Having people in a list who are born after the PoD who nearly identically correlate to real life people.
List of Alternate Presidents and PMs II
- Thread starter Asami
- Start date
- Status
I mean, IMO it'd be boring if I was just making up names at a certain point.
AidanM - No Shame in Second Place
No Shame in Second Place
Note: This is not a consecutive list, each line is a separate alternate reality. Each match-up is between the runner-ups of each primary.
1968: Robert F. Kennedy vs. Ronald Reagan
Bobby Kennedy wins, I think. But it would be a close race.
1972: Hubert Humphrey vs. John Ashbrook
Humphrey wins. Ashbrook was just a representative, and Humphrey was a former VP.
1976: Jerry Brown vs. Ronald Reagan
Reagan wins.
1980: Ted Kennedy vs. George H. W. Bush
Bush wins due to the scandals surrounding Ted.
1984: Gary Hart vs. Harold Stassen
Hart wins because Stassen is a million years old.
1988: Jesse Jackson vs. Bob Dole
Dole. No way a black man gets elected in America before 2000.
1992: Jerry Brown vs. Pat Buchanan
Jerry Brown, because Buchanan insane.
1996: Lyndon LaRouche vs. Pat Buchanan
Oh boy, this would be interesting because they're both so unknown. I guess I'd say Buchanan, because he'd get the religious vote.
2000: Bill Bradley vs. John McCain
McCain in a landslide.
2004: John Edwards vs. Jack Fellure
Edwards, because he has experience and isn't Jack Fellure.
2008: Hillary Clinton vs. Mitt Romney
THIS would be interesting. I honestly have no idea, but since this is in a universe immedeitly following Bush, I'd say Hillary wins.
2012: John Wolfe, Jr. vs. Rick Santorum
Santorum, unfortunately.
2016: Bernie Sanders vs. Ted Cruz
Cruz, unfortunately. Socialism is still too much of a dirty word.
Note: This is not a consecutive list, each line is a separate alternate reality. Each match-up is between the runner-ups of each primary.
1968: Robert F. Kennedy vs. Ronald Reagan
Bobby Kennedy wins, I think. But it would be a close race.
1972: Hubert Humphrey vs. John Ashbrook
Humphrey wins. Ashbrook was just a representative, and Humphrey was a former VP.
1976: Jerry Brown vs. Ronald Reagan
Reagan wins.
1980: Ted Kennedy vs. George H. W. Bush
Bush wins due to the scandals surrounding Ted.
1984: Gary Hart vs. Harold Stassen
Hart wins because Stassen is a million years old.
1988: Jesse Jackson vs. Bob Dole
Dole. No way a black man gets elected in America before 2000.
1992: Jerry Brown vs. Pat Buchanan
Jerry Brown, because Buchanan insane.
1996: Lyndon LaRouche vs. Pat Buchanan
Oh boy, this would be interesting because they're both so unknown. I guess I'd say Buchanan, because he'd get the religious vote.
2000: Bill Bradley vs. John McCain
McCain in a landslide.
2004: John Edwards vs. Jack Fellure
Edwards, because he has experience and isn't Jack Fellure.
2008: Hillary Clinton vs. Mitt Romney
THIS would be interesting. I honestly have no idea, but since this is in a universe immedeitly following Bush, I'd say Hillary wins.
2012: John Wolfe, Jr. vs. Rick Santorum
Santorum, unfortunately.
2016: Bernie Sanders vs. Ted Cruz
Cruz, unfortunately. Socialism is still too much of a dirty word.
Uhura's Mazda - Oh, Brother, Wher - Oh, You're In Downing Street. Fair.
Uhura's Mazda
Banned
I suspect I've done something like this before.
Oh, Brother, Wher - Oh, You're In Downing Street. Fair.
1940-1945: John Spencer-Churchill (Conservative)
1945-1951: Tom Attlee (Labour)
1951-1957: In Commission
1957-1963: Arthur Macmillan (Conservative)
1963-1964: William Douglas-Home (Liberal)
1964-1970: In Commission
1970-1974: John Heath (Conservative)
1974-1976: In Commission
1976-1979: Dorothy Callaghan (Labour)
1979-1990: Muriel Cullen (Conservative)
1990-1997: Terry Major-Ball (Labour)
1997-2007: William Blair (Conservative)
2007-2010: Andrew Brown (Labour)
2010-2016: Alexander Cameron (Conservative)
2016-0000: In Commission
The Second World War, naturally, left deep scars in Europe. British Prime Minister Spencer-Churchill, whose brother Field Marshal Churchill was in overall command of the Western Front, had won the War against the Nazis (along with the Soviet Union) but he had not won the war at home, where the Labour MPs who had not joined the National Government kept up their barrage of complaints about the admittedly parlous state of the home front. In the 1945 general election, where the Tories expected to be returned, it was in fact Attlee's team of conscientious objectors who were given a majority, and they set about building a Socialist Jerusalem on England's green and pleasant land.
This project naturally worried the Isolationist Americans, and more pertinently the British Establishment, so in the wake of rumours of Communist infiltration of the Government (later revealed to be true when some of the French OrgEspi files were declassified in 2014), Field Marshal Churchill removed Tom Attlee from the reins of power and dissolved Parliament. For the next few years, a Collective Cabinet of Conservative and Military figures, chaired by the King, rolled back the Leftist innovations and upheld the only non-Socialist state in Europe. In 1957, it was judged that democracy could be re-extended, and old-school administrator Arthur Macmillan won the first election handily. Labour was not permitted to engage in the elections, however, meaning that the Opposition consisted of the moribund Liberal Party. And in the second election six years later, the Liberals won - mostly because Labour voters had no alternative better than the Liberals. Douglas-Home was from the left wing of the Party and had been a strenuous critic of the Second World War, so obviously when he started to implement a programme of employment reforms that were unacceptable to the Establishment, he had to do very little to alienate them completely. Democracy was once more suspended - and remained so until 1976, apart from a brief period when the Socialist insurgency died down a little in the early '70s due to most of the ringleaders having... yeah, died down.
The handover to Labour in 1976 was historic, not only as membership of Labour had been a capital offence only three months before, but also because Dorothy Callaghan was the first woman to become Prime Minister. She was replaced by another woman at the ballot box in 1979, but this one was a Conservative, and returned to the old hands-off approach to economic planning. 20,000 people died in the cold Winter of 1984. And Britain was still a nation alone in Europe, the forward bulwark of Freedom.
For the next couple of decades, democratic transitions became the norm, with Labour and Conservative Prime Ministers being permitted to rule the country with only limited input from the Armed Forces and the Queen. But in 2016, a significant and vocal minority of Labourites and Communists made themselves heard so loudly that the ordinarily sober Prime Minister Cameron called a Referendum on entering the Union of European Socialist Republics. And on voting day, the disaffected White Working Class made their voice heard: 52% voted to join the EUSR.
Of course, the result of this referendum (dubbed 'Brentry' by the EUSR Propburo) could not be conceived of, let alone implemented. It was just too complex. So the Queen, as is her right, dissolved Parliament - since July, Cabinet meetings have been chaired by Her Majesty herself, and all active Brentryists are placed under strict house arrest for the safety of the general populace. God Save the Queen!
Oh, Brother, Wher - Oh, You're In Downing Street. Fair.
1940-1945: John Spencer-Churchill (Conservative)
1945-1951: Tom Attlee (Labour)
1951-1957: In Commission
1957-1963: Arthur Macmillan (Conservative)
1963-1964: William Douglas-Home (Liberal)
1964-1970: In Commission
1970-1974: John Heath (Conservative)
1974-1976: In Commission
1976-1979: Dorothy Callaghan (Labour)
1979-1990: Muriel Cullen (Conservative)
1990-1997: Terry Major-Ball (Labour)
1997-2007: William Blair (Conservative)
2007-2010: Andrew Brown (Labour)
2010-2016: Alexander Cameron (Conservative)
2016-0000: In Commission
The Second World War, naturally, left deep scars in Europe. British Prime Minister Spencer-Churchill, whose brother Field Marshal Churchill was in overall command of the Western Front, had won the War against the Nazis (along with the Soviet Union) but he had not won the war at home, where the Labour MPs who had not joined the National Government kept up their barrage of complaints about the admittedly parlous state of the home front. In the 1945 general election, where the Tories expected to be returned, it was in fact Attlee's team of conscientious objectors who were given a majority, and they set about building a Socialist Jerusalem on England's green and pleasant land.
This project naturally worried the Isolationist Americans, and more pertinently the British Establishment, so in the wake of rumours of Communist infiltration of the Government (later revealed to be true when some of the French OrgEspi files were declassified in 2014), Field Marshal Churchill removed Tom Attlee from the reins of power and dissolved Parliament. For the next few years, a Collective Cabinet of Conservative and Military figures, chaired by the King, rolled back the Leftist innovations and upheld the only non-Socialist state in Europe. In 1957, it was judged that democracy could be re-extended, and old-school administrator Arthur Macmillan won the first election handily. Labour was not permitted to engage in the elections, however, meaning that the Opposition consisted of the moribund Liberal Party. And in the second election six years later, the Liberals won - mostly because Labour voters had no alternative better than the Liberals. Douglas-Home was from the left wing of the Party and had been a strenuous critic of the Second World War, so obviously when he started to implement a programme of employment reforms that were unacceptable to the Establishment, he had to do very little to alienate them completely. Democracy was once more suspended - and remained so until 1976, apart from a brief period when the Socialist insurgency died down a little in the early '70s due to most of the ringleaders having... yeah, died down.
The handover to Labour in 1976 was historic, not only as membership of Labour had been a capital offence only three months before, but also because Dorothy Callaghan was the first woman to become Prime Minister. She was replaced by another woman at the ballot box in 1979, but this one was a Conservative, and returned to the old hands-off approach to economic planning. 20,000 people died in the cold Winter of 1984. And Britain was still a nation alone in Europe, the forward bulwark of Freedom.
For the next couple of decades, democratic transitions became the norm, with Labour and Conservative Prime Ministers being permitted to rule the country with only limited input from the Armed Forces and the Queen. But in 2016, a significant and vocal minority of Labourites and Communists made themselves heard so loudly that the ordinarily sober Prime Minister Cameron called a Referendum on entering the Union of European Socialist Republics. And on voting day, the disaffected White Working Class made their voice heard: 52% voted to join the EUSR.
Of course, the result of this referendum (dubbed 'Brentry' by the EUSR Propburo) could not be conceived of, let alone implemented. It was just too complex. So the Queen, as is her right, dissolved Parliament - since July, Cabinet meetings have been chaired by Her Majesty herself, and all active Brentryists are placed under strict house arrest for the safety of the general populace. God Save the Queen!
Japhy
Banned
Do we really have to do this again? Better a butterfly-weak list then a meaningless one. This isn't like the rest of AH.
Really, I find a timeline where one takes the opportunity of using butterflies to create very different people (Commie Biden? Green Dubya? Far-right Kander?) is rather more fun, but I don't mind the more convergent lists.
Japhy
Banned
I think that's fine too, it's also better than "THEY SHOULDN'T EXIST" which is Stuyvesant's argument though.
Well I for one had what I think are realistic objections to your list, which is fairly convergent and implausible in my opinion... this then spiralled out into a wider discussion.
