proposed in Parliament. So, to the shock of the nation, the opposition, and the cabal, Heseltine marched out of Downing Street and declared that he was calling a snap general election for May 6.
Further, the Conservative-UUP pact virtually destroyed the government authority and credibility in Northern Ireland with moderate nationalists. This meant that attempts to negotiate a sustainable peace for Northern Ireland were (again) shelved and the tentative negotiations abandoned as part of this pact. A planned mortar attack on Downing Street, which was discovered and was thwarted by police, raised tensions and fears across the nation. After all, the nation had already lost one PM in the last decade.
What triggered the end of the Heseltine Government, has summarily been called the 'Realignment Crisis' and began on Black Thursday. The British pound in the E.E.R.M, which was pegged against the Deutschmark at £1-2.85DM, was widely seen by investors as set at a too high rate and thus unsustainable. So, on September 17, 1992, Black Thursday, investors began scrambling to sell the pound, believing that the pound would crash out the E.E.R.M. This speculative death spiral was a self-fulfilling prophecy and so the Government quickly reacted to stabilise the currency while remaining in the E.E.R.M, with the Bank of England raising interest rates from 10% to an eye-watering 12%.
This did little to stop the outflows of sterling and so, rather than force the Bank of England to issue another interest rate hike, Heseltine and his Chancellor Tom King frantically contacted the German government and used Heseltine’s close relationship with German Chancellor Späth to try and negotiate a lower interest rate from the Bundesbank. Späth reluctantly agreed, fearful of seeing one of biggest economies in the EU crash out of the E.E.R.M. This, alongside a devaluation of the pound to £1-2.60DM within the E.E.R.M, was just enough to keep the pound above the lower currency exchange band. This process took two days and it took a further two weeks for markets to calm down, during which the Bank of England lost billions of pounds in reserves.
This was a humiliation for the government, with cartoons lampooning Heseltine as having gone cap-in-hand to beg for money from Späth. This, alongside the economic effects of the devaluation, was the final straw for euroskeptic backbenchers. Over Christmas, these backbenchers (called the 'cabal' by an overly dramatic press) schemed to force Heseltine’s resignation. Coordinating with party grandees like Nigel Lawson and Norman Tebbit, the cabal organised resignations from cabinet such as John Redwood and Norman Lamont (who resigned as Wales and Transport secretary respectively) and increasing levels of press hostility towards his leadership with damning editorials.
Heseltine, angered by this shadow campaign against him, in a fiery speech from Number 10's garden, announced that he would resign as Conservative leader, and that a leadership election would be held on the 2 February 1993. “Back me, or sack me” became Heseltine's mantra and against Norman Lamont (the most well-known and electable member of the cabal) Heseltine easily won, successfully clearing the necessary 15% margin to remain leader.
Yet, the leadership election had done little to cement his authority, with even allies speaking of a post-Heseltine future before the next election. Meanwhile, the opposition and Cook began to organise for a no confidence vote, hoping for support from the most euroskeptic Conservatives, including those which jumped ship after the leadership contest and joined the Referendum Party.
Number 10 insiders and advisors told Heseltine that he realistically had 6 months left as PM and that further, they couldn’t guarantee enough votes if a no confidence motion was proposed in Parliament. So, to the shock of the nation, the opposition, and the cabal, Heseltine marched out of Downing Street and declared that he was calling a snap general election for May 6.
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Thanks for reading!
Ah, sorry if I didn't signpost it clearly enough but there was still a Gulf War in TTL, which is very similar to OTL. It's part of the reason why Heseltine wins the UK GE in 1991, as he makes it an almost khaki election. Unfortunately for Hart however, the 1990 midterms had already come-and-gone and had sapped all his authority and so (unlike Bush) there was minimal political benefit to it.
Even with a Democrat in office, I'd still think that there would be an intervention to liberate Kuwait. Saddam is still in power, Iraq is sanctioned and still suffering but there's less clamour for an invasion than in OTL, mostly because Cheney (now SoS in Thompson's Administration) wasn't actively involved in the first stage of the invasion and as will become clear, they'll have bigger fish to fry.
