List of U.K. Prime Ministers 1945-2020

THE SUPREME FUNCTION OF STATESMANSHIP
What if Enoch Powell became Prime Minister in 1979?

1979: Enoch Powell (Conservative) [1]
1982: Enoch Powell (Conservative) [2]

1986: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)*
1987: Kenneth Clarke (New Democratic) [3]
1991: Kenneth Clarke (New Democratic) [4]
1993:
Peter Shore (New Democratic)*
1996: John Major (Conservative) [5]
2000: John Major (Conservative) [6]
2004: John Major (Conservative) [7]
2009: John Major (Conservative) [8]

2012: Zac Goldsmith
(Conservative)*
2014: Maurice Glasman (Social Democratic) [9]
2017: Owen Paterson (Conservative Minority)] [10]

[1] Enoch Powell’s rise to 10th Downing Street seemed to come out of nowhere, but with the increasingly deadly Troubles plaguing Northern Ireland, Labour began falling in the polls. Still, Powell seemed unlikely to even win the Conservative leadership election - but after the IRA successfully assassinated Prince Charles, Powell’s anti-IRA stances propelled him into the spotlight. Powell then successfully defeated Thatcher and Heath for the Conservative leadership. Powell campaigned on a hard stance against Irish terrorism and widely anti-European sentiment. These seemed to strike a cord with the English people, leading him to victory over Labour.
[2] The Powell government was predictably controversial, and marked by numerous scandals and squabbles that determined his legacy. British membership in the EEC was once again called into question, as Powell used his large majority to begin the process to remove Britain from Brussels. Although he alienated a sizeable proportion of the party moderates, Powell was highly-surprisingly able to co-operate with notable leftist figures, such as Tony Benn, who supported his action. Further surges in IRA activity in Northern Ireland was met with an increase in funding for both the police and armed forces (although the Prime Minister was unable to open a broad dialogue on the nuclear deterrent). Powell restricted the free movement of immigrants from within the Commonwealth, and more broadly strengthened British immigration law in the all-encompassing 1981 Nationality Act. Although 70 years of age Powell won a reduced majority in 1982, and began his 'Looking Ahead' social programme (including major spending plans for inner-city rejuvenation, campaigns against youth unemployment and economic diversification). He began the transformation of the Conservative Party into a more-broadly populist and introverted party popular among the post-industrial working classes, in contrast to the squabbling and factionalist struggles of both Labour and the small Pro-European Conservative Party.
[3] The final years in power of Powell Cabinet were tumultuous: while victory in the Falklands War gave him a popularity bump the routine instability under his rule won the not-desirable nickname of "The Government of Riots". Since Bloody Bristol in 1981, almost every month a racial-social revolt devastated some over-crowded neighborhoods, making Powell only more hardline in pursuing repression. The unions too went to strike in protest against the massive crackdown against them. Meanwhile the direct rule in Northern Ireland produced a long and exhausting chain of bombings and targeting assassination. Powell accused US and CIA to give assistance to IRA to favor an UK breakup and, as De Gaulle in 1965, retired British officers from NATO Supreme Command. At the beginning of the second half in 1980s it was clear that Conservatives were going to suffer a backlash, as not English voters started to resent martial law, opposition to devolution and his open Little England nationalism while bourgeois urban voters were tired of chaos and constant urban warfare and working class families felt threatened by privatizations. The anti-Powell wing started to plot his removal, making a deal with arch-conservatives to win their support promising one of them the leader's seat. The occasion came in 1986 when Powell proposed his final draft for unilateral nuclear disarmament, citing Chernobyl Disaster and Gorbachev's reforms as reasons to dismiss the Trident Missiles and their nukes: he expected a revolt from pro-US conservative wing, but thought to have a majority counting on Labour MPs, as Labour Manifesto was in favor. However the revolt was largest then what expected and Labour failed to rush in support of the "miners killer" and Powell was forced to resign, with Foreign Minister Thatcher replacing him. Thatcher's government was brief but eventful: she is mainly renowned for her health reform who introduce the American insurance system in UK and for her proposed Poll Tax. Scrapping the public health assistance made her extremely unpopular and in 1987 it was clear someone other was going to sit in Downing Street by the end of the year. But no one expected this person would be Kenneth Clarke: Clarke, a former Conservative MP, had defected in protest to Powell's election to form the little Pro-European Conservative Party (PECP). Powell was right, the PECP was little, but knowing its weakness it unites forces with Liberals and the Social Democratic Party, creating the New Democratic Party. As crackdown on the unions led to a radicalization of Labour Party under Benn's leadership, many turned to NDP to regain some good old days stability. At 23 of 6th September 1987 BBC projected Kenneth Clarke as new Prime Minister with the largest majority since 1945. At age of 47, he was the youngest Prime Minister since 1895 and gives a sign of hope to a bleeding and crying country.