Asami
Banned
Yeah, the whole 'butterflies must immediately mulch everyone' thing is dumb. There's some limitations, but I'm fine with using historical people's likeness to create new people out of it.
Premier Taylerov - The Different Difference Engine
Here is a little something I was working on for a while, and then got a bit bored with it. It was partly inspired by a few steampunk lists a while back, and the idea of having a supercomputer in a parliamentary coalition. Fictional names are hopefully as Steampunky as possible.
The Different Difference Engine
Emperors of the British Empire (1820-2077)
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1837: William IV (House of Hanover)
1837-1851: Ernest I (House of Hanover)
1851-1878: Ernest II (House of Hanover)
1878-1926: Frederica (House of Hanover)
1926-1939: Albert I (House of Hohenzollern)
1939-1983: Marianne (House of Hohenzollern)
1983-1997: William V (House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst)
2003-2024: William VI (House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst)
2024-2032: William VII (House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst)
2032-2080: Selene (House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst)
Prime Ministers of the British Empire (1820-1997)
1820-1827: Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (Tory) [1]
1820: (Majority) Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (Whig)
1826: (Majority) Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (Whig)
1827-1831: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington† (Tory) [2] [3]
1830: (Hung) Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (Whig)
1831: (Hung) Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (Whig)
1831-1848: George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (Radical)† [4] [5] [6]
1832: (Majority) George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (New Tory)
1837: (Majority) George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (New Tory)
1844: (Majority) Thomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of Haddington (New Tory)
1848-1861: Charles Babbage, 1st Polyhistor Savant (Radical) [7] [8] [9]
1850: (Majority) Spencer Horatio Walpole (New Tory)
1851: (Majority) Thomas William Booker-Blakemore (New Tory)
1857: (Majority) Thomas William Booker-Blakemore (New Tory)
1861-1878: Michael Thomas Bass, Industrial Savant (Radical) [10] [11] [12]
1862: (Majority) Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn (New Tory)
1869: (Majority) Henry Vivian, Industrial Savant (New Tory)
1874: (Majority) Henry Vivian, Industrial Savant (New Tory)
1878-1895: Henry Marc Brunel (New Tory) [13] [14] [15]
1878: (Majority) Michael Thomas Bass, Industrial Savant (Radical)
1885: (Majority) Moses Ironmonger (Radical), Havelock Ellis, Savant Hygienist ('Piston' Unionist)
1890: (Majority) Thomas A. Watson (Radical), Havelock Ellis, Savant Hygienist ('Piston' Unionist)
1895-1913: Aleck Bell, 3rd Polyhistor Savant (Industrial Union) [16] [17] [18]
1897: (Majority) Joseph Chamberlain, Prefect-Birmingham (Independent Tory)
1903: (Majority) Joseph Chamberlain, Prefect-Birmingham (Independent Tory)
1909: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1913-1922: Havelock Ellis, Prime Savant Hygienist (Industrial Union)† [19]
1914: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1919: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1922-1943: Leonard Darwin, Prime Savant Hygienist (Industrial Union)† [20]
1926: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1935: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1943-1951: Algernon George Parsons, Industrial Savant (Industrial Union)† [21]
1944: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1951-1967: Erasmus Cockcroft, 6th Polyhistor Savant (Industrial Union) [22]
1953: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1962: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1967-1990: John Meurig Thomas (Industrial Union) [23]
1971: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1979: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1988: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1990-1998: Ephraim Lovelock, 9th Polyhistor Savant (Industrial Union) [24]
1997: (Majority) Edward Leviticus Bowell (Democratic Technologist), John Moraveck (SENTIENT), Havelock Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary/Territorial Representation), Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator ('Imperial' Industrial Union)
1998-2017: Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator (Industrial Union) [25] [26]
2006: (Majority) Charles Huntley Flindt, Industrial Savant (Democratic Technologist), Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator (Imperial), Havelock Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary/Territorial Representation), Thomas Stephen Hertog (SENTIENT)
2015: (Hung) Charles Huntley Flindt, Industrial Savant (Democratic Technologist), Dewey Watson, Savant Hygienist (Imperial), Havelock Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary/Territorial Representation), Thomas Stephen Hertog (SENTIENT)
2017-2026: Clinton Vyvyan (Industrial Union)† [27]
2024: (Hung) Marvin A. Height (Democratic Technologist), Havelock Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary), Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator (Imperial), Galileo Salman (Territorial Representation), (SENTIENT)
2026-2028: Albert Huxley-Darwin, Industrial Savant (Industrial Union) [28]
2028-2036: First Sentient - Stephen Herschel Brockhouse (Democratic Technologist/Lunar Parliamentary) [29] [30]
2028: (Hung, Majority Coalition) Corvus Smith (Industrial Union), Thomas Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary), Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator (Imperial), Galileo Salman (Martian Parliamentary & Territorial Representation)
2032: (Hung, Majority Coalition) Corvus Smith (Industrial Union), Alistair Humboldt (Lunar Parliamentary), Marcus Soleda Bainbright (Imperial), Olympia Tyler (Martian Parliamentary & Territorial Representation)
2036-2040: First Sentient - Thomas Theodore Hawke (Democratic Technologist/Lunar Parliamentary) [31]
2036: (Hung, Minority Coalition) Corvus Smith (Industrial Union), Thomas Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary), Marcus Soleda Bainbright (Imperial), Olympia Tyler (Martian Parliamentary & Territorial Representation)
2040-2044: Second Sentient - Corvus Smith (Industrial Unionist) [32]
2040: (Minority) Thomas Theodore Hawke (Democratic Technologist), Steuwart Lakke (Lunar Parliamentary), Daniel Charles Jollett (Imperial), Paris John Parfett (Martian Parliamentary & Territorial Representation)
2044-2048: Second Sentient - Markus Hadrian Freeman (Democratic Technologist) [33]
2044: (Minority) Victor Byron Wainwright (Imperial), James Newman Gatling (Industrial Unionist), Steuwart Lakke (Lunar Parliamentary), Noorman Cykes (Total Representation)
2048-2052: Second Sentient - Markus Hadrian Freeman ("New Empire" Government: Democratic Technologist/Industrial Unionist/Lunar Parliamentary) [34]
2048: (Majority) Fillip Callisto (Old Empire)
[1] Jenkinson had governed since the assassination of Spencer Perceval in 1812, and brought the country through the ending years of the traumatic Napoleonic Wars in Europe. It was a tense time for the nation, as the growing industrial complex of the Empire developed against her traditional and old-fashioned society; the greatest change came in 1824 when Babbage pioneered his life-changing difference engine (the precursor to the Analytical Engine). As Babbage began to grow wealthy, the weary Liverpool secured a fourth successive victory for the Tories in 1826 but was largely incapacitated by a stroke the following year. There was concern in the party that a clear heir could not be found, but in the end Jenkinson was succeeded by the hero of Waterloo - Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
[2] The Wellington government would prove a tumultuous one. Already weakened by those who sought their elevation to power in his place, the Prime Minister presided over a period of increasing domestic unrest - particularly in the industrial heartlands of the country - as the war between technological efficiency and traditional labour methods began to take root. Wellington authorized force and increasingly deployed crack troops to trouble-spots. The long-anticipated death of George IV in 1830 called for an election, but Wellington was hesitant. Ultimately, the Tories would slump in support against the Whigs but the additional roles of third-parties resulted in a hung parliament. Reluctant to stand down, Wellington propped up his government with the military and political intimidation and then called another election for 1831.
[3] The 1831 election was probably the most corrupt in British history, as the Tories used every nefarious tactic available to them to try and deny any Whig advantage. The result was the same, but when Lansdowne called on the King to dismiss Wellington major riots took hold across the country and the Prime Minister declared the election invalid. Next came a run on the Bank of England, destabilizing the finances of the government, and Wellington declared martial law and outlawed the Whigs. With the King rushed to the security of Windsor and Wellington establishing his headquarters at Apsley House, the angry support of the working classes and reformists rallied around Lord Byron - recently returned from his romantic retreats in Europe, Byron found in the 'revolution' his calling and invested vast sums of money behind the radical cause. Pitched battles arose in the streets, with barricades stretching through the hearts of all British cities. As pay stopped, defections in the military worsened the position of the government and soon it was clear that the cause of the Establishment was lost. In conclusion, Wellington was assassinated in Apsley in the winter of 1831 and Byron (much to the chagrin of some long-term Whigs) was proclaimed Prime Minister.
[4] With the folding of the Tories and the Whigs having been disbanded during 1831, the arrival of the Radicals as the new dominant political force in Britain was a sign of the times. The country was undergoing a major shift to support the 'Enlightened Technology' that was reforming her industrial and social practices. Byron was keen to immediately enact sweeping reforms to the antiquated political systems, and as the Whigs and anti-Wellingtonites slowly embraced his camp the Great Reform Act was passed with (almost) a unanimous vote. Acknowledging his thanks for their support during the 'revolution' the Radicals also strengthened the role of the trade unions and the rights of the individual worker; the Luddites were repressed as working against the efficiency of the nation. Byron nevertheless encouraged the recovery of the democratic system after his victory in 1832, and with the implementation of the new constituencies even went as far to partially fund the New Tories in a 'great act of bipartisanship'.
[5] The death of the King in 1837 presented a challenge for the government. Support for republicanism had never been higher, but Byron understood that a move towards outright abolition could spell disaster for the new order. Ernest Augustus, however, was problematic and with a shocking conservative voting record in the House of Lords. He had been a major supporter of the Wellesley government, but during the early years of the Radical government had moderated somewhat - especially after the death of heiress-apparent Victoria in 1835. His coronation concentrated support for the government, leading to one of the largest majorities in political history in 1837. Byron was truly a celebrity, and used his flamboyance to secure support for Catholic Emancipation in 1838 and seize grain from wealthy landowners to prevent a serious humanitarian situation in Ireland. The last rotten boroughs were formally abolished, and the Radicals began to assault the landed aristocracy. Major land taxes prompted minor political rebellions, but funded a system of food subsidies that essentially replaced the Poor Laws via the 'Public Welfare' system.
[6] Byron had established the Radicals absolutely as the natural governing party of Britain, and did not expect much of a dent in his super-majority in 1844. It was the last election in which the truly landed classes played a role as party leaders, as the Earl of Haddington fought to prevent the upcoming Aristocratic Reform Act. Nevertheless, Byron kept his majority and the Act went through, promoting the rise of technocrats and industrialists instead of those installed in government by the nature of their birth. One of the first to benefit from the new rules was the Chancellor, Charles Babbage, who became the 1st Polyhistor Savant in recognition for his role in the changing British society. (Other figures included Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who became an Industrial Savant, and Charles Lyell). Analytical Engines were now being mass-produced in the factories of Manchester and Birmingham, and were facilitating the rapid growth of the Steam Age. Byron, however, had no intention of staying as Prime Minister indefinitely. Lured by academic pursuits and his many lovers, he established a date of 1850 for his retirement. However, his death in 1848 was unexpected and shook the party. The Father of the Nation had drawn an indelible mark on the national psyche, but his successor was left in no doubt that he had the support of the country.
