How Do You Get A Socialist Britain?

What are some opportunities in OTL that could of led to the UK becoming a socialist nation? It can be full on state centralized communism, syndicalism, democratic socialism, etc. but it has to be a step further than the social democracy (progressive/social policies, such as the welfare state, implemented in a capitalist system; as practiced in the OTL UK and parts of Europe).

Well, as others have said, Attlee's lot in 1945 weren't too far off, particularly Cripps. But that's probably not what you're after. Postwar, Sydney Webb's wonderful Thaxted is a good bet.

Before that, things get tough. The establishment is not going to look kindly on a far, far left Government getting in, whether by electoral means or otherwise. Monkeying around with the General Strike, for example, is far more likely to get a hard-right or *unfascist administration in than a workers' paradise as the Left simply isn't strong enough to do more than seriously scare the authorities.

Labour, frankly, isn't the right party to cause a revolution either. You need to strip away the right-wing Unions, the Methodisty types and very possibly some of the more limp Fabians and leave the Marxist militants of the former SDF, and the future Red Clydesiders of the ILP. The result will be a smaller, but explicitly revolutionary organisation. If you can find a way to combine that with a nasty, authoritarian Government and a national catastrophe- military defeat, or economic crisis leading to industrial unrest maybe- then you might get something fun.
 

Sachyriel

Banned
Even though (or maybe because) London's the capital, I don't think it's the most likely flashpoint for a red takeover. Maybe coordinated action in Glasgow, Wales and a couple of cities in Northern England? Not sure exactly which year that would have had the best chance of success though.

I'm not saying it would do the trick alone, I'm relying on huge butterflies here. like, a thousand man-sized butterflies flapping like crazy.
 
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