1993 Australian federal election
1993 saw the Australian Labor Party (ALP) led by Prime Minister Paul Keating leave office after being defeated by John Hewson's Liberal/National Coalition. In a toxic environment for the incumbents, Labor suffered from; high unemployment; a burgeoning foreign debt; an unpopular Prime Minister and voter apathy after ten years of Labor government.
Keating, who had successfully deposed Bob Hawke as Labor leader and PM in June 1992 (after two previously unsuccessful leadership spills in May and December 1991) had little chance to prove himself to voters before the March 1993 election. Unable to shed his ill-gained reputation a ruthless and a craven politico, he struggled to appeal to voters. Meanwhile, the Liberal/National coalition was led by John Hewson, who held a doctorate in economics, who had only entered parliament in 1987. Hewson's dramatic rise to become the Liberal leader was mostly thanks to his impressive campaigning abilities, which he demonstrated during the previous election.
A turning point against the Coalition almost came with publication of “Fightback!”, a neoliberal and economically 'dry' framework for government which included overhauling Medicare, reorganising industrial relations and the creation of a contentious 15% Goods and Services Tax. This program and especially the GST policy proved unpopular amongst voters and forced Hewson to exempt food from the proposed GST. This U-turn proved prescient and helped stabilise the Coalition’s lead in the opinion polls.
Thanks to a strong campaign by Labor and the GST fiasco, rather than the landslide once projected at the beginning of 1993, the Coalition only entered office with a slender 76 seats. Not only that, but Labor had won the 2 party preferred (2pp) vote, robbing the Coalition of a mandate in the process. Whilst Keating was able to remain Labor leader after the election, he would soon meet the same fate as Hawke. His successor as Labor leader would be Hawke's protégé, Kim Beazley. Meanwhile Hewson, now Prime Minister, seemed more like the loser than the new leader.
Keating, who had successfully deposed Bob Hawke as Labor leader and PM in June 1992 (after two previously unsuccessful leadership spills in May and December 1991) had little chance to prove himself to voters before the March 1993 election. Unable to shed his ill-gained reputation a ruthless and a craven politico, he struggled to appeal to voters. Meanwhile, the Liberal/National coalition was led by John Hewson, who held a doctorate in economics, who had only entered parliament in 1987. Hewson's dramatic rise to become the Liberal leader was mostly thanks to his impressive campaigning abilities, which he demonstrated during the previous election.
A turning point against the Coalition almost came with publication of “Fightback!”, a neoliberal and economically 'dry' framework for government which included overhauling Medicare, reorganising industrial relations and the creation of a contentious 15% Goods and Services Tax. This program and especially the GST policy proved unpopular amongst voters and forced Hewson to exempt food from the proposed GST. This U-turn proved prescient and helped stabilise the Coalition’s lead in the opinion polls.
Thanks to a strong campaign by Labor and the GST fiasco, rather than the landslide once projected at the beginning of 1993, the Coalition only entered office with a slender 76 seats. Not only that, but Labor had won the 2 party preferred (2pp) vote, robbing the Coalition of a mandate in the process. Whilst Keating was able to remain Labor leader after the election, he would soon meet the same fate as Hawke. His successor as Labor leader would be Hawke's protégé, Kim Beazley. Meanwhile Hewson, now Prime Minister, seemed more like the loser than the new leader.
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1993 UK general election
The ‘shock election’ of 1993 seemingly was, at first, a political masterstroke by Heseltine. Heseltine, always a more popular figure than his party, despite being personally damaged by Black Tuesday and the Realignment Crisis, still enjoyed positive personal ratings from the public. In the week after the election announcement polling confirmed this, with voters approving of the “ballsy move” (to quote the News of the World) by Heseltine. Some of the most positive polling from the time even showed that Heseltine was within reach of winning back his majority, unthinkable in the winter months of 1992-93.
Heseltine also initiated a ‘spring-cleaning’ Cabinet reshuffle which the rise of fresh faces such as Chris Patten (who had lost his Bath seat in 1991 but re-entered Parliament with a 1992 by-election in the Cotswolds, also being one of the only government holds in the 1991-1993 parliament) becoming Foreign Secretary, Virginia Bottomley taking the Health portfolio and Michael Ancram promoted to Environment.
