List of Alternate Presidents and PMs II

[Gorrister]

It's not a yuge issue either way as long as there's footnotes.

 

[Japhy]

Just Thande it if you want to avoid direct divergences.

There's literally no reason to do that. And I say that as someone who anywhere else on the site is a major partisan for butterflies. These are lists, while brining up more obscure picks is awesome eliminating IOTL figures completely is just going back to the old Color vomit types and don't get across what they need to get across.

 

[Stuyvesant]

Same thing as TLIAD-type TLs expecting to get published: the wider world care much less about butterflies.

 

[Mumby]

A Silly Diversion

hi guys so i was looking at the british elections on omnipedia and i noticed that the new democrats are made of LOADS of parties so they have technically never won a majority so i decided to see what a list would look like if the new democrats never happened

Old democracy

1945-1955: Clement Attlee (Labour)
1955-1959: Nye Bevan (Labour)
1959-1967: Richard Crossman (Labour)
1967-1970: Reginald Maudling (Conservative)
1970-1978: Denis Healey (Labour)
1978-1983: Roy Jenkins (Labour)
1983-1992: Neil Kinnock (Labour)
1992-1996: Gordon Brown (Labour)
1996-2003: Robin Cook (Labour)
2003-2008: Michael Heseltine (Conservative)
2008-2011: Hilary Benn (Labour)
2011-2014: Hazel Blears (Labour)
2014-now: Andy Burnham (Labour)

imagine how great would be if the real winners had won

What even is this.

 

[Mumby]

no gais seriously im rely funny

 

[shiftygiant]

There's literally no reason to do that. And I say that as someone who anywhere else on the site is a major partisan for butterflies. These are lists, while brining up more obscure picks is awesome eliminating IOTL figures completely is just going back to the old Color vomit types and don't get across what they need to get across.

This may seem suspect given how it's been a few hours, but I'm not completely serious in advocating the Thande method unless you also do it in conjunction with footnotes.

A Silly Diversion

What Coffy said.

 

[Rosa Luxemburg]

This may seem suspect given how it's been a few hours, but I'm not completely serious in advocating the Thande method unless you also do it in conjunction with footnotes.

What Coffy said.

What is the Thande method?

 

[shiftygiant]

What is the Thande method?

It's a bit hard for me to explain (there used to be a nicely detailed explanation, but I can't find that anymore), but the grits of it is that the ITTL person is roughly the same as their OTL counterpart (to stress, however, if you intend to do it you should be using footnotes so it's clear who this person is).

Like how in Look to the West Joshua Churchill is analogous for Winston Churchill, but he's not Winston.

 

[Comisario]

3. Was he anti-Europe. He was pro-EEC membership after all.

He had a complicated relationship with the issue. There was more nuance to his position.

 

[Gonzo]

He had a complicated relationship with the issue. There was more nuance to his position.

True, though I think if he was PM during the early 1970s when the issue of EEC membership was at the forefront of political debate in the country, he would maintain the generally pro-membership line that was held by most PMs since Macmillan.

 

[Asami]

Like how in Look to the West Joshua Churchill is analogous for Winston Churchill, but he's not Winston.

So it's basically just giving an OTL person a new name. Works for me.

 

[Bolt451]

A Silly Diversion

How drunk were you when you wrote this, Bob?

 

[Bolt451]

Gordon Pulls it off '92

1990-1997: John Major (Conservatives)
Def: 1992: Neil Kinnock (Labour) Paddy Ashdown (Lib Dem)
1997-2009: Gordon Brown (Labour) (1)
Def 1997: John Major (Conservatives) Paddy Ashdown (Lib Dem) (2)
Def 2001: Michael Portillo (Conservatives) Charles Kennedy (Lib Dem)
Def 2005: Ian Duncan Smith (Conservatives) Charles Kennedy (Lib Dem)
2009-2010: David Milliband (Labour) (3)
2010-2015: David Davis (Conservative) (4)
Def: David Milliband (Labour) Chris Huhne (Lib Dem)
2015- Present: Yvette Cooper (Labour) (5)
Def: David Davis (Conservative) Vince cable (Lib Dem)

