Something for a TL idea I've had and may or may not do. Focuses on a successful Rye House plot which leads to the deposition of James II a little early and - with more radical elements of the plot taking control. The resultant government is a republican one, considerably more democratic than that of the First Commonwealth and based largely on early radical ideas. A brief civil war occurs, not dissimilar to the OTL Glorious Revolution and led by the Duke of Monmouth among others, the Commonwealth rebels are able to route James and his supporters within a year. As per OTL, the Stuarts flee to Paris along with the Tories and others who fear the new government. The Duke of Monmouth, as a neutral power and military leader acts as the first caretaker "Lord Protector" before giving way to Robert West who focuses on land reform and establishing a stable political system before, in turn, handing over to Locke who establishes his own "Commonwealth". Democratic, with elections every two years, the leader of the new Commonmen Assembly (House of Commons) elects a new "High Speaker" every election who acts as executive and speaker for both the Commonmen Assembly and for the High Assmebly (House of Lords). The continued existence of the High Assembly and of titles in general is a point of major debate and a divider between the two sides of mainstream "Liberal" politics, Levellers and Commonwealthmen. This depicts the first 25 years or so of the Commonwealth's life and how its political system shapes up. There's lots of leader continuation as elections occur every two years but nevertheless, I learnt a bunch of new names looking into this.
Fear Nothing But God
Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England and Scotland
1683-1686 - Duke of Monmouth (Independent) [1]
1686-1688 - Robert West (Green Ribbon/Leveller) [2]
1688 - John Locke (Leveller) [3]
High Speaker of the Commonwealth of Albion and Ireland
1688-1703 - John Locke (Leveller) [3]
def. 1688 John Ayloffe (Green Ribbon), Thomas Belasyse (Old Protectors), Earl of Argyll (Kirk Party), John Owen (Godly)
def. 1690 Baille of Jerviswood (Diggers), Thomas Belasyse (Old Protectors), Earl of Argyll (Kirk Party), John Ayloffe (Green Ribbon), William Carstares (Godly)
def. 1692 Baille of Jerviswood (Diggers), John Lambert (Old Protectors), Aaron Smith (Green Ribbon), Earl of Argyll (Kirk Party), Robert Ferguson (Godly)
def. 1694 John Trenchard/Richard Nelthorpe (Diggers/Green Ribbon), Charles Fleetwood (Old Protectors), Robert Ferguson (Godly)
def. 1696 John Trenchard (Commonwealthmen), Charles Fleetwood (Old Protectors), William Willams (New Protectors), John Paterson (Godly)
def. 1698 John Trenchard (Commonwealthmen), William Willams (Whig), Charles Fleetwood (Protector), John Paterson(Godly)
def. 1700 John Trenchard (Commonwealthmen), Robert Harley (Whig), Richard Cromwell (Protector) [6], John Graham(Godly)
def. 1702 Robert Harley (Whig), Walter Moyle (Commonwealthmen), John Graham (Godly), Richard Cromwell (Protector)
1703-1704 - Awnsham Churchill (Leveller) [4]
1704-1708 - David Leslie (Whig) [5]
def. 1704 Awnsham Churchill (Leveller), John Owen (Godly), Walter Moyle (Commonwealthmen), Richard Cromwell (Protector), Jon Straw (Diggers)
def. 1706 Richard Hampden (Diggers), Lord Oxford (Leveller), Angus North (Godly), Walter Moyle (Commonwealthmen), Richard Cromwell (Protector)
[1] When the members of the Green Ribbon Club, who had for some years been plotting the deposition of James II, learned that they had a traitor among them their plans were rapidly accelerated. Raising an army of volunteers they marched on Westminster in May 1683 and, with the coward King James fleeing the city for Paris, set up a new English and Scottish Commonwealth. The Duke of Monmouth commanded this army, having raised more than half of it himself and despite his own claims to the throne, was persuaded to support a republican government by the rest of the Club. When James returned in July with an army consisting of loyalists and French soldiers, Monmouth forged his volunteer forced into the second New Model Army and was appointed Lord Protector as well as Supreme General of the Commonwealth Forces. Monmouth routed the exiled King at the Battle of Christmas Day and James, captured, was forced to sign away his titles, acknowledge the new state and was eventually publicly shamed. As a few minor rebellions flared up Monmouth remained in place for a further two years in order to ensure stability but readily handed the reigns of power to civilian leaders once his time was up.