The second week of the campaign saw Heseltine attempt to set the agenda, with him confirming that if re-elected, he would seek to create a devolved Assembly in Scotland, via a referendum. This move seen as a breath of fresh air for the party, alongside helping them win a substantial number of seats north of the border, would mark the end of the good news for the government.
When the election campaign began in earnest, voters began to reassess their view of Heseltine, and many took to blaming him personally for the economic slump which millions remained in. The Realignment Crisis, still a national and economic humiliation, meant that interest rates remained eye-wateringly high. The consumer society which thrived after the economic reforms undertaken by Heseltine and Thatcher, funded out of high levels of private borrowing and debt. With these high interest rates, said society was unable to finance this lifestyle, and so, living standards fell. When Heseltine would tour town centres and businesses, he would be met with derision and anger from the public, who blamed his government for their personal economic woes.
Whilst divisions in the Conservative party subsided, thanks to right-wing adversaries of Heseltine being caught off guard by the surprise election, more or less acquiescing to a ‘support Heseltine, for now’ policy. However, the right-wing press, still furious at Heseltine for his support of the E.E.R.M and European integration, would offer lukewarm support to Heseltine whilst boosting the profile of the Referendum Party, financed by euroskeptic Sir James Goldsmith.
Labour under Robin Cook campaigned hard and fast, fearing another result like 1991. Being only 40 seats away from a majority, Labour’s 1993 campaign was the first true example of the growing Americanization of British politics, with instant ‘rebuttal units’ and ‘spin-doctors’ being employed. Cook, a modernizer in the party, heavily criticised the economic record of Heseltine and with his Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown, launched a ‘city strategy’ to woo business interests into supporting Labour. A pledge to not increase corporation tax and continuing British membership of the E.E.R.M, helped them achieve this strategy.
In the middle was the Alliance, who under the leadership of Sir Menzies Campbell, proved to enjoy its position and campaigned to be a responsible progressive voice in Westminster. Menzies Campbell, not a natural campaigner, offered a statesmen-esque like figure on the campaign trail, with polls showing that Campbell was voters’ (who had heard of him) preferred Prime Minister.
Whilst Labour remained steady in the polls, the Conservatives saw a marked decline, with many voters switching to the Alliance or the nascent Referendum Party. The BBC/ITV exit poll concurred with this, and correctly predicted a virtual tie in the popular vote. However, as votes were counted, it was clear that Labour was enjoying an advantage thanks to a more effective vote distribution and more favourable constituency boundaries. Whilst it was another hung parliament, this time, the arithmetic favoured the left. Cook had, thanks to parliamentary support from Plaid Cyrmu and the SDLP, an effective majority and returned Labour to Downing Street after 14 years in the wilderness.
Heseltine also initiated a ‘spring-cleaning’ Cabinet reshuffle which the rise of fresh faces such as Chris Patten (who had lost his Bath seat in 1991 but re-entered Parliament with a 1992 by-election in the Cotswolds, also being one of the only government holds in the 1991-1993 parliament) becoming Foreign Secretary, Virginia Bottomley taking the Health portfolio and Michael Ancram promoted to Environment.
The second week of the campaign saw Heseltine attempt to set the agenda, with him confirming that if re-elected, he would seek to create a devolved Assembly in Scotland, via a referendum. This move seen as a breath of fresh air for the party, alongside helping them win a substantial number of seats north of the border, would mark the end of the good news for the government.
When the election campaign began in earnest, voters began to reassess their view of Heseltine, and many took to blaming him personally for the economic slump which millions remained in. The Realignment Crisis, still a national and economic humiliation, meant that interest rates remained eye-wateringly high. The consumer society which thrived after the economic reforms undertaken by Heseltine and Thatcher, funded out of high levels of private borrowing and debt. With these high interest rates, said society was unable to finance this lifestyle, and so, living standards fell. When Heseltine would tour town centres and businesses, he would be met with derision and anger from the public, who blamed his government for their personal economic woes.