(1) No one expected Gordon Brown to throw his hat in the ring for Labour leader, much less beat John Smith by the narrowest of margins. Some figured Labour wanted a newer face after failing to win in '92. Smith would serve as Shadow Chancellor with Tony Blair as Foreign secretary
(2) Labour secured a very comfortable victory over the Tories in 1997 which surprised no one. Brown was seen as a safe pair of hands for the country. Some would criticise Brown's speaking style sometimes as reserved and as the years went on he built up a reputation for a strong temper and surrounding himself with cronys and supporters. Brown also had a bit of a reputation of sticking his finger into the Chancellor of the Exchequer's work wether it was Smith, Blair, Darling or (Andrew) Smith. Still Labour's moderate centre-left message remained quite popular, leading to three terms in power, despite some calls for Brown to step down after his third victory.
(3) It wasn't until the onset of the banking crisis that cracks really showed in Brown's long reign. Bailing out the banks increase the national debt greatly (though it was generally seen as a neccesity) which gave the Tories under David Davis a point of attack at PMQs. Davis had set himself up as "the anti-Brown" with a line of civil Liberties and economic freedoms. Voter and Prime Ministerial fatigue affected Brown's image in the polls and an incident where he snapped violently a Chancellor Andrew Smith lead to a vote of no confidence in Brown with centrist David Milliband winning the leadership election.
(4) Milliband was doomed from the start. Since 2007 the Tories had been polling above Labour. David Davis's government came in with a program of reducing business taxes, cutting "unnecesary" public spending
(5) 2015 was a narrow election with Labour attacking the Tories on the lack of economic growth and their percieved bias towards big business. Labour secured an eleven seat majority in the end and as such have built up a reasonable relationship with the Lib Dems. Will Cooper's program of investment and "targeted austerity" work?

 

[CanadianTory]

Presidents of the United States

41. George Herbert Walker Bush (R-Texas) | 44. Jack Kemp (R-New York) 1989-1997
1988: Bill Clinton (D-Arkansas)/Bob Graham (D-Florida)
1992: Bob Kerrey (D-Nebraska)/Paul Tsongas (D-Massachusetts), Jerry Brown (I-California)/Jesse Jackson (I-South Carolina)

42. Howard Dean (D-Vermont) | 45. Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri) 1997-2005
1996: Jack Kemp (R-New York)/John McCain (R-Arizona)
2000: George Voinovich (R-Ohio)/Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)

43. Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri) | 46. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) 2005-2009
2004: John McCain (R-Arizona)/John Engler (R-Michigan)

44. Fred Thompson (R-Tennessee) | 47. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minnesota) 2009-2015
2008: Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri)/John Kerry (D-Massachusetts)
2012: John Kerry (D-Massachusetts)/Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico)

45. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minnesota) | 48. John Kasich (R-Ohio) 2015-2017

46. Deval Patrick (D-Massachusetts) | 49. Janet Napolitano (D-Arizona) 2017-
2016: Tim Pawlenty (R-Minnesota)/Mary Fallin (R-Oklahoma)

 

[Bolt451]

SNIP

What happened to Thompson?

 

[Gonzo]

What happened to Thompson?

He died, as he did OTL.

 

[Steve Brinson]

Not particularly plausible, but I've already gone this far.

The Curse Of Ike

1953-1955: Dwight Eisenhower/Richard Nixon
1955-1957: Richard Nixon/Vacant
1957-1960: Lyndon Johnson/John F. Kennedy
1960-1961: John F. Kennedy/Vacant
1961-1962: John F. Kennedy/Estes Kefauver
1962-1963: Estes Kefauver/Vacant
1963-1963: Sam Rayburn/Vacant
1963-1963: Carl Hayden/Vacant
1963-1964: Adlai Stevenson/Vacant
1964-1965: Averell Harriman/Vacant
1965-1967: Richard Nixon/John Tower
1967-1967: John Tower/Nelson Rockefeller
1967-1968: Nelson Rockefeller/James Rhodes
1968-1969: James Rhodes/Margaret Chase Smith
1969-1971: Hubert Humphrey/Scoop Jackson
1971-1973: Scoop Jackson/Ted Kennedy
1973-1973: Ted Kennedy/Barbara Jordan
1973-1974: Ted Kennedy/Barbara Jordan
1974-1975: Barbara Jordan/Frank Church
1975-1976: Frank Church/Walter Mondale
1976-1977: Walter Mondale/Jesse Unruh
1977-1978: John Wayne/Dewey Jackson Short
1978-1979: Dewey Jackson Short/Milton Young
1979-1980: Milton Young/Gerald Ford
1980-1981: Gerald Ford/Alan Simpson
1981-1982: Jesse Unruh/Abe Fortas
1982-1982: Abe Fortas/Nick Begich
1982-1984: Nick Begich/Jimmy Carter
1984-1985: Jimmy Carter/Mickey Leland
1985-1987: Ronald Reagan/H. John Heinz
1987-1988: H. John Heinz/Lee Atwater
1988-1989: Lee Atwater/Dick Cheney
1989-1989: Lee Atwater/Dick Cheney
1989-1990: Dick Cheney/Spiro Agnew
1990-1991: Spiro Agnew/Bill Emerson
1991-1992: Bill Emerson/George Bush
1992-1993: George Bush/Bob Dole

