Keeping the British Liberal Party flag flying high
- Thread starter pipisme
- Start date
Oh how interesting! That must be why Labour had to choose Green. I had no idea. Thank you for that.
Hector McNeil, the Socialist Labour MP for Glasgow Springburn since the May 1946 general election died on 11 October 1955, five days after he was re-elected in the general election. The cause of death was cerebral haemorrhage. [1] He was only forty-eight years old. In the post-election reshuffle he was appointed under-secretary of state at the Colonial Office. He had previously been a junior government Whip followed by under-secretary of state at the Scottish Office.
The Glasgow Springburn by-election was held on 1st December 1955. The percentage votes for each candidate were as follows [general election 6 October 1955]:
Mrs Mary Agnes McAlister [Socialist Labour]: 58.6 [56.1]
Conservative Party candidate: 20.8 [23.5]
Liberal Party candidate: 17.9 [16.6]
Communist Party candidate: 2.7 [3.8]
---------------------------------------
Socialist Labour majority: 27.8% [22.6%]
---------------------------------------
The swing from Conservative to Socialist Labour was 2.6%.
McAlister was a nurse and a Glasgow city councillor.
[1] The date and cause of McNeil's death was the same as in OTL.
The Glasgow Springburn by-election was held on 1st December 1955. The percentage votes for each candidate were as follows [general election 6 October 1955]:
Mrs Mary Agnes McAlister [Socialist Labour]: 58.6 [56.1]
Conservative Party candidate: 20.8 [23.5]
Liberal Party candidate: 17.9 [16.6]
Communist Party candidate: 2.7 [3.8]
---------------------------------------
Socialist Labour majority: 27.8% [22.6%]
---------------------------------------
The swing from Conservative to Socialist Labour was 2.6%.
McAlister was a nurse and a Glasgow city councillor.
[1] The date and cause of McNeil's death was the same as in OTL.
Elvis Presley was born on 9 January 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. [1] From a young age he was passionate about social justice and racial integration. When his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948 he joined the Social Democrat party there. He was a volunteer in the Kefauver/Humphrey campaign team in the 1952 presidential election. He enjoyed rhythm and blues music and was a fairly good singer, but chose to develop his public speaking skills. He campaigned for the Social Democrats in the 1954 midterm elections.
[1] In the same place but a day later than in OTL. His mother having conceived him a day later.
[1] In the same place but a day later than in OTL. His mother having conceived him a day later.
The midterm elections on 2 November 1954 showed gains for the Republicans and Social Democrats at the expense of the Democrats. The composition of the House of Representatives and the Senate after the elections was as follows [after elections on 4 November 1952]:
House of Representatives:
Republicans: 194 [174]
Democrats: 169 [227]
Social Democrats: 72 [34]
----------------
Total: 435 [435]
---------------
Senate:
Democrats: 56 [63]
Republicans: 29 [25]
Social Democrats: 11 [8]
-------------
Total: 96 [96]
-------------
House of Representatives:
Republicans: 194 [174]
Democrats: 169 [227]
Social Democrats: 72 [34]
----------------
Total: 435 [435]
---------------
Senate:
Democrats: 56 [63]
Republicans: 29 [25]
Social Democrats: 11 [8]
-------------
Total: 96 [96]
-------------
When the newly elected House of Representatives met in January 1955, the Social Democrats voted for their own candidate for Speaker. Of course he came third, but no candidate had an overall majority. In the second round of voting the Social Democrats abstained to show their independence of the other two parties. Therefore Joseph Martin [Republican] was elected Speaker.
In September 1954 Elvis Presley met Kathleen Franklin while they were both working on the Social Democratic Party campaign in Memphis, Tennessee. Presley and Franklin were both nineteen years old, but she was about five months younger than him. She was African American. They became friends and fell in love.
In the midterm elections the Social Democrats gained the 9th District of Tennessee, which was most of Memphis, from the Democrats.
In the midterm elections the Social Democrats gained the 9th District of Tennessee, which was most of Memphis, from the Democrats.
The Treaty of Strasbourg, which was signed on 21 September 1954,established the European Economic Community [EEC]. The following nations were members of the EEC: Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, German Federation, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Spain. Within the EEC there was free trade and free movement of labour and capital. It owed its inspiration to the Paneuropean Union. [1] The Treaty of Strasbourg provided for the establishment of a European Parliament elected by the legislatures of each member country.
[1] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paneuropean_Union.
[1] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paneuropean_Union.