Whilst divisions in the Conservative party subsided, thanks to right-wing adversaries of Heseltine being caught off guard by the surprise election, more or less acquiescing to a ‘support Heseltine, for now’ policy. However, the right-wing press, still furious at Heseltine for his support of the E.E.R.M and European integration, would offer lukewarm support to Heseltine whilst boosting the profile of the Referendum Party, financed by euroskeptic Sir James Goldsmith.
Labour under Robin Cook campaigned hard and fast, fearing another result like 1991. Being only 40 seats away from a majority, Labour’s 1993 campaign was the first true example of the growing Americanization of British politics, with instant ‘rebuttal units’ and ‘spin-doctors’ being employed. Cook, a modernizer in the party, heavily criticised the economic record of Heseltine and with his Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown, launched a ‘city strategy’ to woo business interests into supporting Labour. A pledge to not increase corporation tax and continuing British membership of the E.E.R.M, helped them achieve this strategy.
In the middle was the Alliance, who under the leadership of Sir Menzies Campbell, proved to enjoy its position and campaigned to be a responsible progressive voice in Westminster. Menzies Campbell, not a natural campaigner, offered a statesmen-esque like figure on the campaign trail, with polls showing that Campbell was voters’ (who had heard of him) preferred Prime Minister.
Whilst Labour remained steady in the polls, the Conservatives saw a marked decline, with many voters switching to the Alliance or the nascent Referendum Party. The BBC/ITV exit poll concurred with this, and correctly predicted a virtual tie in the popular vote. However, as votes were counted, it was clear that Labour was enjoying an advantage thanks to a more effective vote distribution and more favourable constituency boundaries. Whilst it was another hung parliament, this time, the arithmetic favoured the left. Cook had, thanks to parliamentary support from Plaid Cyrmu and the SDLP, an effective majority and returned Labour to Downing Street after 14 years in the wilderness.
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June 1993 Conservative Party leadership election
Michael Heseltine stayed on as Conservative leader for a further three weeks after his last address from Number 10 as PM. This three-week period was justified by Heseltine so that the party could enter a period of ‘reflection’ after their defeat and to allow potential candidates time to prepare for the leadership election. Heseltine's decision to not resign immediately, in favour of his deputy, Kenneth Baker, was criticised by those on the right of the party. These criticisms only grew louder when Heseltine whipped the party to support the first bill introduced by Cook's government, the Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Act 1993 which legislated for devolution referendums to be held in the aforementioned nations.
When Heseltine resigned, party insiders became worried that the divisions which had triggered the 1993 elections would rear their heads once again. The two immediate front-runners seemed to epitomise this. Norman Lamont, the ‘failed assassin’ of February returned to try and take the crown, whilst Tom King, a Heseltonian and the former Chancellor took on the mantle of continuity. Other candidates included Edwina Currie (elected from Croydon Central in 1993 after losing East Derbyshire in 1991), known for her brash personality and for being the ‘other woman’ which ended John Major’s promising career and Ken Clarke, a young and fresh face representing the Thatcherite wing of the party.
However, it would be the inoffensive Douglas Hurd who would take the crown. Having spent his time across Cabinet in multiple portfolios (ending as Home Secretary in 1993), Douglas Hurd had managed to avoid the worst excesses and controversies of the Heseltine government. More importantly, unlike King and Clarke he avoided the stain of Black Tuesday and the Realignment Crisis and, unlike Lamont, had avoided the inter-party divisions over Europe (Hurd was committed to the idea of Europe, if not the processes required to commit). After 9 years of Heseltine, who had centralised power dramatically in Number 10 at the expense of the Cabinet and the party (evidenced by calling the 1993 election), Hurd's promises of [a] 'cabinet of equals' and 'collective responsibility' were seen as a refreshing change for the party.
Whilst press attention was focused on the more outspoken candidates (specifically Currie and Lamont), Hurd worked behind the scenes in winning second-hand support from MPs. Whilst King gained the most votes in the first and second round, Clarke's and Currie's supporters moved to back Hurd, the inoffensive one. Their support, alongside King’s elimination (and his subsequent endorsement of Hurd) and Lamont recognising he didn’t have enough support in the party to win outright, saw Hurd elected unopposed on the fourth ballot.