 

[BlackentheBorg]

"Not Bad For a Peanut Farmer"
(Jimmy Carter gets a second term)

1977 - 1981: Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale
1976: Gerald Ford/Bob Dole
1980: Bob Dole/Jesse Helms
1981 - 1981: Walter Mondale/[vacant]
1981 - 1985: Walter Mondale/William Proxmire
1985 - 1993: George H.W. Bush/James A. McClure
1984: [incumbents]
1988: Thomas Eagleton/Charles T. Manatt
1993 - 1997: Jerry Brown/Robert P. Casey
Pat Buchanan/Lamar Alexander
1997 - 2005: Arlen Specter/Ross Perot
1996: [incumbents]
2000: Howard Dean/Lee H. Hamilton
2005 - 2013 : Vernon Jordan Jr./W. Fox McKeithen
2004: Ross Perot/Chuck Hagel
2008: Mitt Romney/Connie Mack III
2013 - 2016: Paul Ryan/Bob Dornan
Tom Daschle/Kurt Ehrenberg

 

[Sideways]

Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

1997-2000: Tony Blair (Labour)

Without a doubt Tony Blair's most famous moment in office came after First Contact in 1st January 2000, when an alien star ship crashed into Adelaide Island, Antarctica. The ship had been a colony vessel sent by a race who translated their name into English as "The Grey Aliens". On landing, they contacted the British base on the island. Their first contact was an apology, the race had purchased information which lead them to believe that Earth was uninhabited. This not being the case, they had opted to land in Antarctica, as it was the least inhabited part of the planet.

Their second demand was for immediate annexation. Galactic Law prohibited races from establishing independent colonies on pre-FTL worlds, thus their only option was to accept the rule of a Human government. They had been attracted to the British government by the recent development of devolution.

By April 2000, the Antarctic Devolution Act passed into law. The aliens insisted on only one addition to the UK's terms. They insisted on holding a referendum on devolution "in accordance with constitutional convention". This passed with 100% of the Grey alien's approval. Although 11 "No" votes were recorded at the British base in Rothera. The Antarctic Assembly was born.

Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Antarctica

2000-2011: Tony Blair (Labour)

2001 sparked new issues for the world with the terrorist attack on New York and an attempted assassination of President Gore. Afghanistan was occupied and the Middle East became a powder keg of difficulties as terrorists were hunted down. Old enemies such as Gadaffi, Saddam Hussein, and Assad were courted as allies and Russian forces were given assistance in their own struggles with extremists. The Iranian Protests of 2008 were originally encouraged by the West as a strike against a theocratic government, but as revolt spread to allies and it became clear that many Muslims had been convinced by a hard-line pro-Human philosophy, this attitude shifted.

Eleven years of war, along with mounting levels of debt, caused increasing problems for Labour. Gordon Brown's resignation over the PFI scandal in 2010 almost brought the government down, and Tony Blair's resignation followed soon after. Although he was fortunate enough to be in a position to select a successor.

2011-Present: David Miliband (Labour) Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat)

Miliband won the 2011 election by a narrow margin, putting the Liberal Democrats in a position to be king-makers. Electoral reform was pushed though, and the country moved to MMP. The first elections were held for the House of Lords and were won decisively by the Conservatives. The United Kingdom was a primary beneficiary of alien technologies, as a new generation of Greys started to enter the labour market, without the restrictions that their parents had worked under. The first FTL capable UN ship was launched in 2016, in a ceremony that cynics noted allowed Miliband to have a moment in the sun at a crucial time. In 2016 the Conservatives were the biggest party, but the Lib-Lab alliance held onto power. Six years into office it is clear that the Lib Dems are in control of the narrative, and are increasingly trusted with the important positions of power as the Labour party's slow degeneration picks up the pace.