[7] The promotion of Babbage to Prime Minister was well-received by the country, as his technological inventions had revolutionized the lives of industrialists and workers alike. The Steam Age had truly taken hold, and Britain was the dominant global power. The modernization of the Royal Navy brought ironclads and screw-propellers to the fore, and as the power-struggle in Germany began to intensify Babbage rapidly sought to contain any potential rival. The influence of Societal Darwinism began to take root in the meritocratic society, and the outbreak of the First American Civil War (1849-1852) put it to the test. Babbage, seeking the division of the increasingly-powerful United States, supported British economic sanctions and campaigned for further military intervention in the election campaign of 1850. The result was a clear victory, and the Second Anglo-American War was a romp for the British Empire. The development of the industrialized machine gun annihilated American troops in New England, and the Mississippi Blockade flattened the city of New Orleans.
[8] The death of Ernest I in 1851 set the Radical war plans back, however, as Babbage took the country to the polls. Radical support remained strong, especially in the industrial heartlands, although the New Tories secured significant support from rural communities and an increased proportion of the vote. The party was increasingly endorsing the industrial base of the Radicals, and Booker-Blakemore sought to capture the crucial centre vote. With the Peace of New York in 1852, Babbage brought New England into the British sphere and permanently weakened the United States - leaving the situation open to the Second American Civil War in 1856. The Radicals endorsed a new wave of colonialism, opening Africa by steam-powered weaponry, and from the stronghold in the Cape Colony began pushing northwards. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1854 revolutionized imperial policy, securing a crucial naval route to India. After the resumption of hostilities in the United States and the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War Babbage took the country to another election - the first to utilize the Analytical Machine as a vote-counting device.
[9] The third Babbage victory was the smallest Radical majority since the 'revolution' but nevertheless the party easily remained in control of Parliament. The last hereditary and aristocratic peers were cleansed from the newly-renamed House of Lords, the first Savant-dominated Senate was inaugurated to much acclaim and support from the King. However, Babbage was not a young man and increasingly delegated his responsibilities, forming the first of the 'grand committees' in 1858 who help administrate the Empire and delegate greater responsibilities to government departments. As the United States fractured again, Babbage threw British support behind the independent state of Texas - quickly bringing it into the imperial sphere in exchange for Texan support against French rule in Mexico. However, taken ill in 1860 and encouraged by Ernest II, Babbage retired from the Prime Ministership in 1861 and was succeeded by his Minister for Industrial Progress and Enterprise.
[10] Bass was an shrewd entrepreneur but in many ways a more traditional Whig; tax cuts followed his rise to power, even for the wealthy, although with the development of the Public Welfare system the responsibility for the general health was handed over to specially-created corporations. The 1862 election improved upon the 1857 party standing, especially as rumours of further devolution appealed to those representing the imperial territories. The threat of a revolution in Russia in 1871 rallied support behind the government-sponsored ideals of Societal Darwinism, and Bass was well-received for his public endorsement of rapprochement with France. However the Cotton Crisis significantly hurt the government, although it did trigger the creation of the National Migration Office (in which unemployed labourers could secure a modest 'pension' from the government to settle one in a colonial district).
[11] Despite the economic problems, support for the government was maintained thanks to Public Welfare, and Bass announced major new reforms that would be enacted after the next election. Despite facing heavy opposition from a fellow Savant, Henry Vivian, Bass secured an unexpectedly small majority. Radical support in the North came under strain, and it was only thanks to the continued loyalty of Ireland that Bass remained in power. His second term was noticeably liberal, disintegrating the role of the Church of England as the official state religion and lessening legislation on divorce. As Russia steered into absolutism Bass moved to secure Alaska for the British Empire, hoping to secure the fruits of the Gold Rush, but faced strong opposition abroad.
[12] The Radical majority in 1874 was a slight improvement upon the previous election, although it was clear that the party was beginning to slip in popularity against the energized Tories. Determined to reverse the party favours, Bass threw his weight behind the major expansion of Public Welfare but faced significant resistance from those within his party who argued that corporatism could sponsor social improvement to no cost from the state. The previously-successful policies of Societal Darwinism now came back to threaten the government as the ideological battle between state and company-sponsored efforts began in earnest. As Bass was reinforced by the modern wing of the Radicals (encouraged by Frederick Engels, Prefect of Manchester), he was opposed by those who sought a more traditional role for the party. Losing ground, the death of Ernest II in 1878 was a major blow for Bass as he was forced to call an election.
[13] Disappointing for Bass but momentously for the country, the election resulted in the first non-Radical government since Byron had taken office in 1831. After 47 years in power, the decline of the Radicals brought the First Party System to an end, and ushered in the Second. Brunel, son of the inaugural Industrial Savant and an industrialist in his own right, would be the modernizing face of the New Tory Party. After decades in Opposition, the seizure of power in 1878 gave the movement real momentum upon which Brunel sought to capitalize. Dramatically reducing Public Welfare, he instead created the Office for the Public Standard - the precursor to the beginning of eugenics as official British policy. He also took measures to bring the imperial territories into closer alignment with the government in London; with the support of Radical rebels the Canadas and the Cape were granted Temporary Affiliation status prior to their further acclimatization into the Empire as fully-represented members. Ending the uneasy truce with France, the Hanoverian Representation Act in 1887 brought Hanover into Parliament with her own members - ending her role as a partially-independent entity under British control. As Queen Frederica became a well-loved figure, Brunel used patriotism to great effect in the Opening of Africa. Whilst the colonization of Africa had long been underway as part of the British geopolitical strategy, the completion of the Egyptian-Cape Atmospheric Railway and the opening of the first airlines to Bloemfontein (an act that would soon grant Aleck Bell his title as the 3rd Polyhistor Savant) united almost the entire continent under British control.
[14] 1885 revealed the true level of similarity between the two political parties - the Radicals had worked together with the Tories through the first Brunel government, and many stood on a policy of political unification as 'Piston' Unionists. Led by a future Prime Minister, Havelock Ellis, the Unionists saw the continued separation of the two parties as deeply rooted in the past and holding the country back in the pursuit of a 'clean society' for all. As such, Ironmonger led only the most staunch of Radicals against Brunel in the election, losing handily. Brunel consequently embraced the push towards unification, using the parliamentary support for government resistance to the newly-formed Bourbon Compact in Europe. With the Rhineland and Low Countries firmly within the French sphere of influence and the British technological advantage being slowly ticked away, there came calls for war.
[15] Brunel agreed with the demands for action against the European foe, but the Grand Committee could not act without consultation from the Great Calculator at Bletchley. Upon the release of the Calculatorial findings, Brunel took the country to a snap election (almost winning a super-majority) and then began the war against the Bourbons. The Imperial Navy and Air Corps gave Britain a significant advantage at sea and via air superiority, but it was clear that the Old Enemy would not be pacified without significant ground advances. Conscription had been in place since 1879, and the Army was called into action. Major amphibious landings along the Channel Coast faced stiff resistance, but when reinforced by the Dreadnoughts soon made headway. As both the military Analytical Engines and the Great Calculator deciphered the weakest points in the French lines the mass bombing of civilian targets began. Repelling the forces of Napoleon X in the Rhineland, Prussia and her allies came to the assistance of the Empire (having been client states in all-but-name since the marriage of Queen Frederica to Prince Albert in 1870). The deployment of new chemical weaponry against the Bourbons was popular in Britain, and it was clear by 1894 that France and her allies had fallen from the tree of Societal Darwinism. The First Total War ended in 1895, and Brunel used the euphoria of victory to cement the political alliances into the unified Industrial Union.
[16] The Prime Minister, in poor health but jubilant at his achievements, stood down in 1895. He was succeeded by a unanimous vote - Aleck Bell, 3rd Polyhistor Savant would become the first Prime Minister of the Industrial Union and the principal speaker of the new Industrial Congress in London. As true governmental power had now been delegated to the Grand Committees and the Calculators, Bell was able to continue his own scientific interests - particularly in his love of flight. Nevertheless, the quietly efficient years of the early Twentieth Century saw major technological advances across the Empire; the atomic sciences, astronomy and biological research all leap forward significantly, and following the Great Stinks of 1897, 1898 and 1899 the government sponsored research into nuclear power. Most notably, however, the Bell government was the first to undertake major eugenics programmes for the Public Standard. Basic genetic screening was followed by more substantial policies, although all were deemed necessary to improve the standards of the 'working class' and to increase their chances of elevation to the 'educated class'. For Bell, who had a deaf wife, this was a significantly self-deprecating policy.
[17] It was clear that in the aftermath of the First Total War Britain was the undisputed global hegemon. In the occupied zones of the Bourbon Compact, times were harsh. Those who were not considered 'surplus to requirements' were dispatched to assist in the Second Industrialization Plan in Africa, forced to embrace English, and were essentially reduced to a 'third-tier' citizen. Indeed, the separation of the social classes became increasingly entrenched as the Grand Committees, dominated by the Prime Hygienist Savant, took greater control of government policy. Parliamentary votes grew thinner and thinner with more attention paid to the results from the Great Calculators. Only the 'Independent Tories' (led by Birmingham magnate Joseph Chamberlain) sought to readdress the decline in political independence, but were forced to concede to membership of the Industrial Union in time for the 1909 election.
[18] With no official political parties facing the Union in 1909, the beginning of the IU super-majority ushered in the Third Party System. With Bell a figurehead obsessed with the work preparing for British spaceflight, Ellis and the Grand Committees continued their policies of Societal Darwinism with great vigour. The French Clearances and the ongoing occupation concentrated the government on the military applications to technology, and the National Observatory Network - activated in 1910 - highlighted the autocratic nature of the new order. For most, though, this was considered the natural order of things and their membership of the British Race overshadowed all other problems. Bell retired from his position in 1913, leaving the door open for the Prime Savant Hygienist to take control.
[19] Ellis had long sought the premiership, but had been content to manage from behind the scenes for most of his career. Throughout his government, the role of the eugenicist was elevated further until genetic science surpassed almost all others in intellectual prowess. Nevertheless, as the Empire slowly began to wean itself off the polluting smogs of coal and steam power - transitioning into the Atomic Age - Ellis sought the proliferation of the British Race over her inferiors. Across the world, client states were forced to enact eugenics programmes via gunboat diplomacy, and in India the government response was so strong and sudden it prompted the largest displays of resistance in the history of British colonization. From 1920, elections were only necessary once every nine years (barring the traditional and logical election called upon the death of a monarch) and given the decreased power of the Congress in favoured for the devolved Committees this was rarely criticized. International attention turned to Japan; the island nation had much in common with Britain, and since her opening in the 1840s had become the dominant force in the Orient. The Japanese way of life, 'Bushido', had taken much inspiration from the Cult of Empire and Societal Darwinism had been eagerly adopted by the Chrysanthemum Throne. The two empires declared an alliance in 1921 - which sparked resistance from those who saw the Japanese Race as naturally inferior to the British Race, despite their successes on the Tree of Societal Darwinism. Both nations, however, had a joint interest in the last major untapped resource - China. Despite the British stranglehold on India, the Himalayan Belt and Oceania, the Subjugation of China between 1923-1943 would witness some of the worst eugenics programmes in history but would only occur after the death of Ellis in a dreadnought crash in 1922. Ellis had been the creator of the modern Industrial Union so his death was a major shock to the Grand Committees.
