Keeping the British Liberal Party flag flying high
- Thread starter pipisme
- Start date
In early November 1950 the Irish government introduced the External Relations Bill into the Dail. This declared that Ireland was now a Republic outside the British Commonwealth with the official name of Eire. The Taioseach, de Valera, said that it was the final step in the journey to complete independence. The bill was bitterly opposed by Fine Gael and Labour as a waste of time which would do nothing to improve the conditions of the Irish people and would be detrimental to a united Ireland. Also they argued that Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand were not fully independent because they were in the British Commonwealth with the British monarch as their head of state.
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The External Relations Bill passed through all its stages in the Dail, but in late January 1951 it was thrown out by the Seanad, which had the power to delay bills for one year.
In early September 1951 King Henry IX and his wife, Queen Kirsty, made a five day tour of Northern Ireland. [1] They visited Belfast, Armagh, Enniskillen, Omagh and Coleraine. They were met with much affection by the tens of thousands, or more, of people who came to see them. It was estimated that some tens of thousands of people travelled up from the Dominion of Ireland to see the royal couple, particularly in Armagh and Enniskillen which were a few miles from the border. Special coaches and trains were chartered to bring people up across the border. Queen Kirsty was eleven weeks pregnant, the official announcement of her pregnancy having already been made. People warmed to King Henry, who had cerebral palsy, and his beautiful unpretentious and outgoing wife. The royal couple were obviously very much in love. That Henry had got Kirsty pregnant removed all doubts that because of his disability he was incapable of sexual intercourse. That both Henry and Kirsty said a few sentences in Irish in their speeches,went down very well with most people, though hardline Ulster Unionists objected. There was much opposition to the refusal of the Irish government to invite the royal couple to visit the Dominion of Ireland.
[1] They had got married on 9 June 1951. See post # 1870 on page 94.
In early September 1951 King Henry IX and his wife, Queen Kirsty, made a five day tour of Northern Ireland. [1] They visited Belfast, Armagh, Enniskillen, Omagh and Coleraine. They were met with much affection by the tens of thousands, or more, of people who came to see them. It was estimated that some tens of thousands of people travelled up from the Dominion of Ireland to see the royal couple, particularly in Armagh and Enniskillen which were a few miles from the border. Special coaches and trains were chartered to bring people up across the border. Queen Kirsty was eleven weeks pregnant, the official announcement of her pregnancy having already been made. People warmed to King Henry, who had cerebral palsy, and his beautiful unpretentious and outgoing wife. The royal couple were obviously very much in love. That Henry had got Kirsty pregnant removed all doubts that because of his disability he was incapable of sexual intercourse. That both Henry and Kirsty said a few sentences in Irish in their speeches,went down very well with most people, though hardline Ulster Unionists objected. There was much opposition to the refusal of the Irish government to invite the royal couple to visit the Dominion of Ireland.
[1] They had got married on 9 June 1951. See post # 1870 on page 94.
Because the External Relations Bill changed the constitution of Ireland it was required to be put to the people in a referendum. This was held on 28 February 1952. The governing parties, Fianna Fail and Clann na Talmhan, campaigned in favour. The opposition parties, Labour and Fine Gael, campaigned against.
A general election was held in the Dominion of Ireland on 8 June 1954. The number of TDs elected to the Dail for each party and Independents was as follows [general election on 28 September 1950]:
Fianna Fail: 63 [68]
Labour: 60 [52]
Fine Gael: 27 [21]
Clann na Talmhan: 7 [16]
Independents: 4 [4]
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Total: 161 [161]
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Labour and Fine Gael formed a coalition government which had an overall of 13 seats [87 seats to 74 seats]
Fianna Fail: 63 [68]
Labour: 60 [52]
Fine Gael: 27 [21]
Clann na Talmhan: 7 [16]
Independents: 4 [4]
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Total: 161 [161]
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Labour and Fine Gael formed a coalition government which had an overall of 13 seats [87 seats to 74 seats]
There were nine Labour and five Fine Gael ministers in the cabinet. William Norton [Labour] became Taioseach, and James Dillon [Fine Gael] became Tanaiste. Among the other ministers were:
External Affairs: Sean MacBride [Labour]
Finance: William Davin [Labour],
Justice: Mary Reynolds [Fine Gael]
Social Welfare: Brendan Corish [Labour].