[4] The first Clarke ministry would prove a series of mixed successes. Although the New Democratic Party had emerged as the new dominant force in British politics, with a large majority, it faced an uphill struggle in resolving the ongoing labour crises, the continuing struggle over Europe and the Special Relationship. Although Clarke was largely able to come to terms with the unions, largely by holding off on further large-scale privatization plans, he faced resistance from economic conservatives for his inability to contain the rising national debt. Rapid reforms to the National Health Insurance (NHI), although well-meaning, placed further demands upon struggling hospitals and the social care sector. Internationally, Clarke was keen to portray himself as an ambitious moderate, and quickly sought to establish a strong working relationship with President Bentsen. Although the Americans were keen to re-establish Britain as a co-operative ally, the Powell legacy in Northern Ireland and over Trident remained prominent in Washington. The New Democrats secured peace talks in Northern Ireland, ending direct rule, although dissident IRA factions remained a terrorist threat well into the mid-1990s. It was over Europe where Clarke faced the most trouble, predictably, as although he regarded his strong majority as sufficient to begin negotiations to re-enter Europe without a referendum he was astonished when the French once again vetoed British entry. The French believed, with some legitimacy, that Britain was unreliable as a future member and vulnerable to yet another withdrawal. British public opinion, already hazy, turned decisively against Europe once again. Clarke was greatly disappointed, and having narrowly survived a leadership challenge from anti-EEC Peter Shore decided to take the NDP to the polls. Squeaking a narrow majority over the Conservatives (and Labour, increasingly isolated in her heartlands, splitting the vote), Clarke nevertheless maintained his intention for British entry into Europe throughout his government. It would never materialize, and instead the NDP turned to issues of domestic governance.
[5] Coming out of the 1991 with a drastically reduced majority, Clarke knew his days were numbered. With the extremely miscalculated decision to hold a referendum on European entry in April 1993, Clarke hoped to restore confidence in his leadership. However it was not to be and with a landslide vote, he was forced out of office by a 23% margin. With the backing of prominent Eurosceptic NDP members such as David Owen, Peter Shore found himself crushing Paddy Ashdown in a landslide to become Prime Minister. With Labour still under the hard left leadership of Tony Benn and the Tories under the exciting and inoffensive John Major, few were surprised by the Tory landslide that occurred at the 1996 election. In the months following, Major would go from strength to strength, taking hard anti-European stances, with the death of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in a car crash whilst on a state visit to France, truly cemented his place as a great leader, calling for Britons to rally around King Andrew and his wife Queen Sarah.
[6] The 'good years' of Major continued; despite the repeated economic shocks of the Clarke ministries the Conservatives governed over a recovering economy (albeit one greatly changed from that of the late-1980s). London redefined her position as the financial capital of the West, bridging the gap between the United States and Europe with great assistance from a government that strongly favoured the rapid development of financial services. The end of Communism in 1999 once again elevated Major to the international stage, as Britain took on increasingly-ambitious foreign policy objectives in partnership with her NATO allies. With the partial democratization of East Germany, Britain took a united position with the French to oppose unification - while this resulted in the eventual widening of the EEC to the former DDR (as well as other post-Soviet states), Britain was able to use the strength of Sterling to continue her economic revitalization. Although Major was popular it was not all plain-sailing; rumours of extramarital affairs in Downing Street lingered (and intensified during an early general election in 2000) while unpopular domestic policies ramrodded through beneath the headlines weakened an otherwise strong position. The privatization of British Rail was unpopular, while the unpredictable antics of the Queen Consort were met with general disapproval. In the 2000 election Major nevertheless led the Conservatives to a second landslide victory, with the New Democrats struggling to find a united front and Labour a distant third.
[7] The mediocre polling of the late-90s would gradually end and Major would find himself cemented to his job. The new NDP leader, Gordon Brown, failed to connect with ordinary voters and would take a huge hit when it was leaked that he referred to the Environment Secretary, Ann Widdecombe, as a "bigoted woman" (the backlash of which he would never recover from). When the foreign secretary, Michael Portillo, resigned to "pursue a different path" many within the Conservative Party felt that the more right-leaning Liam Fox had been unjustly looked over for by newcomer and moderate David Cameron which led to the famous "Put up or Shut up" response by Major which truly made him shine in comparison to Brown and Benn. It was no surprise to anyone that Major won a third victory with 422 seats in the 2004 election. Whilst David Laws controversially beat Harriet Harman to become NDP leader, the 2004 post-election reshuffle would see George Osborne promoted as Chancellor and Owen Paterson as Justice Secretary. When asked on his future as Prime Minister, Major responded with "I intend to go on and on and on".