[2] Robert West is an oft forgotten leader in early Commonwealth politics, sandwiched awkwardly between the military hero Monmouth and the Father of the Nation that followed him, he is none the less greatly respected by historians and generally ranked very favourably. West ensured the passing of the Commonwealth Constitution Bill through Parliament which entitled the new government to make "emergency and essential" reforms to the new government, passing early land reform to take all crown estates and some lordly holdings into common ownership, he was able to narrowly avoid war with France but his greatest achievement is likely holding together the various factions of the rebels in the early years. Consisting of everything from hardline, anti-catholic Protestants to Leveller radicals to Presbyterian dissident ministers, the coalition was broad. Nevertheless, West was able to satisfy the demands of all factions whilst himself holding the loyalty of the two "Green" parties, the Levellers and the more radical, doctrinarian Green Ribbon. The office wore on West's health however and, satisfied that the Magnificent Revolution was safe, handed over to his friend and ally John Locke.
[3] Locke is uniquely revered within the relatively cynical Albionic nation. The true father of the commonwealth, Locke penned the vast majority of the Commonwealth's new constitution act and whilst deliberately preserving the "unwritten constitution" his Commonwealth Constitution Act of 1688 remains the most significant piece of constitutional legislation ever passed in the Commonwealth. Ever dramatic, Locke christened the new Commonwealth as "Albion", calling for a mythical name for his ambitious project. He created the new Chambers of Assembly consisting of the non-partisan High Assembly and partisan Commonman Assembly which represented the interests of both Lords and the Church and the People, respectively. Locke's newly established position of High Speaker (appointed by members of both Chambers of Assembly) made him Head of State as well as Speaker in both Houses. The franchise was extended to all those who were literate and held
any amount of land, which was most adult men following his land and educational policies. Locke's ideas of liberalism slowly began to merge with the egalitarian and interventionist thoughts of the Levellers and a policy of Westite-Lockean Economics (OTL Georgism mixed with Locke's ideas of ownership via working the land) was instituted, with
all land held by the government on behalf of the people but often loaned "indefinitely" to peasant farmers. If you could work it, you could own it. Locke also established the basis of Albion's
Enlightened Childe program of state-funded and mandated Sunday school education. This, along with the governmental support of printing press expansion, rapidly made Albion the most literate country in Europe and possibly the world. War with France, avoided under West, proved inevitable as Britain was dragged into the Ten Years War. Their victory in North America, winning them Louisiana, Ohio and Arcadia whilst selling Rupert's Land to the French, was compounded by a Dutch-German route of French forces in Europe. The resultant Anglo-Dutch alliance or "Sisterhood of Republics" would be expanded over the coming decades and even centuries and remains the world's oldest alliance. The Commonwealth's victory abroad and success at home ensured Locke was an unbeatable High Speaker, only the splitting of radical Levellers off into the "Digger" faction (who were dismayed at Locke's moderation in the face of the High Assembly) and the resultant Commonwealthmen Party allowed for a genuine opposition to emerge. Locke's debates with close friend but political rival John Trenchard are famous and would set the stage for a series of tense political rivalries between the Speaker and Leader of the Opposition in the coming centuries. Toward the end of Locke's tenure, he focused on more controversial aspects of his beliefs and attempted to further the rights and political engagement of women as well as further emancipation of minority religions, affording Catholics some of the rights that they were stripped of following the revolution. This led to a general decline in Leveller popularity though Locke remained a national hero. Eventually, the strains of office became too much and Locke died of a heart attack in May 1703, almost exactly 20 years after the deposition of King James. Whilst the Levellers would struggle in the years following his death, Locke had established a party and movement that consistently remains Albion's "natural ruling party". The Commonwealth was born from his mind and he remains its greatest hero, it is not unusual even today for boys to be given the first name "Locke".
[4] Churchill was a student and admirer of Locke and historians generally believe him to be competent in his own right. His ideas for more radical electoral reform, however, worried some parts of the electorate and this fear, combined with a general feeling of exhaustion with Leveller victories in the past eight elections led to a relatively new, moderate opposition taking over.