In this TL, MacBride did not establish Clann na Poblachta and he was elected as a Labour TD.
External Affairs: Sean MacBride [Labour]
Finance: William Davin [Labour],
Justice: Mary Reynolds [Fine Gael]
Social Welfare: Brendan Corish [Labour].
In this TL, MacBride did not establish Clann na Poblachta and he was elected as a Labour TD.
This timeline is truly the gold standard for persistence, given it started nearly nine years ago. I could barely get a timeline beyond nine posts and now mostly lurk....hats off to you!
A quick and weird question: is there an equivalent of the Statute of Westminster 1931 in this timeline?
Also, what is the King's father up to, as of 1955 (the most recent dated entry in this brilliant timeline)?
A quick and weird question: is there an equivalent of the Statute of Westminster 1931 in this timeline?
Also, what is the King's father up to, as of 1955 (the most recent dated entry in this brilliant timeline)?
Thank you very much for your compliments regarding this timeline.
There is an equivalent of the Statute of Westminster 1931 in this timeline, though I have not specified when it was enacted.
In 1955 Edward Windsor [the former Edward VIII] was living with Thelma Furness, his mistress, at 4 rue du Champ d'Entrainement, a mansion adjacent to the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. [1] He has not visited the UK since he went into exile in February 1939. He believed he was unjustly forced to abdicate and his book A King's Story was published in 1951. [2]
[1] This was where he was living in OTL.
[2] As it was in OTL.
Thank you.I have seen your TL when I was unregistered guest. It was several years ago. Now I see that you are making it for nine years.
Keep it up, pip!
That King Henry IX was openly and obviously disabled, having cerebral palsy with speech difficulties and using a wheelchair, was significant in changing attitudes to disabled people in the UK and in other countries. Also in legislation in the UK which effected disabled people.
The Employment of Disabled Persons Act 1952 mandated that three percent of the jobs in a business, or nationalised industry, must be reserved for disabled people. The Education of Disabled Children Act 1954 obliged all state schools, that is not private schools, to provide full provision for disabled children. They were forbidden from excluding any children because of a physical disability. Children with mental disabilities were excluded from the provisions of the Act. However special schools for disabled children were still allowed to remain in existence.
Sir Robert Henshaw is a renowned film and television director. [1] He has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair user. He was born in Sheffield in 1947. His father was a steelworker.
[1] A fictional character.
some of those special schools were truly appalling. A friend of mine who ended up with a good civil service job through sheer bloody mindedness was told time and time again by one of those that he could not possibly want to learn to read after all it was not as if he could ever work, or achieve ANYTHING......
In this TL the special schools had to conform to fairly high minimum standards, and were inspected regularly.
Robert Henshaw was the youngest child in a family of two boys and three girls. He was mad keen on films and wanted to work in the film industry. In July 1955, when he was eight years old, he was in the crowd when King Henry and Queen Kirsty visited Sheffield. He has said in interviews that seeing that like him, the king had cerebral palsy, and what he said, changed his life. The king told people not to be ashamed of who they are, and to follow their dreams.
Robert Henshaw was the youngest child in a family of two boys and three girls. He was mad keen on films and wanted to work in the film industry. In July 1955, when he was eight years old, he was in the crowd when King Henry and Queen Kirsty visited Sheffield. He has said in interviews that seeing that like him, the king had cerebral palsy, and what he said, changed his life. The king told people not to be ashamed of who they are, and to follow their dreams.
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