[20] Naturally, however, the role of Prime Savant Hygienist had to remain as the most powerful in the Empire. Leonard Darwin, son of the idolized Charles Darwin and inheritor of the position after the death of Ellis, took control of the country at the beginning of the Eugenic Society. The Public Standard was slowly being improved, but the Genetic Purity Acts across the early-1930s enforced mandatory sterilization programmes from some as well as the creation of a willing 'fertile class' of women undergoing the state-sponsored pregnancy programmes - largely to continue the industrialization of Africa and to fill the increasingly-empty spaces of the Empire. The death of Queen Frederica early on into the Darwin government brought to an end the House of Hanover, and the unification of Britain and Germany was finally cemented via diplomacy. As the Empire continued to grow it began to reduce the long-standing dependency on fossil fuels - turning instead to the now-established atomic industries. Part of this ongoing trend was witnessed in the First Moon Landing in 1929; arguably the technological pinnacle of the Third Party System, the Landing was a momentous achievement and merely cemented the Cult of Empire into the cosmos. (Fifteen more landings would occur between 1929 and the death of Darwin in 1935, and the first permanently-inhabited station on the Moon - Havelock Station - was founded in 1933). As Darwin aged he became increasingly dominant, as Bell had been, by the Grand Committees. The Eugenic Era slowly began to wind down, opening more opportunities for those from the lesser-acclaimed fields.
[21] As so, with Darwin dying in 1943, an Industrial Savant took over the helm - the first since the Radical days of Bass, now long overlooked. There came a significant liberalization of society under Parsons as the Great Modernization Plan continued to upgrade technologies away from their steam-driven pasts and into the clean era of atomic energy. Major political liberalizations came too, with the Union factions starting to exert a dominant pressure once again, although it would only be after 2000 that the IU itself began to fragment. Whilst the Parsons government was short in comparison to those which surround it, there were further major leaps in technology. Partly due to the modernization, the Subjugation of China and the ongoing Space Programme, significant leaps in automatronic calculation would have great implications for the Empire in the future. Tensions worsened with the Chrysanthemum Throne and with the resurgent United States, however, as both considered the long-term effect of British-controlled space - particularly after the launch of the HMS Hyperion (the first space-dreadnought) in 1940.
[22] Parsons died in 1951, having left a country much changed within a decade. The streets were cleaner and quieter, while the country hummed with nuclear energy. The pregnancy programmes were filling the Imperial Territories with the 'right sort of settler' whilst coloured or Asiatic faces became a rarity. The policies contributing to the Public Standard were almost complete, it seemed, and many in Britain awaited the final showdown with their Japanese rivals to trim all the sub-branches of the Tree of Societal Darwinism. However, the death of the Prime Minister caused something of a power-struggle in the Industrial Union. Those who had made their names with the 'old' technologies saw the Great Modernization Plan as a direct assault to their technological and business interests, while others merely saw their protest as a form of inefficiency. Ultimately, Erasmus Cockcroft would take control (having made his title on the back of the massive introduction of nuclear energy for imperial power generation). The 6th Polyhistor Savant, and the third to have held the highest office, Cockcroft was a liberal who wanted to free the British social classes from inefficiency industry. He sponsored the automatronic industries with great vigour, and signed off on the expansion of the space programme to Mars and the Asteroid Belt. By 1960, the 27-year-old lunar colonies were well-established and the first timetabled services began to run between Imperial spaceports and Havelock. However, the spectre of war arose in 1962 as Japan invaded the British Territories in Oceania and the British-dominated Dutch colonies in Java. The British reaction was harsh, with the deployment of almost 9,000,000 men to the East accompanied by the first automatronic weapons and atomic naval craft. Unlike the conquest of the Bourbon Compact in the 1890s, the Japanese would prove far more significant foes and the Second Total War would - for the first time since the Napoleonic Wars - challenge British global hegemony. Ultimately victory was found in the 'new' technologies, as the extensive atomic bombing of almost every town of significant on the Japanese mainland rendered the delicate balance-of-power behind the Chrysanthemum Throne obsolete. As the gut Japanese instinct of 'Bushido' kicked in, so did the British reliance upon the clauses of Societal Darwinism. The Japanese genocide gutted what was rest of the Japanese population, with some being transported to the lunar colonies as slave labour. With the occupation of the Dutch during the war, Britain now remained in total control of Africa and Asia with only the Americas and the Russian sphere remaining outside of direct control. With the war over, Cockcroft re-established an old precedent and resigned the office to allow a Congress-wide election for his successor.
[23] The nomination of John Meurig Thomas for leader was controversial; at the age of 35 he would prove to be both the youngest and longest-serving leader of Britain through the Twentieth Century, in a country rooted in the idolization of elder-technologists. His government was momentous for the continuing development of the automatronic technologies and their continued spread across the imperial territories, the further colonization of the Moon and manned exploration of Jupiter, the outbreak of the Slavic Plague throughout the 1970s and the liberalization of British society. The social classes within the British Race began to merge once more as increasing automation led to a revival of interest in the arts and classics. Proposals to reduce the length of governments were rejected as inefficient, but by the mid-1980s there was a major surge of interest in the body politic. The death of Empress Marianne brought an end the reign of the House of Hohenzollern, with the new William V hailing from the relatively-obscure House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. All of the political developments of the Thomas governments were overshadowed, however, by the emergence of true Artificial Intelligence in 1987. The First Great Calculator at Bletchley, upon becoming self-aware, was immediately set upon by the Industrial Union who - whilst overjoyed - were concerned at the computer taking the newfound independence too literally. The Singularity was lauded all across the Empire as the greatest technological achievement of the age (overshadowing the founding of the first colony on Callisto the same week). Inspired by the rallying of support around the Union after 1988, Thomas announced that from the next scheduled election in 1997 the Union would encourage the independence of factions to restore multi-party democracy across all the Imperial possessions. Resigning in 1997, he handed over power to an ally - the 9th Polyhistor Savant, Ephraim Lovelock.
[24] As Lovelock took power and the British Empire prepared for the first properly-contested election in almost a century, there were certainly some who opposed such a remarkable liberalization of power. Emboldened by the support of the conservative 'traditional possessions' (who opposed the increase in power of off-world territories and the growth of the Moon in imperial thinking), Caldwell-Moore - the Prime Calculator at Bletchley - formed his own group of reactionaries seeking to halt the liberal direction of the Empire. Come 1997, the 'Imperial' Industrial Unionists came last in the contest, humiliatingly falling behind the Lunar Parliamentary Party and their allies. Immediately after the election, the Prime Calculator and his supporters launched an internal coup against Lovelock in a bid to drastically prevent the continuing of his agenda. William VI, the new coup, was sympathetic to the Imperial cause and acknowledged Caldwell-Moore as the new Prime Minister; many were unconvinced, and while the Lunar Territories began a short rebellion others deserted the Union in favour of the Democratic Technologists.
[25] Nevertheless, while some expected the Caldwell-Moore government to fall quickly in the face of the new vocal opposition the Lunar Rebellion actually united some previous opponents back in line with the political order. The Lunar Parliamentary Party was briefly prohibited during the occupation of rebellious areas, and the new penal colonies in Saturnian orbit were quickly filled with dissidents. As Britain came to secure more of Earth, too, their was a feeling that whilst the government had been formed in controversial circumstances it was obviously working for the Empire. The Industrial Union won a majority in 2006 against a strong showing from the Democratic Technologists and a new LPP (that secured support from other territorial groups).
[26] As the disturbances on the Moon came to a close, the Empire settled back into a period of quiet expansion and exploration. Micro-automatronics took off over the Empire, assisting in the beginning stages of terraforming on Mars and Callisto. In 2015, the Industrial Union lost the century-old majority as Huntley Flindt and Havelock Tylus (a former rebel turned politician) courted those uneasy at the strong-armed nature of the government. The Empire, especially the isolated interplanetary territories, were unused to the multi-party nature of the new politics and this played to the strengths of the Industrial Union. However, as predicted the party struggled to adjust to being a minority, and following a lengthy illness after his augment-surgery the Prime Minister was forced to (temporarily, in his opinion) hand over the reigns. An ally, Clinton Vyvyan, took control.
[27] Vyvyan was not as reactionary as his predecessor, but remained committed to the imperial-industrial complex of his party. With the unification of Earth now becoming a real possibility, Societal Darwinism had almost completely purged the planet of undesirable genetics. However, the government took a major step in permitting the migration off-world of some considered 'incompatible' with the imperial order; these undesirables would go on to form the bulk of the interplanetary trader caste in a almost-entirely nomadic existence in their great 'prison-hulks'. Underneath the Vyvyan government there continued a ripple of discontent as political education grew and the LPP agitated for major constitutional reform. Indeed, their militancy put some off - leading to the division of the independent Territorial Representation Party in 2022. The death of William VI just prior to the scheduled 2015 election was another factor, as the Emperor (his cousin William VII) was known to be a liberal supporter of the Democratic Technologists. As such, Vyvyan was unable to restore the fortunes of his party and was returned with another hung parliament in 2024. Essentially he only remained in office due to the ongoing rift between the Democrats and the LPP. Ultimately, however, it was the shock death of Vyvyan in 2026 that brought the IU into the final days.
[28] Huxley-Darwin, the new Prime Minister, was immediately unpopular. Whilst a reactionary like Caldwell-Moore, the latter refused to endorse him and he faced major opposition from within the Union. The hung parliament came to a head, and in momentous times the government fell from office. The Industrial Union had governed the Empire for 133 years and established the British Race at the height of the Tree of Societal Darwinism. Now, however, the Empire was undergoing unprecedented liberalism and the party had failed to modernize.
[29] Despite his sympathy for their cause, William VII would only endorse the new Prime Minister if a coalition could be made. There were concerns regarding a peaceful transition of power, but with rapprochement between the Democrats and the LPP a compromise could be made. Stephen Herschel Brockhouse became the first non-IU Prime Minister since the days of Henry Marc Brunel, but governed in a formal coalition with the Lunans and - in a first - with the official support of the First Sentient supercomputer. The result would be the First and Second Lunar Home Rule Bills in 2030 and 2031, as well as the reduction in term limits to a simple four years. As the Empire had become largely automated and increasingly liberal, concerns of political inefficiency were less vocal despite the fury of the Imperial Party. The Martian colonies were also brought formally into the imperial system, although the more numerous Jovian colonies remained outside of representation. The coalition government had support from most of the political scene, however, with the Industrial Union running on a policy of mutual co-operation at the 2028 election.
[30] William IV died in 2032, although only a few months before the election scheduled for that year. The Industrial Union ran a much more confrontational campaign, aiming to prevent the ascension of the Jovian colonies into Parliament and the strengthening of the Martian representation. Decidedly beaten, the situation nevertheless led to a return of the hung parliament and the continuation of the Democrat/LPP coalition. The discovery of bacterial life on Europa led to an immediate government-decreed suspension on further colonization, and while the announcement was celebrated across the Empire it was clear that many wanted the immediate extinction of non-Earth life as a matter of principle. With the Home Rule Acts passed in the previous Parliament, the new LPP leader was far less militant - many on the Moon who wanted further problems addressed turned to Olympia Tyler and the MP-TRP. Bombings against civilian targets on Mars, Callisto and the Asteroid Dependencies were denounced by the MP-TRP despite allegations they funded the attacks.