[5] David Leslie was Albion's first Whig High Speaker. Whilst Trenchard's Commonwealthmen had formed the main opposition under Locke, Trenchard himself stepped back from frontline politics in 1700 and under Walter Moyle the Commonwealthmen succumbed to infighting and disunity. This allowed the moderate and centrist Whigs, a splinter of the hard-right Old Protectors (made up almost entirely of old supporters of the Cromwellian Protectorate and in favour of reestablishing said old order) who adopted the old tenants of Whiggism and moderate liberalism, to take the High Speaker's chair. Leslie was a moderate in all things, largely in favour of the political and economic status quo he lowered taxes and allowed for greater accumulation of land under the most successful farmers. He was also a proponent of free trade, signing treaties with the Dutch, Portuguese and even the French that brought boons to the Albionic economy. Thanks to the reforms started by Locke, it was under Leslie's Speakership that the first industrial revolution slowly began to take shape and minor potteries popped up across the nation. The economy boomed and this, combined with Leslie's non-interventionist stance abroad led to an explosion of banks and corporations within the Commonwealth. Despite this, however, Leslie was forced into cooperation with the Godly Party and even some moderate Protectors in his second term as the resurgent Diggers and still-powerful Levellers turned his majority in the Assembly into a minority. With cooperation between the Levellers and Diggers mounting in the face of the 1708 election, it seems that Leslie's Whig might be pushed back to the opposition benches sooner rather than later...
[6] The return of the younger Cromwell to Commonwealth politics was unexpected but he seemed to have matured in exile and, riding on the coattails of his father, kept the Protectors a united and powerful force in the face of moderate opposition. Some fear that he will make a mad dash for power but for now Richard Cromwell is content to wait, building a true conservative opposition and setting up the conditions neccessary for a return to autocracy...
Party Breakdown:
Levellers - A coalition of both traditional, proto-socialist Levellers as per OTL and Lockean ideas of property and liberty. Vaguely social democratic or Libertarian Socialist, they are major believers in the division of powers and social liberties. They are also surprisingly feministic for the 17th/18th centuries, espousing a legal equality for women in stark contrast to all other parties, they favour women's suffrage in the long term but first call for "political education of the fairer sex" and indeed are in favour of - albeit low - economic and educational limits on just who can vote. Have implemented the world's first public education system with government funded Sunday Schooling. Locke who led the party and country for more than a decade is considered to be the most important of the country's founding fathers and the Levellers largely formed in his image. Because of this, they are often considered the natural ruling party of the Commonwealth.
Green Ribbon - More extreme levellers, slightly more authoritarian and in favour of more dramatic reform including the abolition of any and all titles as well as the abolition of the High Assembly. Led by more extreme members of the initial Rye House Plot.
Diggers - Similarly to Green Ribbon, to the left of the Levellers but more comparable to Anarcho-Communists than their more authoritarian brethren in the GR. Want to give more power to devolved county governments and to establish a primacy for agricultural workers in the Commonwealth. Almost entirely agricultural in their support they also act as a farmer's interest party. Merge with Green Ribbon to form the Commonwealthmen but then break away again once that party drifts towards more moderate and populist ideas. Their second incarnation is possibly even more radical than the first and calls for universal male suffrage regardless of wealth or education, the expansion of government aid programs and a policy of religion equality, which distinguishes them from the other parties, all Protestant, Puritan or Presbytarian.
Commonwealthmen - A coalition of the above two parties, the Commonwealthmen from the first early opposition to the Levellers. In favour of the more decentralised government, the abolition of the High Assembly, devolution to the regions and higher taxes than their Leveller brethren. Want to increase the frequency of elections from bi-annual to annual. Agricultural in their base they start to drift towards something similar to Jacksonian Democracy as the 1700s roll around, become increasingly militant and populist and favour imperial expansion. The Diggers break away again, more radical and popular than ever.
Old Protector/Protector - Authoritarian and conservative, led by the leaders of the old Commonwealth and supporters of Cromwell, the Protectors are the most conservative grouping within the Assembly. They call for the re-establishment of the Lord Protector and the reimposition of dictatorial, Puritan government.
New Protector/Whig - A splinter of moderate Protectors formed what we would consider a classical liberal party, in favour of more lax taxes on land and less firm policing of fairness as well as a more isolationist foreign policy than the relatively interventionist Levellers, Commonwealthmen and Protectors. They believe in the political status quo and the continued existence of the High Assembly, turning to the "ancestral and educational abilities of the country's Lords which are so essential in the steering of the ship of state. Following defections from left and right and a strong election performance in 1704 they are able to briefly win power following Locke's death in 1703.
Kirk Party - Little more than a political vehicle for the Earl of Argyll, the Kirk Party broadly represented Scottish interests within the Commonwealth but rapidly faded into obscurity.
Godly Party - The Presbytarian ministers so essential in the original revolution now form a large voting block in both chambers of the Assembly. Ensuring the dominance and privileges of the Protestant faith are maintained, all of their Lords and Commonmen are Priests or Ministers and they further conservative social values and paternalistic ideas.
This took waaaaaaaaaaay longer than it was meant to but I may pop back to add in more backstory and annotations but feel free to ask questions. 