First Ministers of British Antarctica

2000-2004: Shuuvin Zhan (Independent)

Antarctic Assembly: IND: 39 LAB: 5 CON: 1​

Shuuvin, the captain of the starship, opted to stand for the new assembly as an independent. Most representatives were elected on a similar basis, with only six candidates representing political parties, no elections were opposed and the Greys would later admit to not fully understanding the policies of any of the Human parties. Ten MPs were elected in by elections, all of whom were Independents.

Shuuvin's administration opted to reveal basic data from their star-ship to the Humans, although they admitted to having mind wiped themselves and their equipment of sensitive data prior to contact, as per Galactic Law. His time in power was mostly spent building a permanent settlement, which the aliens opted to call New Sedgefield, in an attempt to honour their new Head of Government. He would later admit to not fully understanding human culture during this period, however he attempted to rectify this. The aliens requested that the BBC establish a permanent presence in Antarctica, they even built a cathedral. Though it is not clear how much they understood Anglicanism - it was later revealed that Shuuvin had requested God's address because he wanted to invite Him to attend the inaugural service.

By 2002 things had improved slightly and the General Election sported candidates from the three major parties. Although all votes were cast for the candidate who had the most senior rank on board ship.

2004-2005: Laal Zurshet (Conservative)

Antarctic Assembly: IND: 28 LAB: 11 CON: 6
​

Laal had been a middle ranking psychologist on board ship and took the unusual step during his election of asking voters to vote for him rather than the more high ranking candidate in his constituency. He explained to voters that this was the whole point of elections and that choosing a candidate despite low rank was in fact the best way to participate in the Human democratic process. He won the election with 72% approval and the endorsement of the Labour candidate in his constituency. Ignoring party alliances he went on to form a pact with various MAPs to get himself elected First Minister instead of Shuuvin.

Human leaders in London were initially concerned by this display of naked ambition. But became convinced that he was merely playing the political game because he had come to the conclusion that doing so was necessary to integrate with Human society - an action that earned him a quick conversation with Peter Mandelson and an even quicker elevation to the House of Lords.

2005-2006: Shuuvin Zhan (Labour)

Antarctic Assembly: IND: 28 LAB: 11 CON: 6​

A quick defection and a by election later, Shuuvin was First Minister once again. This was a turn of events that he was never quite sure he understood. Becoming increasingly convinced that Greys of his generation could never fully participate in Human politics he asked for the right to dissolve the Assembly and hold a new election concurrent with the general election. To ensure that politics was done correctly he asked for Human politicians to be parachuted into all seats. Further, he believed this to be an opportunity to tackle gender inequality in parliament and insisted on all woman short lists. "Antarctica Needs Women" became his most famous quote. Although it was many years before he understood it.

2006-2014: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative)

2006: CON: 25 LAB: 11 LD: 3 PEACE: 1 GRN: 1 QA: 4
2010: CON: 22 LAB: 9 QA: 7 LD: 4 GRN: 3 ​

Baroness Bottomley, and the Conservative Party in general, ran an excellent though unconventional campaign in the first really contested Antarctic election. Her main campaign poster contained two thousand words and explained her various ranks and qualifications, rather than her policies. The failure of Labour's "vote for the government" campaign demonstrated the party's ailing popularity.

Sinn Fein and Mebyon Kernow cooperated in establishing Qaddernich Antarctica, a nationalist party for the Assembly. Though it campaigned mostly on the fact that civic nationalism was important to assimilation into British political life.

Bottomley's government set out to revolutionise Antarctic society. They outsourced the running of schools to British companies and re-introduced a grammar school system, they created a scheme to help Antarcticans supplement NHS costs (always high on an isolated continent with very individual needs) with private insurance and they pushed for more English lessons and integration with British culture.

The Conservatives narrowly held on to power in 2010, but it was obvious that the situation was changing. By now 25% of the population was Human and the new generation of Greys were less loyal and tied to rank. Ironically, this made them less tied to the policy of assimilating with Human culture. Distinctively Grey politics started to emerge.

Bottomley's second term was far harder than her first and she was forced to rely on deals (usually with QA) to get anything passed. She resigned as leader shortly before the next election.

2014-Present: Annunziata Rees-Mogg (Conservative)

2014: CON: 28 QA: 10 LAB: 4 GRN: 2 LD: 1
​

Antarctic elections were always a surprise, due to an unfortunate habit on the part of the Greys to lie to pollsters. Unweighted polls had shown the Conservatives on 98% but many commentators were surprised when the party scored a victory. The Tories had positioned themselves as an unapologetic party for Humans and pro-Union Greys at a time when all parties except the QA were still tip-toeing around the species issue.