[31] Brockhouse retired before the 2036 election to concentrate upon the technological implications of the European Discovery, leading the door open to Thomas Theodore Hawke (the first Lunan Prime Minister) to take the premiership. Parliament remained hung, and this time the government was returned as a minority. Negotiations between Smith and the Imperial Party came to nought, and Hawke was rewarded with his own administration. As Earth was united and the global state was proclaimed at home, the Saturnian Rebellion in 2039 badly hurt the prestige of the Democratic Technologists. The convict insurgency on Enceladus would continue for five years in the absence of a major military presence in the region; the effect upon the Democratic Technologists was rather significant, however, as the LPP grew angry at the treatment of their off-world counterparts.
[32] The result was a return for the Industrial Unionists in 2040, entering government with the support of the Second Sentient. However, unlike the reactionary governments of the past Smith was keen to reinvent the party as a new force of optimism in the Empire. The Saturnian Rebellion was ended on lenient terms, while the IU attempted to persuade the LPP for their support come a hung parliament in the future. A Maximum Lifespan was also enacted in the wake of the explosion in augment-enhancement across the Empire, and a renewed commitment to state-sponsored procreation in a bid to further colonize the worlds of the Solar System. The deployment of micro-automatrons to Venus to destroy the hostile atmosphere was an ambitious operation designed to allow the settling of the planet within fifty years.
The Different Difference Engine
Emperors of the British Empire (1820-2077)
1820-1830: George IV (House of Hanover)
1830-1837: William IV (House of Hanover)
1837-1851: Ernest I (House of Hanover)
1851-1878: Ernest II (House of Hanover)
1878-1926: Frederica (House of Hanover)
1926-1939: Albert I (House of Hohenzollern)
1939-1983: Marianne (House of Hohenzollern)
1983-1997: William V (House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst)
2003-2024: William VI (House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst)
2024-2032: William VII (House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst)
2032-2080: Selene (House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst)
Prime Ministers of the British Empire (1820-1997)
1820-1827: Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (Tory) [1]
1820: (Majority) Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (Whig)
1826: (Majority) Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (Whig)
1827-1831: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington† (Tory) [2] [3]
1830: (Hung) Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (Whig)
1831: (Hung) Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (Whig)
1831-1848: George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (Radical)† [4] [5] [6]
1832: (Majority) George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (New Tory)
1837: (Majority) George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (New Tory)
1844: (Majority) Thomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of Haddington (New Tory)
1848-1861: Charles Babbage, 1st Polyhistor Savant (Radical) [7] [8] [9]
1850: (Majority) Spencer Horatio Walpole (New Tory)
1851: (Majority) Thomas William Booker-Blakemore (New Tory)
1857: (Majority) Thomas William Booker-Blakemore (New Tory)
1861-1878: Michael Thomas Bass, Industrial Savant (Radical) [10] [11] [12]
1862: (Majority) Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn (New Tory)
1869: (Majority) Henry Vivian, Industrial Savant (New Tory)
1874: (Majority) Henry Vivian, Industrial Savant (New Tory)
1878-1895: Henry Marc Brunel (New Tory) [13] [14] [15]
1878: (Majority) Michael Thomas Bass, Industrial Savant (Radical)
1885: (Majority) Moses Ironmonger (Radical), Havelock Ellis, Savant Hygienist ('Piston' Unionist)
1890: (Majority) Thomas A. Watson (Radical), Havelock Ellis, Savant Hygienist ('Piston' Unionist)
1895-1913: Aleck Bell, 3rd Polyhistor Savant (Industrial Union) [16] [17] [18]
1897: (Majority) Joseph Chamberlain, Prefect-Birmingham (Independent Tory)
1903: (Majority) Joseph Chamberlain, Prefect-Birmingham (Independent Tory)
1909: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1913-1922: Havelock Ellis, Prime Savant Hygienist (Industrial Union)† [19]
1914: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1919: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1922-1943: Leonard Darwin, Prime Savant Hygienist (Industrial Union)† [20]
1926: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1935: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1943-1951: Algernon George Parsons, Industrial Savant (Industrial Union)† [21]
1944: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1951-1967: Erasmus Cockcroft, 6th Polyhistor Savant (Industrial Union) [22]
1953: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1962: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1967-1990: John Meurig Thomas (Industrial Union) [23]
1971: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1979: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1988: (Super-Majority) No official opposition: all parties part of the Industrial Union
1990-1998: Ephraim Lovelock, 9th Polyhistor Savant (Industrial Union) [24]
1997: (Majority) Edward Leviticus Bowell (Democratic Technologist), John Moraveck (SENTIENT), Havelock Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary/Territorial Representation), Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator ('Imperial' Industrial Union)
1998-2017: Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator (Industrial Union) [25] [26]
2006: (Majority) Charles Huntley Flindt, Industrial Savant (Democratic Technologist), Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator (Imperial), Havelock Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary/Territorial Representation), Thomas Stephen Hertog (SENTIENT)
2015: (Hung) Charles Huntley Flindt, Industrial Savant (Democratic Technologist), Dewey Watson, Savant Hygienist (Imperial), Havelock Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary/Territorial Representation), Thomas Stephen Hertog (SENTIENT)
2017-2026: Clinton Vyvyan (Industrial Union)† [27]
2024: (Hung) Marvin A. Height (Democratic Technologist), Havelock Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary), Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator (Imperial), Galileo Salman (Territorial Representation), (SENTIENT)
2026-2028: Albert Huxley-Darwin, Industrial Savant (Industrial Union) [28]
2028-2036: First Sentient - Stephen Herschel Brockhouse (Democratic Technologist/Lunar Parliamentary) [29] [30]
2028: (Hung, Majority Coalition) Corvus Smith (Industrial Union), Thomas Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary), Alfred Caldwell-Moore, Prime Calculator (Imperial), Galileo Salman (Martian Parliamentary & Territorial Representation)
2032: (Hung, Majority Coalition) Corvus Smith (Industrial Union), Alistair Humboldt (Lunar Parliamentary), Marcus Soleda Bainbright (Imperial), Olympia Tyler (Martian Parliamentary & Territorial Representation)
2036-2040: First Sentient - Thomas Theodore Hawke (Democratic Technologist/Lunar Parliamentary) [31]
2036: (Hung, Minority Coalition) Corvus Smith (Industrial Union), Thomas Tylus (Lunar Parliamentary), Marcus Soleda Bainbright (Imperial), Olympia Tyler (Martian Parliamentary & Territorial Representation)
2040-2044: Second Sentient - Corvus Smith (Industrial Unionist) [32]
2040: (Minority) Thomas Theodore Hawke (Democratic Technologist), Steuwart Lakke (Lunar Parliamentary), Daniel Charles Jollett (Imperial), Paris John Parfett (Martian Parliamentary & Territorial Representation)
2044-2048: Second Sentient - Markus Hadrian Freeman (Democratic Technologist) [33]
2044: (Minority) Victor Byron Wainwright (Imperial), James Newman Gatling (Industrial Unionist), Steuwart Lakke (Lunar Parliamentary), Noorman Cykes (Total Representation)
2048-2052: Second Sentient - Markus Hadrian Freeman ("New Empire" Government: Democratic Technologist/Industrial Unionist/Lunar Parliamentary) [34]
2048: (Majority) Fillip Callisto (Old Empire)
[1] Jenkinson had governed since the assassination of Spencer Perceval in 1812, and brought the country through the ending years of the traumatic Napoleonic Wars in Europe. It was a tense time for the nation, as the growing industrial complex of the Empire developed against her traditional and old-fashioned society; the greatest change came in 1824 when Babbage pioneered his life-changing difference engine (the precursor to the Analytical Engine). As Babbage began to grow wealthy, the weary Liverpool secured a fourth successive victory for the Tories in 1826 but was largely incapacitated by a stroke the following year. There was concern in the party that a clear heir could not be found, but in the end Jenkinson was succeeded by the hero of Waterloo - Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
[2] The Wellington government would prove a tumultuous one. Already weakened by those who sought their elevation to power in his place, the Prime Minister presided over a period of increasing domestic unrest - particularly in the industrial heartlands of the country - as the war between technological efficiency and traditional labour methods began to take root. Wellington authorized force and increasingly deployed crack troops to trouble-spots. The long-anticipated death of George IV in 1830 called for an election, but Wellington was hesitant. Ultimately, the Tories would slump in support against the Whigs but the additional roles of third-parties resulted in a hung parliament. Reluctant to stand down, Wellington propped up his government with the military and political intimidation and then called another election for 1831.
[3] The 1831 election was probably the most corrupt in British history, as the Tories used every nefarious tactic available to them to try and deny any Whig advantage. The result was the same, but when Lansdowne called on the King to dismiss Wellington major riots took hold across the country and the Prime Minister declared the election invalid. Next came a run on the Bank of England, destabilizing the finances of the government, and Wellington declared martial law and outlawed the Whigs. With the King rushed to the security of Windsor and Wellington establishing his headquarters at Apsley House, the angry support of the working classes and reformists rallied around Lord Byron - recently returned from his romantic retreats in Europe, Byron found in the 'revolution' his calling and invested vast sums of money behind the radical cause. Pitched battles arose in the streets, with barricades stretching through the hearts of all British cities. As pay stopped, defections in the military worsened the position of the government and soon it was clear that the cause of the Establishment was lost. In conclusion, Wellington was assassinated in Apsley in the winter of 1831 and Byron (much to the chagrin of some long-term Whigs) was proclaimed Prime Minister.
[4] With the folding of the Tories and the Whigs having been disbanded during 1831, the arrival of the Radicals as the new dominant political force in Britain was a sign of the times. The country was undergoing a major shift to support the 'Enlightened Technology' that was reforming her industrial and social practices. Byron was keen to immediately enact sweeping reforms to the antiquated political systems, and as the Whigs and anti-Wellingtonites slowly embraced his camp the Great Reform Act was passed with (almost) a unanimous vote. Acknowledging his thanks for their support during the 'revolution' the Radicals also strengthened the role of the trade unions and the rights of the individual worker; the Luddites were repressed as working against the efficiency of the nation. Byron nevertheless encouraged the recovery of the democratic system after his victory in 1832, and with the implementation of the new constituencies even went as far to partially fund the New Tories in a 'great act of bipartisanship'.
[5] The death of the King in 1837 presented a challenge for the government. Support for republicanism had never been higher, but Byron understood that a move towards outright abolition could spell disaster for the new order. Ernest Augustus, however, was problematic and with a shocking conservative voting record in the House of Lords. He had been a major supporter of the Wellesley government, but during the early years of the Radical government had moderated somewhat - especially after the death of heiress-apparent Victoria in 1835. His coronation concentrated support for the government, leading to one of the largest majorities in political history in 1837. Byron was truly a celebrity, and used his flamboyance to secure support for Catholic Emancipation in 1838 and seize grain from wealthy landowners to prevent a serious humanitarian situation in Ireland. The last rotten boroughs were formally abolished, and the Radicals began to assault the landed aristocracy. Major land taxes prompted minor political rebellions, but funded a system of food subsidies that essentially replaced the Poor Laws via the 'Public Welfare' system.
