Keeping the British Liberal Party flag flying high

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Continuation of proposed boundary changes to House of Commons constituencies: Cambridgeshire divided into Cambridgeshire East and Cambridgeshire West: Cardiff North East and Cardiff North West abolished and replaced by Cardiff North; new constituency of Cardiff Central. Holborn and St. Pancras South, and St. Pancras North abolished and replaced by Holborn and St. Pancras; Cardigan - name changed to Ceredigion and became new Ceredigion and Pembroke North constituency; new Pembrokeshire South constituency and Pembrokeshire abolished. Carshalton abolished and replaced by Carshalton and Wallington; Chester-le-Street abolished and incorporated in new North Durham seat. Christchurch abolished and replaced by Christchurch and Lymington; Clapham, and St. Marylebone abolished and divided among neighbouring constituencies.

Cleveland abolished and replaced by Redcar; new constituency of Clydebank and Milngavie; Consett abolished; Colchester, and Maldon abolished and replaced by Colchester North, and Colchester South and Maldon; Crewe abolished and replaced by Crewe and Nantwich, and Congleton; Dearne Valley abolished and replaced by Wentworth; Tavistock abolished and replaced by Devon West and Torridge; Dunfermline divided into Dunfermline East and Dunfermline West.

East Grinstead abolished and replaced by Wealden; Edinburgh North abolished and divided among adjacent constituencies; Enfield East and Enfield West abolished and replaced by Enfield; Essex South East abolished and replaced by Benfleet, and Rochford, As regards Eton and Slough, Eton was transferred to Windsor and Maidenhead, and Slough became its own constituency. Eye abolished and replaced by Aldeburgh , and Stowmarket. Aldeburgh was the centre of the Aldeburgh Festival which was founded by Benjamin Britten in 1946. The people of Aldeburgh were very pleased that the new constituency in east Suffolk would be named for their town.

 

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Proposed constituency boundary changes continued. Farnworth abolished and replaced by Worsley; North Fylde and South Fylde combined to become Fylde; Galloway abolished and replaced by Galloway and Upper Nithsdale; Gateshead West abolished and incorporated into new constituency of Tyne Bridge; Glasgow Craigton, Kelvingrove, and Queen's Park abolished and incorporated into surrounding constituencies: Glasgow Knightswood name changed to Glasgow Kelvin and gained part of Kelvingrove; Goole abolished and replaced by Boothferry; Woolwich East and Woolwich West combined to become Woolwich.

Hackney Central abolished; Hammersmith North abolished and became part of new Hammersmith seat; Hampstead, abolished and replaced by Hampstead and Highgate; Harrow Central abolished and divided between Harrow East and Harrow West; Hornsey, and Wood Green combined to become new Hornsey and Wood Green constituency; Hastings, and Rye abolished and combined to become Hastings and Rye; Hertford and Stevenage, and Hertfordshire East abolished and replaced by new Cheshunt, Hertford and Stortford, and Stevenage constituencies; Hitchin abolished and replaced by North Hertfordshire; Holderness abolished and became part of Bridlington; Horsham and Crawley divided into new Horsham, and Crawley constituencies; Houghton-le-Spring abolished and replaced by Houghton and Washington; Hounslow and Isleworth abolished and divided among neighbouring constituencies; Huddersfield East and Huddersfield West combined to become Huddersfield.

Ince abolished and replaced by Makerfield; Inverness abolished and replaced by Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber; Islington Central abolished and divided between Islington North, and Islington South and Finsbury; Skelmersdale abolished and replaced by Knowsley North, and Knowsley South; Kilmarnock abolished and replaced by Kilmarnock and Loudon; Kingston-upon-Hull Central abolished and incorporated into new Kingston-upon-North constituency.

 

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Proposed constituency boundary changes continued. Leeds Central and Lewisham East new constituencies. Leeds South East, Lewisham North, and Lewisham South abolished. Liverpool Edge Hill, Kirkdale, Scotland Exchange, Toxteth, and Wavertree abolished. Liverpool Broadgreen, Mossley Hill, and Riverside new constituencies. Luton East and Luton West replaced by Luton North and Luton South. Manchester Ardwick, Moss Side, and Openshaw abolished. Merioneth replaced by Merioneth Nant Conwy, and Merthyr Tydfil by Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney. Merton and Morden, and Mitcham, replaced by Mitcham and Morden. Middlesbrough East, and Middlesbrough West combined to become Middlesbrough. Moray and Nairn replaced by Moray. Morpeth replaced by Wansbeck, Motherwell and Wishaw divided into Motherwell North and Motherwell South.