Despite this stance, and having a party that still only contained one Grey MAP, Rees-Mogg has been shameless in appropriating Grey culture in her government. She implemented an ancient Grey attunement and realignment ceremony at the opening of parliament, and has made a point of always wearing Grey fashions and patterns. All the while pushing more English history and language lessons, more Human colonisation of Antarctica, and a greater role for British companies in the Antarctic public sector. The balance of hard Unionism with Grey trimmings seems to be popular, although in Antarctica, one never can tell.

 

[KingCrawa]

A Tricameral Legislature.

Lord Presidents of the Council.

Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher: 1951 – 1961

Archbishop Michael Ramsey: 1961 – 1974

Alexander Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home: 1974 – 1983

Francis “Frank” Pakenham 7th Earl of Longford: 1983 – 1993

Bernard Weatherill Baron Weatherill of North East Croydon: 1993 – 2003

Archbishop Rowan Williams: 2003 – 2012

Sayeeda Warsi Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury: 2012 – 2016

Alan West Baron West of Spithead: 2016 – Present.

Leader of the House of Commons

Hugh Gaitskell (Labour): 1951 – 1955

RA Butler (Unionist): 1955 – 1962

Peter Thorneycroft (Unionist): 1962 – 1968

George Brown (Labour): 1968 – 1972

Roy Jenkins (Labour): 1972 – 1974

David Ormsby-Gore (Unionist): 1974 – 1983

Shirley Williams (Labour): 1983 – 1993

Chris Patten (Unionist): 1993 – 1997

Jack Cunningham (Labour): 1997 – 2003

George Robertson (Labour): 2003 – 2009

David Willets (Unionist): 2009 – 2013

Hilary Benn (Labour): 2013 – Present

The POD here is that the Abdication crisis gets worse. Edward VIII insists on getting his way and the Tories split into two factions, one pro monarchy the other not. Eventually the King is convinced to step aside and when the war begins the some of the anti-monarchy faction hastily reform into the Unionist party. While this group led by Lord Halifax is the nominal leader of the national government, Labour actually hold seats.

Come the Fifties it is suggested by the King that in order to avoid another situation where a party split could lead to governmental turmoil the job of head of government should be split between the Prime Minister and the leader of a small group of the Privy Council, who would oversee legislation and advise both the PM and the King. This would lead to the UK having a tricameral legislature split between the Commons, the Lords and the Council (which would be formed of both MPs and Peers but the leader would always be a Peer). As part of this the Prime Minister assumed the title of Leader of the House while the title of Lord President of the Council was formally attached to the leader of the Council.

In order to create a sense of impartiality the first two Lord Presidents were Archbishops of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher and Michael Ramsey. However, after Ramsey’s retirement it was decided that it would be better to move away from religious figures and a ten-year maximum term limit was introduced. With the position, up for grabs, Ormsby-Gores newly elected government nominated beloved former Leader of the Lords Alec Douglas-Home to the position. While the role is officially neutral, following Labour’s victory in the 1983, Home stepped down announcing that he had come in with the Unionists and he would leave with them too.

The William’s government nominated former cabinet member Lord Longford to the role and during his tenure he pushed for the continuation of the social liberalisation that had begun but come to a swift end under Roy Jenkins who had succeeded Brown when he lost his seat in 1972 . Longford and Williams both lasted ten years before being replaced by former Speaker Bernard Weatherill and Chris Patten respectively. Weatherill got on well with both Unionist and Labour leaders, but when he stepped aside in 2003, Labour leader George Robertson decided it was time for a non-political candidate and tapped newly enthroned Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for the role.

Williams was a popular – if divisive – figure who unlike some of his predecessors made plenty of press appearances. It is suggested that the uptick in church attendance can be traced to his work. He stepped down from the role when he retired as Archbishop. Unionist leader David Willets hoping to score points by installing the first female and minority candidate to the Presidency on his watch nominated Baroness Warsi. While initially popular, Warsi was not quite enough to secure Willets re-election and she quit after only four years in the role, following disagreements over Labour’s foreign policy. To counteract this, Leader of the House Benn nominated former First Lord of the Admiralty Lord West of Spithead, who has already proven to be popular choice due to his blunt and outspoken nature.