Hurd had won by portraying himself as a steady hand who could lead a unified party back into Downing Street. After all, every Conservative leader, with the exception of Austen Chamberlain, had served as Prime Minister.
When Heseltine resigned, party insiders became worried that the divisions which had triggered the 1993 elections would rear their heads once again. The two immediate front-runners seemed to epitomise this. Norman Lamont, the ‘failed assassin’ of February returned to try and take the crown, whilst Tom King, a Heseltonian and the former Chancellor took on the mantle of continuity. Other candidates included Edwina Currie (elected from Croydon Central in 1993 after losing East Derbyshire in 1991), known for her brash personality and for being the ‘other woman’ which ended John Major’s promising career and Ken Clarke, a young and fresh face representing the Thatcherite wing of the party.
However, it would be the inoffensive Douglas Hurd who would take the crown. Having spent his time across Cabinet in multiple portfolios (ending as Home Secretary in 1993), Douglas Hurd had managed to avoid the worst excesses and controversies of the Heseltine government. More importantly, unlike King and Clarke he avoided the stain of Black Tuesday and the Realignment Crisis and, unlike Lamont, had avoided the inter-party divisions over Europe (Hurd was committed to the idea of Europe, if not the processes required to commit). After 9 years of Heseltine, who had centralised power dramatically in Number 10 at the expense of the Cabinet and the party (evidenced by calling the 1993 election), Hurd's promises of [a] 'cabinet of equals' and 'collective responsibility' were seen as a refreshing change for the party.
Whilst press attention was focused on the more outspoken candidates (specifically Currie and Lamont), Hurd worked behind the scenes in winning second-hand support from MPs. Whilst King gained the most votes in the first and second round, Clarke's and Currie's supporters moved to back Hurd, the inoffensive one. Their support, alongside King’s elimination (and his subsequent endorsement of Hurd) and Lamont recognising he didn’t have enough support in the party to win outright, saw Hurd elected unopposed on the fourth ballot.
Hurd had won by portraying himself as a steady hand who could lead a unified party back into Downing Street. After all, every Conservative leader, with the exception of Austen Chamberlain, had served as Prime Minister.
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Frasier
Frasier is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons, premiering on September 16, 1993 and concluding on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee in association with Kelsey Grammer’s production company Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.
The show was made as a spin-off of the sitcom Cheers and continues the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) who returns to his hometown, Denver, as a radio show host. In the show he reconnects with his blue-collar father Martin (John Mahoney), a retired police officer injured in the line of duty, and his pretentious younger brother, Niles (David Hyde Pierce). Also included in the cast was Lisa Kudrow as Frasier’s producer Roz Doyle, Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon, Martin’s live-in caregiver and Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe, a rival of Frasier's at KACL, played by Dan Butler. Alongside the human cast, the show also included Eddie, (played by Moose and then Moose’s son Enzo) a Jack Russell Terrier and Martin’s dog.
When casting the show both Mahoney and Pierce were cast without an official audition, whilst Leeves was chosen thanks to NBC producers wanting an English nurse for Martin. Mahoney and Leeves quickly bonded over their shared English heritage, with Mahoney originally coming from Manchester (where Leeves' character is from), cementing her position in the cast. Mahoney would go on to be one of the godfathers of Leeves' second child (as would Pierce). Kudrow, whilst being the first choice of the casting directors for Roz, had a more difficult auditioning process, and was close to be replaced by Peri Gilpin, who would later go on to play Regina "Reggie" Kostas in the comedy series Becker. This difficulty was caused by producer and writer concerns about Kudrow’s ability to portray Roz's assertiveness towards Frasier (and to a lesser extent, Grammer). However, Kudrow would remain in the role, and would go on to become a fan favourite and a breakout character, alongside Niles.