Nantwich, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne West abolished. Newport divided into Newport East and Newport West. Norfolk Mid, and Nottingham South new constituencies, and Nottingham West abolished. Oxford divided into Oxford East, and Oxford West and Abingdon. Paisley divided into Paisley North, and Paisley South, Preston North, and Preston South combined to become Preston. Reading North, and Reading South replaced by Reading East, and Reading West.

 

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Constituency boundary changes proposed in 1988 continued. Renfrewshire West replaced by Renfrewshire West and Inverclyde, and Richmond (Surrey) by Richmond and Barnes. Ripon and Skipton combined to become Skipton and Ripon. Skipton named first because it is the larger town. Ross and Cromarty replaced by Ross, Skye, and Inverness West, Darwen and Rossendale merged into Rossendale and Darwen.

Berwick and East Lothian, and Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles abolished and replaced by East Lothian, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, and Peebles and Selkirk, Melton, and Rutland and Stamford abolished and replaced by Rutland and Melton, and Stamford and Spalding.

 

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Constituency boundary changes proposed in 1988 continued. Salford East and Salford West combined to become new constituency of Salford. Sedgefield, Sheffield Central, and South Ribble new constituencies. Sheffield Park abolished. St. Helens divided into St. Helens North and St. Helens South; Stafford and Stone abolished and replaced by Stafford, and Mid Staffordshire. Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth replaced by Falkirk East, Falkirk West, and Stirling. Stockport North, and Stockport South combined to become Stockport; Stockton split into Stockton North and Stockton South.

Teignmouth, Upper Bann, Warwickshire North, and Woodspring new onstituencies; Warrington divided into Warrington North, and Warrington South. Welwyn Garden City replaced by Welwyn and Hatfield; Morecambe and Lonsdale, and Westmorland, replaced by Morecambe and Lunesdale, and Westmorland and Lonsdale; Wirral abolished and new Wirral West constituency.

The Boundary Commissions proposed the abolition of 145 constituencies and the creation of 136 new constituencies. This would mean a reduction in the number of seats in the House of Commons from 641 to 632.

 

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The boundary commissions proposals in 1988 would mean that England would lose 115 constituencies and gain 103, Northern Ireland would lose one and gain one, Scotland would gain 21 and lose 18, and Wales would gain 11 and lose 11 So for the UK, 145 constituencies would be abolished and there would be 136 new constituencies. Therefore the number of MPs would be reduced from 641 to 632.

Of the constituencies abolished, Conservatives would lose 24, Labour 72, Liberals 45, NILP one, Plaid Cymru one, SNP two. Psephologists estimated which parties would win the new constituencies. Conservatives would take 24, Labour 62, Liberals 19, Plaid Cymru one, SNP two, and Ulster Unionists one. Five new constituencies would be won by Conservative or Labour, seven by Conservative or Liberal, eleven by Labour or Liberal, and four by Conservative, Labour or Liberal.

 

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In five constituencies there were huge amounts of opposition to their proposed abolition by the boundary commissioners. In alphabetical order they were Barnard Castle, Bodmin, Brixton, East Grinstead, and Tavistock. Local people objected to these constituencies which had existed since 1885, or even earlier, being abolished. They were places with their own historic and local indentities, and political histories. From 1903 to 1918, Barnard Castle was the constituency of one time Labour leader, Arthur Henderson. David Penhaligon, the leader of the Liberal Party and Foreign Secretary, was MP for Bodmin.

There were massive local campaigns in these constituencies against their abolition, which were covered extensively in the media. Penhaligon was active in the campaign in Bodmin. In November 1988, Parliament voted to keep these constituencies. So Bodmin, Brixton, East Grinstead, and Tavistock were not replaced by South East Cornwall, Lambeth Central, Wealden, and West Devon and Torridge respectively. Barnard Castle, which the boundary commissioners for England proposed to divide between Bishop Auckland and North West Durham, was saved. So the number of constituencies was now reduced from 641 to 633, up from 632 in the original proposals. Later that month, Parliament approved the other proposed constituency boundary changes.