Last edited:
Nice to see a European integration movement making progress in the world that doesn’t have World War II or the Cold War.
Unrelated, but is France still the Third Republic?
Unrelated, but is France still the Third Republic?
The number of members of the European Parliament [MEPs] from each country of the EEC were as follows:
German Federation: 50
France: 35
Italy: 35
Spain: 30
Czechoslovakia: 20
The Netherlands: 20
Belgium: 15
Luxembourg: 5
-----------
Total: 210
----------
MEPs elected Jan Masaryk [Czechoslovakia] as the president of the parliament. They also formed political groups ranging from the moderate right to social democrats and socialists. The far right, the communists and far left were opposed to the EEC for ideological and nationalistic reasons. Masaryk was 69 years old having been born on 14 September 1886.
German Federation: 50
France: 35
Italy: 35
Spain: 30
Czechoslovakia: 20
The Netherlands: 20
Belgium: 15
Luxembourg: 5
-----------
Total: 210
----------
MEPs elected Jan Masaryk [Czechoslovakia] as the president of the parliament. They also formed political groups ranging from the moderate right to social democrats and socialists. The far right, the communists and far left were opposed to the EEC for ideological and nationalistic reasons. Masaryk was 69 years old having been born on 14 September 1886.
In Britain the Liberal Party was in general in favour of joining the EEC with various degrees of enthusiasm. The party's manifesto for the October 1955 general election said that a Liberal government would enter into negotiations to enter the EEC, provided that the interests of the UK and the Commonwealth could be protected.
The Conservative and Socialist Labour parties were opposed to the UK joining the EEC, though in both parties there was a minority in favour of joining, and in the Liberal Party a minority against joining. In its manifesto for the October 1955 general election the Socialist Labour Party promised that if it entered into coalition with the Liberals after the general election it would veto any proposal for negotiations to enter the EEC.
The Conservative and Socialist Labour parties were opposed to the UK joining the EEC, though in both parties there was a minority in favour of joining, and in the Liberal Party a minority against joining. In its manifesto for the October 1955 general election the Socialist Labour Party promised that if it entered into coalition with the Liberals after the general election it would veto any proposal for negotiations to enter the EEC.
I am curious if this EEC is a council where Governments send ministers or where the countries have representation? In other words are you building an upper house or a lower house model? In other words who picks these MEPs? From this it might work like the Bundesrat, a better path to evolving towards something the citizenry feel they can influence rather than an ultra-national bureaucracy? In my TL building I stretch this out of the German Customs Union and I kept its scope limited to let it stumble through to let integration be a happy by-product rather than the goal. And indeed, keep up the great scope of your vision!
The MEPs were elected by the members of the legislatures of each member country to serve for a term of four years which could be renewed. They had the right to resign from the European Parliament. There was the intention for MEPs to be directly elected sometime in the short to medium term.
There was a European Commission consisting of six commissioners who had the following portfolios:
Agriculture, Economy, Industry, Social Policy, Trade, Transport, and a chairman of the Commission. The commissioners and the chairman were elected by the European Parliament which can dismissed them. The first chairman was Paul-Henri Spaak [Belgium].
Thank you for your appreciation of this TL.
A general election was held in the Dominion of Ireland on 28 September 1950. The number of Teachta Dala [TDs] elected to the Dail for each party, and Independents, was as follows [general election 17 October 1946]:
Fianna Fail: 68 [50]
Labour: 52 [64]
Fine Gael: 21 [31]
Clann na Talmhan: 16 [9]
Independents: 4 [7]
----------------
Total: 161 [161]
---------------
Fianna Fail went into coalition with Clann na Talmhan. Eamon de Valera became Taioseach and Joseph Blowick [Clann na Talmhan] became Tainaiste. The coalition had a majority of seven [84 seats to 77 seats]
Political commentators and historians have attributed the defeat of the Labour/Fine Gael coalition to an economic recession in 1948 and 1949, and the swing of the political pendulum.
Fianna Fail: 68 [50]
Labour: 52 [64]
Fine Gael: 21 [31]
Clann na Talmhan: 16 [9]
Independents: 4 [7]
----------------
Total: 161 [161]
---------------
Fianna Fail went into coalition with Clann na Talmhan. Eamon de Valera became Taioseach and Joseph Blowick [Clann na Talmhan] became Tainaiste. The coalition had a majority of seven [84 seats to 77 seats]
Political commentators and historians have attributed the defeat of the Labour/Fine Gael coalition to an economic recession in 1948 and 1949, and the swing of the political pendulum.
Last edited: