Going Swiss

What if after 1945 the UK is so sickened by war it decides to declare itself a neutral country. Similar to Switzerland the UK becomes a tax haven and is freed from the post economic funk.
 
What if after 1945 the UK is so sickened by war it decides to declare itself a neutral country. Similar to Switzerland the UK becomes a tax haven and is freed from the post economic funk.

How long are the neutral for? 1950's, 60's, until now?

Do they still participate on the German occupation?

I could see the US having a stronger presence in post-war Europe to counter the Soviet threat. And eventually more nuclear weapons in France, the low countries and West Germany and possibly Turkey. Decolonization probably goes a little better in some places and could be faster with the Brits concentrating on it more or slower as they try to hold on to their Empire. If this goes on until modern times I think there's still a chance for th Falklands war but it may be butterflied away.

However I do think this is ASB considering the vast amount of territory they contolled world wide.
 

Cook

Banned
What if after 1945 the UK is so sickened by war it decides to declare itself a neutral country. Similar to Switzerland the UK becomes a tax haven and is freed from the post economic funk.

Since British detachment from the affairs of Europe is one of the things seen as giving rise to Hitler and leading to world war, the idea that Britain would revert to it in any manner is pretty unlikely.

Besides which, how do you pay off the enormous war debt if you’ve declared yourself a tax haven?
 
What if after 1945 the UK is so sickened by war it decides to declare itself a neutral country. Similar to Switzerland the UK becomes a tax haven and is freed from the post economic funk.

Neutral countries don't generally have empires, nor do they tend to be occupying powers, nor do they tend to have their Sovereign be the Head of State in a number of nations.
 
Neutral countries don't generally have empires, nor do they tend to be occupying powers, nor do they tend to have their Sovereign be the Head of State in a number of nations.


Indeed. I imagine the Dominions, colonies etc would all have several questions to ask on this point
 
I don't think by "Going Swiss," the UK would become an exact copy of Switzerland policy wise.

The British Monarch would still be head of state of the dominions.

However on the issue of "going neutral" I believe the focus would be on the colonies, and not on joining in any grand crusades against communism led by America.

Britain would most likely still partition India, but with more preparation, the Kashmir Valley issue might be avoided before it becomes a problem.

Egypt and the Suez might not become an issue if Nasser can be kept out of power, Egypt is enticed to become a member of the Commonwealth(not likely), or Nasser does come to power, but is quickly crushed by fast acting British troops stationed near by.

Other colonies in africa would be granted independence, but that process would take longer because the process of granting them independence would be more controlled, not chaotic, and might lead to more stable countries late on.

On the issue of Britain as a tax haven, I don't think that is possible. The best possible outcome on that front is to keep the Tories in power as long as possible so as to prevent the modern welfare state from emerging.

So to reiterate, Britain going Swiss would not involve Britain following the swiss model 100%. The UK would focus on its empire and perhaps reform its empire into an earlier British Commonwealth.

Wishing you well, his majesty,
The Scandinavian Emperor
 
Yeah, that's being neutral all right.

Being neutral doesn't mean you stop looking after your own interests. Suez was an important access to the Eastern part of the Empire, whether it was being wound down or not.

Neutrality is a nice idea, but seldom black and white - the Swiss tended to deal more with the west than the USSR, but it didn't change their neutral stance in diplomacy.
 
The biggest problem is that quite simply post WWII Britain was economically dependent on the US, and that came with a fair bit of political commitment.
 
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