 

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Hi Nick,
Thank you for your appreciation for this timeline. I'm glad you like it.

Rosa Bancroft and Catrtiona Macleod are fictional characters. As regards the people you asked about, David Owen joined the Socialist Labour Party in 1960. After standing unsuccessfully for the party in Liberal constituencies in Plymouth and Devon in the 1964, 1969 and 1974 general elections, he decided to concentrate on his medical career, and became a top rank surgeon. He left the Labour Party when Barbara Castle was elected leader in 1976. In 1982 he was appointed an Independent Life Senator. He is a member of the Health Committee in the Senate.

Norman Tebitt is Conservative MP for Chingford and shadow Employment Secretary. John Major is Conservative MP for Huntingdonshire and shadow Trade and Industry Secretary. Shirley Caitlin (Shirley Williams in OTL) is a distinguished film, stage and television actress. She has won a few of British Academy Film and Television Awards though not an Oscar. She has played leading female Shakespearean parts. She joined the Socialist Labour Party in 1949, when she was an undergraduate at Somerville College, Oxford, and has been in politically committed films and plays. She featured in a Socialist Labour Party television broadcast in the 1964 general election She was elected Labour MP for Streatham in the 1986 general election. Her career was somewhat like Glenda Jackson and Maxine Peake in OTL. Dennis Skinner is Labour MP for Bolsover and has never held a ministerial post.

There was something like Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister in this TL, which is more or less as popular as those programmes in OTL.

The Falklands War did not happen.

Politicians like Anthony (not Tony) Blair, Kenneth Clarke, and Michael Heseltine are in the Conservative Party because they believe in its values. Also they are hopeful that the party will win a general election and return to power. It will in the 1990s. Also the party controls a number of local councils. They are members of the liberal Tory Reform Party, which is a minority in the party, and would be prepared to see a Conservative/Liberal coalition. Blair has insisted that the party must return to the centre ground, and is a prominent moderniser in the party. Some right wing Liberals have crossed over to the Conservative Party, from the 1920s onwards. Chris Patten and John Patten are both Liberal MPs.

The Labour Party is formally a socialist party, and Clause Four is part its constitution. However because they are in coalition with the Liberals they can't implement socialist policies.

There is not a campaign for PR for elections to the House of Commons in the Liberal Party, though the Tory Reform Group advocates it.

The Green Party received an average of two and a half percent of the vote in the constituencies it contested in the 1986 general election. It does better in local elections and has 57 locally elected councillors. In OTL the party's breakthrough was in the 1989 elections to the European Parliament.

Britain is not a member of the European Economic Community (EEC). The Liberal Party is in favour of Britain joining the EEC, and their election manifestos have said that a Liberal government would negotiate to join. Though a minority of Liberals are against. The Conservative and Labour parties are against Britain joining. However there are minorities in favour of joining in these parties. It has been fairly low down on the list of election issues, and has never affected the outcome of a general election.

If you have any more questions about the timeline, I will be happy to answer them.

 

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In March 1985, Nikolai Ryzhkov became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, following the death of Konstantin Chernenko. (1) Mikhail Gorbachev became Chairman of the Council of Ministers (equivalent to prime minister). (2) Andrei Gromyko succeeded to the largely honorary post of President of the Soviet Union.

Ryzhkov and Gorbachev implemented their policies of glasnost (political openness) and perestroika (reconstruction. Perestroika comprised reform of the government and bureaucracy, liberalisation of the econmy with the introduction of limited private enterprise. Political dissidents were released from prison and restrictions on emigration lifted.

Meetings between Ryzhkov and US President Norma Jean Baker led to the signing of a major treaty on nuclear disarmament in September 1987, with substantial reductions in the nuclear arsenal of the USA and USSR.

The Chernobyl disaster happened in April 1986 as in OTL.

Estonia and Latvia had been part of the Soviet Union since June 1940, and Lithuania since November 1941. An independence movement in Lithuania in June 1956 was brutally crushed by the Soviet army.

(1) For Wikipedia entry for Ryzhkov see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Ryzhkov.

(2) In OTL the posts held by Gorbachev and Ryzhkov were reversed.

 

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The Estonian National Independence Party was founded in August 1988. Its aim was the restoration of Estonia as a fully independent nation. The Estonian Sovereignity Declaration was issued in November 1988. In Latvia the Latvian National Independence Movement. It wanted independence for their country. (1)

The Reform Movement of Lithuania (Sajudis) was established in June 1988 to support Ryzhkov's programme of glasnost and perestroika. In October 1988, the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic declared the supremacy of Lithuanian over Soviet law, annulled the November 1941 decision which declared Lithuania to be part of the Soviet Union, and established a multi party system. It also voted for the restoration Lithuanian flag and national anthem. (2)

(1) This was as in OTL. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Estonia, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Latvia.

(2) This was as in OTL, except that in OTL it was Gorbachev not Ryzhkov, and Lithuania was incorporated in the Soviet Union in 1940 not 1941. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lithuania.

 

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A general election was held in Ireland on Thursday 20 October 1988. The number of seats in the Dail won by each party were as follows (March 1984 general election):
Fianna Fail: 74 [91]
Labour: 68 [58]
Fine Gael: 33 [28]
Green: 1 [0]
Independents: 3 [2]
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Total: 179 [179]
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Ruairi Quinn (Labour) became Taioseach at the head of a Labour/Fine Gael coalition government, with Gemma Hussey (Fine Gael) at Tanaiste. She was the first woman to hold that post.

The sale of contraceptives to married women has been legal in Ireland since February 1968. Abortion is illegal, except when there is danger to the life of the mother.

 

[pipisme]

A general election for the Northern Ireland House of Commons was held on 16 March 1989. The number of seats won by each party were as follows (November 1984 general election):
Ulster Unionist: 21 (27)
Northern Ireland Labour (NILP): 16 (10)
Progressive: 15 (15)
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Total: 52 (52)
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Seamus Mallon became Prime Minister at the head of an NILP/Progressive coalition government.

In June 1989, the Irish and Northern Irish governments agreed that work would start on the restoration of the cross border Ulster Canal. (1) This went from County Armagh to County Monaghan and had fallen into disuse, and closed.

(1) See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Canal.

 

[pipisme]

In the Scottish Parliament election on 2 October 1982, the number of seats won by each party were as follows (October 1978 election):
Labour; 40 (38)
Conservative: 32 (35)
Liberal: 26 (29)
SNP: 23 (19)
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Total: 121 (121)
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The Labour/Liberal coalition governmemt continued in office with Jimmy Reid (Labour) as First Minister.

There was a general election for the Welsh Parliament or Senedd on 5 May 1983. The number of seats won by each party were as follows (May 1979 election):
Labour: 30 (29)
Liberal: 18 (14)
Conservative: 7 (11)
Plaid Cymru : 6 (7)
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Total : 61 (61)
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The Labour/Liberal coalition government stayed in office with Caerwyn Roderick as First Minister.

 

[pipisme]

The number of seats won by each party in the general election for the Scottish Parliament on 2 October 1986, were as follows (October 1982 general election):
Labour: 40 (40)
Conservative: 37 (32)
Liberal: 22 (26)
SNP: 22 (23)
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Total: 121 (121)
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The Labour/Liberal coalition government stayed in office with Jimmy Reid as First Minister.

The general election for the Welsh Parliament, or Senedd, was held on 7 May 1987. The number of seats won by each party were as follows:
Labour: 27 (30)
Liberal: 13 (18)
Plaid Cymru: 13 (6)
Conservative: 8 (7)
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Total: 61
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The Labour/Liberal coalition government continued in office with Caerwyn Roderick as First Minister.

 

[pipisme]

After the mid term elections in the United States on 6 November 1990, the number of seats held by each party in the House of Representatives and the Senate, were as follows (after November 1988 elections):
House of Representatives:
Republican: 194 (220)
Social Democrat: 158 (137)
Democratic: 83 (78)
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Total: 435 (435)
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Senate:
Republican: 41 (43)
Social Democrat: 38 (35)
Democratic: 21 (22)
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Total: 100 (100)
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[pipisme]

The genwral election for the UK Senate was held on 7 March 1985. The number of Senators elected for each party, and Independents were as follows (March 1979):
Conservative and Ulster Unionist: 131 (157)
Labour and NILP: 72 (61)
Liberal and Progressive: 67 (55)
SNP: 6 (5)
Plaid Cymru: 4 (3)
Independents: 4 (3)
(Irish Nationalist: 1)
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Total: 285 (285)
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There were also 175 non-elected Life Senators - 50 Conservative, 50 Labour, 50 Liberal and 25 Independents. With the Life Senators, the total number for each party and Independents were as follows:
Conservative etc: 181 (207)
Labour etc: 122 (111)
Liberal etc: 117 (105)
SNP: 6 (5)
Plaid Cymru: 4 (3i
Independents: 29 (28)
(Irish Nationalist: 1)
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Total : 470 (470)
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The general election for the UK Senate took place on 7 March 1991. The number of Senators elected for each party. and Independents, were as follows:
Conservative etc: 164
Labour etc: 59
Liberal etc : 37
SNP: 10
Plaid Cymru: 6
Green: : 4
Ihdependents: 5
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Total: 285
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There was a redistribution of seats, but no change in the number of elected Senators. Election was by the Single Transferable Vote. With the 175 Life Senators, the number for each party, and Independents, were as follows:
Conservative etc: 214
Labour etc: 109
Liberal etc : 87
SNP: 10
Plaid Cymru: 6
Green : 4
Independents: 30
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Total: 460
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[pipisme]

The Parliament Act 1936 provided for 100 Life Senators of which 75 would be nominated by the political parties in proportion to the number of their elected Senators, and 25 would be independents. If after a Senate general election, the number of elected Senators for a party increased, their number of Life Senators would increase proportionately. But if the number of elected Senators for a party decreased, the number of their Life Senators would stay the same. This meant that after each Senate general election, there was an increase in the number of Senators. Independent Life Senators would be chosen by an Appointments Commission, independent of political control. They must not be a member of a political party, or donated to one.

The Senate Reform Act 1966 fixed the number of Life Senators at 175, of which 50 would be chosen by the Conservative Party, 50 by the Liberal Party, and 50 by the Socialist Labour Party (now Labour Party) and there would be 25 Independents. The 150 Senators for the political parties include two each for their Northern Ireland allies. That is Ulster Unionists, Progressives, and NILP respectively. So no other parties are allowed to nominate Life Senators. They want to change the law, so that parties with elected Senators can choose Life Senators,

 

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In the March 1991 general election for the UK Senate, the four Green Party Senators were elected for the following constituencies: Bradford, Calderdale and Huddersfield; South Gloucestershire; Hackney and Islington; East Middlesex. They were the first Green Party representatives in the UK Parliament. They defeated Liberal Senators. Jean Lambert, elected for Hackney and Islington, was the leader of the Green Party in the Senate.

 

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Having Senators boosted the credibility of the Green Party as a serious political party. Their Senators could introduce private members bills. initiate and speak debates, and question government ministers. They would also be members of four Senate Select Committees. Proceedings in the House of Commons and House of Lords, including their Select Committees, were broadcast live on the Parliament Channel on BBT television.

On 7 May 1991, the Prime Minister, Alfred Morris, announced in a media conference outside 10 Downing Street, that a general election would be held on Thursday 6 June 1991. Parliament would be dissolved on 16 May and reassemble on 18 June, after the general election.

 

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The average percentage voting intention for the parties in opinion polls, when the general election was announced, was as follows:
Conservative: 37.8
Labour: 29.1
Liberal: 27.4
Others: 5.7
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Total: 100.0
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Because only 127 constituencies had no boundary changes, it was difficult to arrive at an accurate forecast of the number of seats for each party in the House of Commons, after the election. However the Conservatives would be the largest party, and predictions ranged from them having a small overall majority, to falling just short of one. Among the MPs retiring were Barbara Castle (Labour), Denis Healey and Roy Jenkins (both Liberal) and Margaret Thatcher and Peter Walker (both Conservative).

There was a widespread feeling that it was time for a Conservative government after 27 years of Labour and/or Liberal governments. The Conservative Party manifesto promised that a Conservative government would reduce the standard and higher rates of income tax, and corporation tax, privatise the telephone service, reduce government expenditure to end the financial deficit, give council tenants the right to buy their homes at greatly discounted prices, close unprofitable coal mines and railway lines.