The city of Denver was chosen to be the as it seemed like an isolated enough place with the producers wanting to set it as far away from Boston as possible. Further, the producers wanted to set the show in a progressive city in a progressive state, to match the show’s values and ethos. Colorado (and Denver) had just rejected the anti-gay Amendment 2 in 1992, which if passed, and according to former producer David Lee, could’ve seen the show set in a different city.
Frasier was critically acclaimed, winning thirty-nine Primetime Emmy Awards, both surpassing Cheers' original record of 28 Emmy's and continues to hold the record for the most awards gained by a scripted series to this day.
The show was made as a spin-off of the sitcom Cheers and continues the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) who returns to his hometown, Denver, as a radio show host. In the show he reconnects with his blue-collar father Martin (John Mahoney), a retired police officer injured in the line of duty, and his pretentious younger brother, Niles (David Hyde Pierce). Also included in the cast was Lisa Kudrow as Frasier’s producer Roz Doyle, Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon, Martin’s live-in caregiver and Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe, a rival of Frasier's at KACL, played by Dan Butler. Alongside the human cast, the show also included Eddie, (played by Moose and then Moose’s son Enzo) a Jack Russell Terrier and Martin’s dog.
When casting the show both Mahoney and Pierce were cast without an official audition, whilst Leeves was chosen thanks to NBC producers wanting an English nurse for Martin. Mahoney and Leeves quickly bonded over their shared English heritage, with Mahoney originally coming from Manchester (where Leeves' character is from), cementing her position in the cast. Mahoney would go on to be one of the godfathers of Leeves' second child (as would Pierce). Kudrow, whilst being the first choice of the casting directors for Roz, had a more difficult auditioning process, and was close to be replaced by Peri Gilpin, who would later go on to play Regina "Reggie" Kostas in the comedy series Becker. This difficulty was caused by producer and writer concerns about Kudrow’s ability to portray Roz's assertiveness towards Frasier (and to a lesser extent, Grammer). However, Kudrow would remain in the role, and would go on to become a fan favourite and a breakout character, alongside Niles.
The city of Denver was chosen to be the as it seemed like an isolated enough place with the producers wanting to set it as far away from Boston as possible. Further, the producers wanted to set the show in a progressive city in a progressive state, to match the show’s values and ethos. Colorado (and Denver) had just rejected the anti-gay Amendment 2 in 1992, which if passed, and according to former producer David Lee, could’ve seen the show set in a different city.
Frasier was critically acclaimed, winning thirty-nine Primetime Emmy Awards, both surpassing Cheers' original record of 28 Emmy's and continues to hold the record for the most awards gained by a scripted series to this day.
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1993 UK devolution referendums
The first bill to be introduced by Cook’s government was the Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Act 1993, ironically both one of the most constitutionally radical (in that it would allow Scotland and Wales self-determination via their own elected assemblies) and politically feasible (with every major party backing the act). This oxymoron characterised Cook’s consensual yet radical government.
As Cook had fallen short of a majority after the 1993 election, his government was forced to rely on other parties in Parliament to pass legislation. Labour, rather than seeking a confidence and supply deal, instead worked with other parties on a case-by-case basis. So, the bills introduced in Parliament would be those which would either have been negotiated prior to its introduction with the Alliance or would have strong support regardless.
This meant that a raft of legislation passed Parliament with Alliance and nationalist support, including an anti-corruption and freedom of information act, an equalizing of the age of consent for gay men alongside instituting a nationwide minimum wage. This was complemented by radical constitutional reform, including House of Lords reform with an attempt to remove hereditary peers from the chamber and devolution referendums in Wales, Scotland, and London. However, negotiations between Labour and Alliance over the nature of London devolution meant that both the legislation was introduced, and the date of the referendum were later than those to be held in Scotland and Wales.
Cook and Labour strongly campaigned in favour of the creation of legislative assemblies in both Wales and Scotland, investing considerable resources and sending the most popular members of the Cabinet to see through the referenda.
Scotland, which possessed a stronger independent streak than Wales, was always more favourable to an elected assembly and was further persuaded to back the move after the passionate campaigning of Donald Dewar (who later become the Scottish Labour leader). With the SNP and Alliance in favour of the move (with the Conservatives having a free vote and free say on which side to back), there was little surprise when Scotland voted in favour of an independent assembly by 60-40%.