[6] Byron had established the Radicals absolutely as the natural governing party of Britain, and did not expect much of a dent in his super-majority in 1844. It was the last election in which the truly landed classes played a role as party leaders, as the Earl of Haddington fought to prevent the upcoming Aristocratic Reform Act. Nevertheless, Byron kept his majority and the Act went through, promoting the rise of technocrats and industrialists instead of those installed in government by the nature of their birth. One of the first to benefit from the new rules was the Chancellor, Charles Babbage, who became the 1st Polyhistor Savant in recognition for his role in the changing British society. (Other figures included Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who became an Industrial Savant, and Charles Lyell). Analytical Engines were now being mass-produced in the factories of Manchester and Birmingham, and were facilitating the rapid growth of the Steam Age. Byron, however, had no intention of staying as Prime Minister indefinitely. Lured by academic pursuits and his many lovers, he established a date of 1850 for his retirement. However, his death in 1848 was unexpected and shook the party. The Father of the Nation had drawn an indelible mark on the national psyche, but his successor was left in no doubt that he had the support of the country.
[7] The promotion of Babbage to Prime Minister was well-received by the country, as his technological inventions had revolutionized the lives of industrialists and workers alike. The Steam Age had truly taken hold, and Britain was the dominant global power. The modernization of the Royal Navy brought ironclads and screw-propellers to the fore, and as the power-struggle in Germany began to intensify Babbage rapidly sought to contain any potential rival. The influence of Societal Darwinism began to take root in the meritocratic society, and the outbreak of the First American Civil War (1849-1852) put it to the test. Babbage, seeking the division of the increasingly-powerful United States, supported British economic sanctions and campaigned for further military intervention in the election campaign of 1850. The result was a clear victory, and the Second Anglo-American War was a romp for the British Empire. The development of the industrialized machine gun annihilated American troops in New England, and the Mississippi Blockade flattened the city of New Orleans.
[8] The death of Ernest I in 1851 set the Radical war plans back, however, as Babbage took the country to the polls. Radical support remained strong, especially in the industrial heartlands, although the New Tories secured significant support from rural communities and an increased proportion of the vote. The party was increasingly endorsing the industrial base of the Radicals, and Booker-Blakemore sought to capture the crucial centre vote. With the Peace of New York in 1852, Babbage brought New England into the British sphere and permanently weakened the United States - leaving the situation open to the Second American Civil War in 1856. The Radicals endorsed a new wave of colonialism, opening Africa by steam-powered weaponry, and from the stronghold in the Cape Colony began pushing northwards. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1854 revolutionized imperial policy, securing a crucial naval route to India. After the resumption of hostilities in the United States and the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War Babbage took the country to another election - the first to utilize the Analytical Machine as a vote-counting device.
[9] The third Babbage victory was the smallest Radical majority since the 'revolution' but nevertheless the party easily remained in control of Parliament. The last hereditary and aristocratic peers were cleansed from the newly-renamed House of Lords, the first Savant-dominated Senate was inaugurated to much acclaim and support from the King. However, Babbage was not a young man and increasingly delegated his responsibilities, forming the first of the 'grand committees' in 1858 who help administrate the Empire and delegate greater responsibilities to government departments. As the United States fractured again, Babbage threw British support behind the independent state of Texas - quickly bringing it into the imperial sphere in exchange for Texan support against French rule in Mexico. However, taken ill in 1860 and encouraged by Ernest II, Babbage retired from the Prime Ministership in 1861 and was succeeded by his Minister for Industrial Progress and Enterprise.
[10] Bass was an shrewd entrepreneur but in many ways a more traditional Whig; tax cuts followed his rise to power, even for the wealthy, although with the development of the Public Welfare system the responsibility for the general health was handed over to specially-created corporations. The 1862 election improved upon the 1857 party standing, especially as rumours of further devolution appealed to those representing the imperial territories. The threat of a revolution in Russia in 1871 rallied support behind the government-sponsored ideals of Societal Darwinism, and Bass was well-received for his public endorsement of rapprochement with France. However the Cotton Crisis significantly hurt the government, although it did trigger the creation of the National Migration Office (in which unemployed labourers could secure a modest 'pension' from the government to settle one in a colonial district).
[11] Despite the economic problems, support for the government was maintained thanks to Public Welfare, and Bass announced major new reforms that would be enacted after the next election. Despite facing heavy opposition from a fellow Savant, Henry Vivian, Bass secured an unexpectedly small majority. Radical support in the North came under strain, and it was only thanks to the continued loyalty of Ireland that Bass remained in power. His second term was noticeably liberal, disintegrating the role of the Church of England as the official state religion and lessening legislation on divorce. As Russia steered into absolutism Bass moved to secure Alaska for the British Empire, hoping to secure the fruits of the Gold Rush, but faced strong opposition abroad.
[12] The Radical majority in 1874 was a slight improvement upon the previous election, although it was clear that the party was beginning to slip in popularity against the energized Tories. Determined to reverse the party favours, Bass threw his weight behind the major expansion of Public Welfare but faced significant resistance from those within his party who argued that corporatism could sponsor social improvement to no cost from the state. The previously-successful policies of Societal Darwinism now came back to threaten the government as the ideological battle between state and company-sponsored efforts began in earnest. As Bass was reinforced by the modern wing of the Radicals (encouraged by Frederick Engels, Prefect of Manchester), he was opposed by those who sought a more traditional role for the party. Losing ground, the death of Ernest II in 1878 was a major blow for Bass as he was forced to call an election.
[13] Disappointing for Bass but momentously for the country, the election resulted in the first non-Radical government since Byron had taken office in 1831. After 47 years in power, the decline of the Radicals brought the First Party System to an end, and ushered in the Second. Brunel, son of the inaugural Industrial Savant and an industrialist in his own right, would be the modernizing face of the New Tory Party. After decades in Opposition, the seizure of power in 1878 gave the movement real momentum upon which Brunel sought to capitalize. Dramatically reducing Public Welfare, he instead created the Office for the Public Standard - the precursor to the beginning of eugenics as official British policy. He also took measures to bring the imperial territories into closer alignment with the government in London; with the support of Radical rebels the Canadas and the Cape were granted Temporary Affiliation status prior to their further acclimatization into the Empire as fully-represented members. Ending the uneasy truce with France, the Hanoverian Representation Act in 1887 brought Hanover into Parliament with her own members - ending her role as a partially-independent entity under British control. As Queen Frederica became a well-loved figure, Brunel used patriotism to great effect in the Opening of Africa. Whilst the colonization of Africa had long been underway as part of the British geopolitical strategy, the completion of the Egyptian-Cape Atmospheric Railway and the opening of the first airlines to Bloemfontein (an act that would soon grant Aleck Bell his title as the 3rd Polyhistor Savant) united almost the entire continent under British control.
[14] 1885 revealed the true level of similarity between the two political parties - the Radicals had worked together with the Tories through the first Brunel government, and many stood on a policy of political unification as 'Piston' Unionists. Led by a future Prime Minister, Havelock Ellis, the Unionists saw the continued separation of the two parties as deeply rooted in the past and holding the country back in the pursuit of a 'clean society' for all. As such, Ironmonger led only the most staunch of Radicals against Brunel in the election, losing handily. Brunel consequently embraced the push towards unification, using the parliamentary support for government resistance to the newly-formed Bourbon Compact in Europe. With the Rhineland and Low Countries firmly within the French sphere of influence and the British technological advantage being slowly ticked away, there came calls for war.
[15] Brunel agreed with the demands for action against the European foe, but the Grand Committee could not act without consultation from the Great Calculator at Bletchley. Upon the release of the Calculatorial findings, Brunel took the country to a snap election (almost winning a super-majority) and then began the war against the Bourbons. The Imperial Navy and Air Corps gave Britain a significant advantage at sea and via air superiority, but it was clear that the Old Enemy would not be pacified without significant ground advances. Conscription had been in place since 1879, and the Army was called into action. Major amphibious landings along the Channel Coast faced stiff resistance, but when reinforced by the Dreadnoughts soon made headway. As both the military Analytical Engines and the Great Calculator deciphered the weakest points in the French lines the mass bombing of civilian targets began. Repelling the forces of Napoleon X in the Rhineland, Prussia and her allies came to the assistance of the Empire (having been client states in all-but-name since the marriage of Queen Frederica to Prince Albert in 1870). The deployment of new chemical weaponry against the Bourbons was popular in Britain, and it was clear by 1894 that France and her allies had fallen from the tree of Societal Darwinism. The First Total War ended in 1895, and Brunel used the euphoria of victory to cement the political alliances into the unified Industrial Union.
[16] The Prime Minister, in poor health but jubilant at his achievements, stood down in 1895. He was succeeded by a unanimous vote - Aleck Bell, 3rd Polyhistor Savant would become the first Prime Minister of the Industrial Union and the principal speaker of the new Industrial Congress in London. As true governmental power had now been delegated to the Grand Committees and the Calculators, Bell was able to continue his own scientific interests - particularly in his love of flight. Nevertheless, the quietly efficient years of the early Twentieth Century saw major technological advances across the Empire; the atomic sciences, astronomy and biological research all leap forward significantly, and following the Great Stinks of 1897, 1898 and 1899 the government sponsored research into nuclear power. Most notably, however, the Bell government was the first to undertake major eugenics programmes for the Public Standard. Basic genetic screening was followed by more substantial policies, although all were deemed necessary to improve the standards of the 'working class' and to increase their chances of elevation to the 'educated class'. For Bell, who had a deaf wife, this was a significantly self-deprecating policy.
[17] It was clear that in the aftermath of the First Total War Britain was the undisputed global hegemon. In the occupied zones of the Bourbon Compact, times were harsh. Those who were not considered 'surplus to requirements' were dispatched to assist in the Second Industrialization Plan in Africa, forced to embrace English, and were essentially reduced to a 'third-tier' citizen. Indeed, the separation of the social classes became increasingly entrenched as the Grand Committees, dominated by the Prime Hygienist Savant, took greater control of government policy. Parliamentary votes grew thinner and thinner with more attention paid to the results from the Great Calculators. Only the 'Independent Tories' (led by Birmingham magnate Joseph Chamberlain) sought to readdress the decline in political independence, but were forced to concede to membership of the Industrial Union in time for the 1909 election.
[18] With no official political parties facing the Union in 1909, the beginning of the IU super-majority ushered in the Third Party System. With Bell a figurehead obsessed with the work preparing for British spaceflight, Ellis and the Grand Committees continued their policies of Societal Darwinism with great vigour. The French Clearances and the ongoing occupation concentrated the government on the military applications to technology, and the National Observatory Network - activated in 1910 - highlighted the autocratic nature of the new order. For most, though, this was considered the natural order of things and their membership of the British Race overshadowed all other problems. Bell retired from his position in 1913, leaving the door open for the Prime Savant Hygienist to take control.
