spookyscaryskeletons - The 25th Hour
The 25th Hour
1997-2011: Tony Blair (Labour)
1997 (Majority) def. John Major (Conservative), Paddy Ashdown (Liberal Democrats)
2001 (Majority) def. William Hague (Conservative), Charles Kennedy (Liberal Democrats)
2005 (Majority) def. Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative), Charles Kennedy (Liberal Democrats), Robert Kilroy-Silk (UKIP)
2010 (Majority) def. David Davis (Conservative), Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrats), Tim Congdon (UKIP)
2011-2015: John Hutton (Labour)
2015-: Grant Shapps (Conservative)
2015 (Majority) def. John Hutton (Labour), Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrats)
One more cruise missile is fired at an Al-Qaeda base in Afghanistan around 1998, and September 11th 2001 is merely another day. Bush still goes to war with Afghanistan and ups security presence after a failed attack on IMF Headquarters, but it is nowhere near the level of what happened IOTL. Meanwhile, without 9/11 and Iraq, Blair focuses on domestic matters and has more lee-way with regards to foundation hospitals and public service reform. Brown quickly becomes very angered at the whole thing, and in 2004, resigns after Blair attempts to sideline him via the splitting up of the Exchequer position. Blair also pioneers academies, which draws disappointment from figures within the cabinet who feel that he is drifting rightward. He also puts a renewed effort into the matter of the Euro. After securing another landslide victory over the hapless IDS in 2005, Blair decides that the time is ripe for a referendum. He calls it with the pro-Euro side lagging behind in polls, but an incompetent NO campaign combined with good economic news out of Brussels, combined with poor housing reports from across the pond, lead to a threadbare victory for Blair, who rejoices. Nevertheless, it creates a boon for UKIP, who are already sitting on one seat. Blair stays on in spite of calls for him to go in the aftermath of poor local results in 2007 and 2008, and the triggering of an economic crunch in 2009 only heightens the need for a safe pair of hands. The Tories hope that with their council house born leader, they can appeal to longtime Labour voters in places like Sheffield, but it comes to naught as the arithmetic is simply too much (though Blair being able to run rings around Davis in the one on one debates must not have helped). Growth returns to the economy, but some wonder if Blair took too many pages from the Conservative handbook as he leaves office.
John Hutton, Blair's Home Secretary, wins against a crowded field which features Harriet Harman and Patricia Hewitt. No more than a week goes by before a crisis in Iraq flares up, with Saddam rendered catatonic and Uday ruling de facto. Tensions reach breaking point, and a full scale revolution occurs in tandem with the rest of the Arab world. After a bomb attack on Manchester, Hutton takes the controversial decision of joining in with President Frist's Middle Eastern intervention, committing British troops and planes. At home, Hutton oversees an attempted buyback program on British Rail in a sop to the very soft left, as well as the rise of the SNP, who threaten a referendum on independence after coming to power shortly preceding Hutton's own ascension. Hutton also dabbles in local government reform, increasing the powers of council. By 2015, with security threats and economic slowdowns abound, the Tories are returned on a massive majority under their dynamic new leader, one who promises do undo the past 18 years of mistakes while winning the peace in Iraq and Syria.