Wales, however, proved a harder sell for the government. Having been historically opposed to devolution, as demonstrated by rejecting it when last offered by referendum in 1979 (unlike Scotland which failed to have enough ‘Yes’ votes to see its creation), government ministers went into the referendum unoptimistic. Despite, Wales Secretary Ann Clwyd’s forceful campaigning, Wales would reject devolution 55-45%. This saw both Clwyd's resignation from Cabinet and Plaid Cymru’s withdrawing of support from Labour. This defeat then led to sensationalist headlines from the press gleefully predicting that the government was on the cusp of collapse, in a mirror of 1979.
London and its upcoming referendum was then turned into an attempt to humiliate Cook and Labour. Hurd (unlike with Scotland and Wales) rejected the proposal of creating a London mayor, arguing that it would be become an opportunity for Ken Livingstone and the ‘loony left’ to return to power in the capital. Hurd, whilst playing to an national audience outside of London, failed in this campaign when London voted in favour of directly electing a city-wide mayor, via a two-round system (similar to French presidential elections), by an overwhelming margin.
The first election for both London Mayor and the Scottish Assembly would be held in May 1995.
As Cook had fallen short of a majority after the 1993 election, his government was forced to rely on other parties in Parliament to pass legislation. Labour, rather than seeking a confidence and supply deal, instead worked with other parties on a case-by-case basis. So, the bills introduced in Parliament would be those which would either have been negotiated prior to its introduction with the Alliance or would have strong support regardless.
This meant that a raft of legislation passed Parliament with Alliance and nationalist support, including an anti-corruption and freedom of information act, an equalizing of the age of consent for gay men alongside instituting a nationwide minimum wage. This was complemented by radical constitutional reform, including House of Lords reform with an attempt to remove hereditary peers from the chamber and devolution referendums in Wales, Scotland, and London. However, negotiations between Labour and Alliance over the nature of London devolution meant that both the legislation was introduced, and the date of the referendum were later than those to be held in Scotland and Wales.
Cook and Labour strongly campaigned in favour of the creation of legislative assemblies in both Wales and Scotland, investing considerable resources and sending the most popular members of the Cabinet to see through the referenda.
Scotland, which possessed a stronger independent streak than Wales, was always more favourable to an elected assembly and was further persuaded to back the move after the passionate campaigning of Donald Dewar (who later become the Scottish Labour leader). With the SNP and Alliance in favour of the move (with the Conservatives having a free vote and free say on which side to back), there was little surprise when Scotland voted in favour of an independent assembly by 60-40%.
Wales, however, proved a harder sell for the government. Having been historically opposed to devolution, as demonstrated by rejecting it when last offered by referendum in 1979 (unlike Scotland which failed to have enough ‘Yes’ votes to see its creation), government ministers went into the referendum unoptimistic. Despite, Wales Secretary Ann Clwyd’s forceful campaigning, Wales would reject devolution 55-45%. This saw both Clwyd's resignation from Cabinet and Plaid Cymru’s withdrawing of support from Labour. This defeat then led to sensationalist headlines from the press gleefully predicting that the government was on the cusp of collapse, in a mirror of 1979.
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20%... if Perot can get that much and more next election, I could see a Reform President
She undoubtedly suffered for being the Welsh Secretary promoting devolution when Wales wasn't quite ready for it. She's replaced by Rhodri Morgan as Wales Secretary.
Davies is still pretty obscure atm, and is the Minister of State for the Environment, having never got enough votes to enter Shadow Cabinet and make a name for himself.
Perot staying in the race, rather than in OTL where he left the race and then jumped back in October, left him more disillusioned. Rather than having the excuse of dropping out, his campaign fell from first to third because of his actions. Whilst Reform does run a candidate in 1996, Perot isn't the nominee and the party does as well as you'd expect without a self-financed billionaire funding all the ads, appearances and the like.
And actually, thinking about what you said, I've seen a lot of TL's about a Reform Presidency from 1993-1997, but never one from 1997-2001, which would be fascinating to read.