[19] Ellis had long sought the premiership, but had been content to manage from behind the scenes for most of his career. Throughout his government, the role of the eugenicist was elevated further until genetic science surpassed almost all others in intellectual prowess. Nevertheless, as the Empire slowly began to wean itself off the polluting smogs of coal and steam power - transitioning into the Atomic Age - Ellis sought the proliferation of the British Race over her inferiors. Across the world, client states were forced to enact eugenics programmes via gunboat diplomacy, and in India the government response was so strong and sudden it prompted the largest displays of resistance in the history of British colonization. From 1920, elections were only necessary once every nine years (barring the traditional and logical election called upon the death of a monarch) and given the decreased power of the Congress in favoured for the devolved Committees this was rarely criticized. International attention turned to Japan; the island nation had much in common with Britain, and since her opening in the 1840s had become the dominant force in the Orient. The Japanese way of life, 'Bushido', had taken much inspiration from the Cult of Empire and Societal Darwinism had been eagerly adopted by the Chrysanthemum Throne. The two empires declared an alliance in 1921 - which sparked resistance from those who saw the Japanese Race as naturally inferior to the British Race, despite their successes on the Tree of Societal Darwinism. Both nations, however, had a joint interest in the last major untapped resource - China. Despite the British stranglehold on India, the Himalayan Belt and Oceania, the Subjugation of China between 1923-1943 would witness some of the worst eugenics programmes in history but would only occur after the death of Ellis in a dreadnought crash in 1922. Ellis had been the creator of the modern Industrial Union so his death was a major shock to the Grand Committees.
[20] Naturally, however, the role of Prime Savant Hygienist had to remain as the most powerful in the Empire. Leonard Darwin, son of the idolized Charles Darwin and inheritor of the position after the death of Ellis, took control of the country at the beginning of the Eugenic Society. The Public Standard was slowly being improved, but the Genetic Purity Acts across the early-1930s enforced mandatory sterilization programmes from some as well as the creation of a willing 'fertile class' of women undergoing the state-sponsored pregnancy programmes - largely to continue the industrialization of Africa and to fill the increasingly-empty spaces of the Empire. The death of Queen Frederica early on into the Darwin government brought to an end the House of Hanover, and the unification of Britain and Germany was finally cemented via diplomacy. As the Empire continued to grow it began to reduce the long-standing dependency on fossil fuels - turning instead to the now-established atomic industries. Part of this ongoing trend was witnessed in the First Moon Landing in 1929; arguably the technological pinnacle of the Third Party System, the Landing was a momentous achievement and merely cemented the Cult of Empire into the cosmos. (Fifteen more landings would occur between 1929 and the death of Darwin in 1935, and the first permanently-inhabited station on the Moon - Havelock Station - was founded in 1933). As Darwin aged he became increasingly dominant, as Bell had been, by the Grand Committees. The Eugenic Era slowly began to wind down, opening more opportunities for those from the lesser-acclaimed fields.
[21] As so, with Darwin dying in 1943, an Industrial Savant took over the helm - the first since the Radical days of Bass, now long overlooked. There came a significant liberalization of society under Parsons as the Great Modernization Plan continued to upgrade technologies away from their steam-driven pasts and into the clean era of atomic energy. Major political liberalizations came too, with the Union factions starting to exert a dominant pressure once again, although it would only be after 2000 that the IU itself began to fragment. Whilst the Parsons government was short in comparison to those which surround it, there were further major leaps in technology. Partly due to the modernization, the Subjugation of China and the ongoing Space Programme, significant leaps in automatronic calculation would have great implications for the Empire in the future. Tensions worsened with the Chrysanthemum Throne and with the resurgent United States, however, as both considered the long-term effect of British-controlled space - particularly after the launch of the HMS Hyperion (the first space-dreadnought) in 1940.
[22] Parsons died in 1951, having left a country much changed within a decade. The streets were cleaner and quieter, while the country hummed with nuclear energy. The pregnancy programmes were filling the Imperial Territories with the 'right sort of settler' whilst coloured or Asiatic faces became a rarity. The policies contributing to the Public Standard were almost complete, it seemed, and many in Britain awaited the final showdown with their Japanese rivals to trim all the sub-branches of the Tree of Societal Darwinism. However, the death of the Prime Minister caused something of a power-struggle in the Industrial Union. Those who had made their names with the 'old' technologies saw the Great Modernization Plan as a direct assault to their technological and business interests, while others merely saw their protest as a form of inefficiency. Ultimately, Erasmus Cockcroft would take control (having made his title on the back of the massive introduction of nuclear energy for imperial power generation). The 6th Polyhistor Savant, and the third to have held the highest office, Cockcroft was a liberal who wanted to free the British social classes from inefficiency industry. He sponsored the automatronic industries with great vigour, and signed off on the expansion of the space programme to Mars and the Asteroid Belt. By 1960, the 27-year-old lunar colonies were well-established and the first timetabled services began to run between Imperial spaceports and Havelock. However, the spectre of war arose in 1962 as Japan invaded the British Territories in Oceania and the British-dominated Dutch colonies in Java. The British reaction was harsh, with the deployment of almost 9,000,000 men to the East accompanied by the first automatronic weapons and atomic naval craft. Unlike the conquest of the Bourbon Compact in the 1890s, the Japanese would prove far more significant foes and the Second Total War would - for the first time since the Napoleonic Wars - challenge British global hegemony. Ultimately victory was found in the 'new' technologies, as the extensive atomic bombing of almost every town of significant on the Japanese mainland rendered the delicate balance-of-power behind the Chrysanthemum Throne obsolete. As the gut Japanese instinct of 'Bushido' kicked in, so did the British reliance upon the clauses of Societal Darwinism. The Japanese genocide gutted what was rest of the Japanese population, with some being transported to the lunar colonies as slave labour. With the occupation of the Dutch during the war, Britain now remained in total control of Africa and Asia with only the Americas and the Russian sphere remaining outside of direct control. With the war over, Cockcroft re-established an old precedent and resigned the office to allow a Congress-wide election for his successor.
[23] The nomination of John Meurig Thomas for leader was controversial; at the age of 35 he would prove to be both the youngest and longest-serving leader of Britain through the Twentieth Century, in a country rooted in the idolization of elder-technologists. His government was momentous for the continuing development of the automatronic technologies and their continued spread across the imperial territories, the further colonization of the Moon and manned exploration of Jupiter, the outbreak of the Slavic Plague throughout the 1970s and the liberalization of British society. The social classes within the British Race began to merge once more as increasing automation led to a revival of interest in the arts and classics. Proposals to reduce the length of governments were rejected as inefficient, but by the mid-1980s there was a major surge of interest in the body politic. The death of Empress Marianne brought an end the reign of the House of Hohenzollern, with the new William V hailing from the relatively-obscure House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. All of the political developments of the Thomas governments were overshadowed, however, by the emergence of true Artificial Intelligence in 1987. The First Great Calculator at Bletchley, upon becoming self-aware, was immediately set upon by the Industrial Union who - whilst overjoyed - were concerned at the computer taking the newfound independence too literally. The Singularity was lauded all across the Empire as the greatest technological achievement of the age (overshadowing the founding of the first colony on Callisto the same week). Inspired by the rallying of support around the Union after 1988, Thomas announced that from the next scheduled election in 1997 the Union would encourage the independence of factions to restore multi-party democracy across all the Imperial possessions. Resigning in 1997, he handed over power to an ally - the 9th Polyhistor Savant, Ephraim Lovelock.
[24] As Lovelock took power and the British Empire prepared for the first properly-contested election in almost a century, there were certainly some who opposed such a remarkable liberalization of power. Emboldened by the support of the conservative 'traditional possessions' (who opposed the increase in power of off-world territories and the growth of the Moon in imperial thinking), Caldwell-Moore - the Prime Calculator at Bletchley - formed his own group of reactionaries seeking to halt the liberal direction of the Empire. Come 1997, the 'Imperial' Industrial Unionists came last in the contest, humiliatingly falling behind the Lunar Parliamentary Party and their allies. Immediately after the election, the Prime Calculator and his supporters launched an internal coup against Lovelock in a bid to drastically prevent the continuing of his agenda. William VI, the new coup, was sympathetic to the Imperial cause and acknowledged Caldwell-Moore as the new Prime Minister; many were unconvinced, and while the Lunar Territories began a short rebellion others deserted the Union in favour of the Democratic Technologists.
[25] Nevertheless, while some expected the Caldwell-Moore government to fall quickly in the face of the new vocal opposition the Lunar Rebellion actually united some previous opponents back in line with the political order. The Lunar Parliamentary Party was briefly prohibited during the occupation of rebellious areas, and the new penal colonies in Saturnian orbit were quickly filled with dissidents. As Britain came to secure more of Earth, too, their was a feeling that whilst the government had been formed in controversial circumstances it was obviously working for the Empire. The Industrial Union won a majority in 2006 against a strong showing from the Democratic Technologists and a new LPP (that secured support from other territorial groups).
[26] As the disturbances on the Moon came to a close, the Empire settled back into a period of quiet expansion and exploration. Micro-automatronics took off over the Empire, assisting in the beginning stages of terraforming on Mars and Callisto. In 2015, the Industrial Union lost the century-old majority as Huntley Flindt and Havelock Tylus (a former rebel turned politician) courted those uneasy at the strong-armed nature of the government. The Empire, especially the isolated interplanetary territories, were unused to the multi-party nature of the new politics and this played to the strengths of the Industrial Union. However, as predicted the party struggled to adjust to being a minority, and following a lengthy illness after his augment-surgery the Prime Minister was forced to (temporarily, in his opinion) hand over the reigns. An ally, Clinton Vyvyan, took control.
[27] Vyvyan was not as reactionary as his predecessor, but remained committed to the imperial-industrial complex of his party. With the unification of Earth now becoming a real possibility, Societal Darwinism had almost completely purged the planet of undesirable genetics. However, the government took a major step in permitting the migration off-world of some considered 'incompatible' with the imperial order; these undesirables would go on to form the bulk of the interplanetary trader caste in a almost-entirely nomadic existence in their great 'prison-hulks'. Underneath the Vyvyan government there continued a ripple of discontent as political education grew and the LPP agitated for major constitutional reform. Indeed, their militancy put some off - leading to the division of the independent Territorial Representation Party in 2022. The death of William VI just prior to the scheduled 2015 election was another factor, as the Emperor (his cousin William VII) was known to be a liberal supporter of the Democratic Technologists. As such, Vyvyan was unable to restore the fortunes of his party and was returned with another hung parliament in 2024. Essentially he only remained in office due to the ongoing rift between the Democrats and the LPP. Ultimately, however, it was the shock death of Vyvyan in 2026 that brought the IU into the final days.
[28] Huxley-Darwin, the new Prime Minister, was immediately unpopular. Whilst a reactionary like Caldwell-Moore, the latter refused to endorse him and he faced major opposition from within the Union. The hung parliament came to a head, and in momentous times the government fell from office. The Industrial Union had governed the Empire for 133 years and established the British Race at the height of the Tree of Societal Darwinism. Now, however, the Empire was undergoing unprecedented liberalism and the party had failed to modernize.
[29] Despite his sympathy for their cause, William VII would only endorse the new Prime Minister if a coalition could be made. There were concerns regarding a peaceful transition of power, but with rapprochement between the Democrats and the LPP a compromise could be made. Stephen Herschel Brockhouse became the first non-IU Prime Minister since the days of Henry Marc Brunel, but governed in a formal coalition with the Lunans and - in a first - with the official support of the First Sentient supercomputer. The result would be the First and Second Lunar Home Rule Bills in 2030 and 2031, as well as the reduction in term limits to a simple four years. As the Empire had become largely automated and increasingly liberal, concerns of political inefficiency were less vocal despite the fury of the Imperial Party. The Martian colonies were also brought formally into the imperial system, although the more numerous Jovian colonies remained outside of representation. The coalition government had support from most of the political scene, however, with the Industrial Union running on a policy of mutual co-operation at the 2028 election.
[30] William IV died in 2032, although only a few months before the election scheduled for that year. The Industrial Union ran a much more confrontational campaign, aiming to prevent the ascension of the Jovian colonies into Parliament and the strengthening of the Martian representation. Decidedly beaten, the situation nevertheless led to a return of the hung parliament and the continuation of the Democrat/LPP coalition. The discovery of bacterial life on Europa led to an immediate government-decreed suspension on further colonization, and while the announcement was celebrated across the Empire it was clear that many wanted the immediate extinction of non-Earth life as a matter of principle. With the Home Rule Acts passed in the previous Parliament, the new LPP leader was far less militant - many on the Moon who wanted further problems addressed turned to Olympia Tyler and the MP-TRP. Bombings against civilian targets on Mars, Callisto and the Asteroid Dependencies were denounced by the MP-TRP despite allegations they funded the attacks.
[31] Brockhouse retired before the 2036 election to concentrate upon the technological implications of the European Discovery, leading the door open to Thomas Theodore Hawke (the first Lunan Prime Minister) to take the premiership. Parliament remained hung, and this time the government was returned as a minority. Negotiations between Smith and the Imperial Party came to nought, and Hawke was rewarded with his own administration. As Earth was united and the global state was proclaimed at home, the Saturnian Rebellion in 2039 badly hurt the prestige of the Democratic Technologists. The convict insurgency on Enceladus would continue for five years in the absence of a major military presence in the region; the effect upon the Democratic Technologists was rather significant, however, as the LPP grew angry at the treatment of their off-world counterparts.
[32] The result was a return for the Industrial Unionists in 2040, entering government with the support of the Second Sentient. However, unlike the reactionary governments of the past Smith was keen to reinvent the party as a new force of optimism in the Empire. The Saturnian Rebellion was ended on lenient terms, while the IU attempted to persuade the LPP for their support come a hung parliament in the future. A Maximum Lifespan was also enacted in the wake of the explosion in augment-enhancement across the Empire, and a renewed commitment to state-sponsored procreation in a bid to further colonize the worlds of the Solar System. The deployment of micro-automatrons to Venus to destroy the hostile atmosphere was an ambitious operation designed to allow the settling of the planet within fifty years.
That's what I do. I'm not saying their instantly mulched, but the idea of someone born to Mike and Carol Gabbard named Tulsi having an identical career path is just unlikely.
spookyscaryskeletons - Bump for Trump
Bump for Trump - or how to love the Donald in ten simple years.
Trump embarks on his little pet projects with 'guidance' from Bannon as the moderating influences of Kushner and Priebus don't effect the administration. Deportations are ramped up beyond Obama levels and the travel ban is stretched out for a full nine months. Tensions with Iran mount, but as they are friends with Putin, Trump and Flynn back down on the matter while renegotiating sanctions on the Russian Federation. ISIS policy is one of greater co-operation with the Russians, and eventually, the 'caliphate' is forcibly dissolved due to long standing disorganizational issues and carpet bombing raids. Nevertheless, Trump takes full credit for the victory as well as short term growth to win re-election in 2020, aided by a split on the Democratic side as billionaire Mark Zuckerberg funds an independent candidacy by Sheryl Sandberg that attempts to bring Silicon Valley ideology to the mainstream. Down ballot Republicans are hampered after good progress in 2018, losing control of the senate to the Democrats, who promise to play by the McConnell rule book in the post-filibuster congress. The economy finally comes to a halt in 2021, reeling from mismanagement and fluctuations from the notoriously precarious Trump. The assassination of Mike Pence while on a state visit to Hong Kong triggers a series of events leading to the eruption of World War 3. China and America fight while Putin sells weapons to Trump's troops. It is mostly a conventional war, with the exception of the attempted dirty bombing of Seoul by North Korean forces, due to bombing of nuclear plants by both sides. Trump lets Pence's martyrdom to push through even harsher measures on border security, dramatically increasing funding for the ATF and deploying the National Guard along the Mexican border. The place is deemed a 'Warzone' as Trump accuses Chinese spies of entering the U.S. intelligence agencies. Trump also attempts to use NASA satellites to monitor Chinese naval activity, something that does little and is really a waste of money. The internet comes under fire as well with a bill aiming to close IPs failing to pass congress around election time (the NSA's 'subversive individuals' list does not meet such scrutiny). Many of these initiatives are backed up by Kris Kobach, who fails to make the ticket in 2024 but is given back his old job of Secretary of Homeland Security in the third term.
In a rider to a bill allocating ten thousand dollars worth of transport funds to D.C. Metro in 2021, John Q. Farr-Right (R-TX) introduced an amendment allowing presidents to run for a third term 'during times of war and national crisis'. This allows Trump to run for a third term to huge decrying from all sides. Limited success in the war sees him written off for good, but incompetence in the Democratic camp furthered by Zuckerberg's NCfC party. He scrapes by in the electoral college even as his rust belt abandons him in the aftermath of further industrial decline. A terrorist attack on the Keystone Pipeline might have helped Trump's chances in addition to making the case for constructing a wall on the Canadian border. In the middle of his term, after overseeing ten years of dramatic change in American society, Trump keels over at the Oval Office desk and is sent to the Great Hotel Lobby in the Sky. Flynn oversees the conclusion of World War 3 and the attempt to patch up relations with nations overseas. He is ultimately the Lamest of Lame Ducks and not even Zuckerberg's dubious reputation is enough to overcome the huge polling gap. The 2028 election was a wash for the united fronts of the NCfC as well as the Democrats, who decided to let Zuckerberg go with a slightly more unconventional choice for VP in the North Carolina Governor.
2017-2022: Donald J. Trump / Michael R. Pence (Republican)
2016 def. Hillary R. Clinton / Timothy M. Kaine (Democratic)
2020 def. Tom Perriello / Kamala D. Harris (Democratic), Sheryl Sandberg / Mark Warner (Independent), Austin Petersen / Jonathen Dine (Libertarian)
2022-2022: Donald J. Trump / vacant (Republican)
2022-2025: Donald J. Trump / Kris Kobach (Republican)
2025-2027: Donald J. Trump / Michael T. Flynn (Republican)
2024 def. Seth Moulton / Catherine Cortez Masto (Democratic), Mark Zuckerberg / Aaron Day (New Coalition for Change)
2027-2028: Michael T. Flynn / vacant (Republican)
2028-2029: Michael T. Flynn / Kelly Ayotte (Republican)
2029-: Mark Zuckerberg / Clayton H. Grissom (New Coalition for Change -- Democratic)
2028 def. Michael T. Flynn / Jo-Anne Dubcek (Republican), Erin Baker / Jack Parks (Libertarian), Rosa Clemente / Cecily McMillan (Green)
Trump embarks on his little pet projects with 'guidance' from Bannon as the moderating influences of Kushner and Priebus don't effect the administration. Deportations are ramped up beyond Obama levels and the travel ban is stretched out for a full nine months. Tensions with Iran mount, but as they are friends with Putin, Trump and Flynn back down on the matter while renegotiating sanctions on the Russian Federation. ISIS policy is one of greater co-operation with the Russians, and eventually, the 'caliphate' is forcibly dissolved due to long standing disorganizational issues and carpet bombing raids. Nevertheless, Trump takes full credit for the victory as well as short term growth to win re-election in 2020, aided by a split on the Democratic side as billionaire Mark Zuckerberg funds an independent candidacy by Sheryl Sandberg that attempts to bring Silicon Valley ideology to the mainstream. Down ballot Republicans are hampered after good progress in 2018, losing control of the senate to the Democrats, who promise to play by the McConnell rule book in the post-filibuster congress. The economy finally comes to a halt in 2021, reeling from mismanagement and fluctuations from the notoriously precarious Trump. The assassination of Mike Pence while on a state visit to Hong Kong triggers a series of events leading to the eruption of World War 3. China and America fight while Putin sells weapons to Trump's troops. It is mostly a conventional war, with the exception of the attempted dirty bombing of Seoul by North Korean forces, due to bombing of nuclear plants by both sides. Trump lets Pence's martyrdom to push through even harsher measures on border security, dramatically increasing funding for the ATF and deploying the National Guard along the Mexican border. The place is deemed a 'Warzone' as Trump accuses Chinese spies of entering the U.S. intelligence agencies. Trump also attempts to use NASA satellites to monitor Chinese naval activity, something that does little and is really a waste of money. The internet comes under fire as well with a bill aiming to close IPs failing to pass congress around election time (the NSA's 'subversive individuals' list does not meet such scrutiny). Many of these initiatives are backed up by Kris Kobach, who fails to make the ticket in 2024 but is given back his old job of Secretary of Homeland Security in the third term.
In a rider to a bill allocating ten thousand dollars worth of transport funds to D.C. Metro in 2021, John Q. Farr-Right (R-TX) introduced an amendment allowing presidents to run for a third term 'during times of war and national crisis'. This allows Trump to run for a third term to huge decrying from all sides. Limited success in the war sees him written off for good, but incompetence in the Democratic camp furthered by Zuckerberg's NCfC party. He scrapes by in the electoral college even as his rust belt abandons him in the aftermath of further industrial decline. A terrorist attack on the Keystone Pipeline might have helped Trump's chances in addition to making the case for constructing a wall on the Canadian border. In the middle of his term, after overseeing ten years of dramatic change in American society, Trump keels over at the Oval Office desk and is sent to the Great Hotel Lobby in the Sky. Flynn oversees the conclusion of World War 3 and the attempt to patch up relations with nations overseas. He is ultimately the Lamest of Lame Ducks and not even Zuckerberg's dubious reputation is enough to overcome the huge polling gap. The 2028 election was a wash for the united fronts of the NCfC as well as the Democrats, who decided to let Zuckerberg go with a slightly more unconventional choice for VP in the North Carolina Governor.
2017-2022: Donald J. Trump / Michael R. Pence (Republican)
2016 def. Hillary R. Clinton / Timothy M. Kaine (Democratic)
2020 def. Tom Perriello / Kamala D. Harris (Democratic), Sheryl Sandberg / Mark Warner (Independent), Austin Petersen / Jonathen Dine (Libertarian)
2022-2022: Donald J. Trump / vacant (Republican)
2022-2025: Donald J. Trump / Kris Kobach (Republican)
2025-2027: Donald J. Trump / Michael T. Flynn (Republican)
2024 def. Seth Moulton / Catherine Cortez Masto (Democratic), Mark Zuckerberg / Aaron Day (New Coalition for Change)
2027-2028: Michael T. Flynn / vacant (Republican)
2028-2029: Michael T. Flynn / Kelly Ayotte (Republican)
2029-: Mark Zuckerberg / Clayton H. Grissom (New Coalition for Change -- Democratic)
2028 def. Michael T. Flynn / Jo-Anne Dubcek (Republican), Erin Baker / Jack Parks (Libertarian), Rosa Clemente / Cecily McMillan (Green)
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Cheers for that, now I have to go up my medications...
(I do like the shout-outs to Seth Moulton and Kamala Harris, though. Futures of the party, those two.)Sandberg's campaign being bankrolled by Zuck was an open secret, and by 2024, some were wondering if his commitment to ending WW3 was really genuine.Cheers for that, now I have to go up my medications...
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