[8] Even as the most popular Prime Minister of the post-war era Major knew that, despite the hyperbole, he could not govern forever. His 2009 victory came in the immediate aftermath of the Great Squeeze on the global financial system, and although Major became the first Prime Minister since the Earl of Liverpool to secure four consecutive terms it was clear his golden years were behind him. Sterling was particularly vulnerable to the credit crisis, and the developing scandals of corporate corruption played into the hands of the reviving NDP. Although the personal popularity of the Prime Minister did much to prevent a rapid unraveling of the Conservative government, Laws steadily clawed away at the polls. The intake of Osbornite 'young conservatives' into Cabinet was also controversial, and was highlighted by the Opposition as the cause for the harsher 'Back to Basics' campaign that followed the Squeeze. Indeed, the right-wing press - never truly satisfied with the socially-liberal domestic positions of the Major ministries - began to search for a successor (with Paterson usually touted as the favourite from a wide smattering of choices). As the election drew near it seemed clear that much of the Conservative Party had confidently and arrogantly outgrown Major, forgetting that he was indeed the source of much of their popularity and that the Opposition was much stronger than in previous contests. Indeed, some of the more-brazen and ambitious 'leadership contenders' seemed to even have forgotten that Major was indeed Prime Minister. The disunited front would cost them dearly when the country took to the polls.
[9] By 2012, Major's premiership was finished. The backbench discontent was tearing the party apart and a whole host of leadership contenders were baying for Major's blood, especially as the infighting helped put the Conservatives behind in the polls. Approaching his seventieth birthday, Major had simply had enough of keeping his fractious party in line. During the leadership election, Owen Paterson was initially the overwhelming favourite, but after a disappointing performance in a BBC television debate he lost ground and was defeated in the membership vote by a tiny 50.4%-49.6% margin by Zac Goldsmith - a well-spoken Etonian who had a number of liberal and environmentalist beliefs but was also a Eurosceptic and an economic conservative, helping him placate the right. Meanwhile, the New Democratic party was tearing itself apart after its fourth consecutive defeat in 2009, and became embroiled in a contentious fight for the leadership between Chuka Umunna and Luciana Berger. Many supporters were frustrated by its failure to unseat the Major government, and as the NDP continued to struggle in the polls, a new challenger appeared. The Social Democrats, formed from an offshoot of the now-defunct Labour Party, had long been Britain's third party, with a presence in the valleys of South Wales and the mining towns of the North but with little success elsewhere. Electing the staid and eloquent Maurice Glasman as leader, the SDP embarked on a new agenda of social conservatism, patriotism and community values together with centre-left economics and support for trade unions and voluntary co-operatives. His 'conservative socialism' peeled off votes from the Conservative Party, especially in the North, where the 'metropolitan liberal' Goldsmith was seen as out-of-touch. The Goldsmith premiership was far from a disaster - he led the successful 'No' campaign in the Scottish Independence referendum, and passed several environmental reforms to protect the Green Belt and encourage renewable energy. However, he was seen as an uninspiring speaker and was trailing in the polls going into the 2014 election. The eventual results produced a hung parliament, with the Conservatives on 248 seats, the Social Democrats on 260 and the NDP on 104. Goldsmith tried to hang onto power and form a confidence-and-supply deal with the NDP by playing up his liberal credentials, but eventually Luciana Berger decided to support the Social Democrats, and Glasman became Prime Minister at the head of an SDP-NDP coalition.
[10] When Maurice Glasman labelled his party “the Blue Democrats“, many in his party felt enraged. The NDP and Tory parties were practically
sharing an ideology, and the SDP where supposed to be a radical new alternative. The SDP reached it’s breaking point when Glasman declared at the party conference that he wanted this SDP to pay homage to the ”Back to Basics“ campaign by Major, which had irritated those on the left. The “Gang of 5“, consisting of Jeremy Corbyn, John Mcdonnell, Diane Abbott, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Dennis Skinner, split off from the SDP to form the Independent Labour Party. Whilst the party itself would only consist of 10 MPs at it‘s peek following the 2017 election, it heavily split into the SDP vote. Whilst the Tories would struggle to remove Goldsmith from power, they were able to quickly recover as the shadow chancellor would be able to unite the party surprisingly quickly under his new leadership. Having lost the left wing vote, the SDP would attempt to introduce more Conservative policies, which only irritated the NDP, who would break off the coalition in January 2017. Glasman would fail to helm a minority government and was forced to hold a snap election for March. Nobody either thought or wanted the Tories back in power after just 3 years, but the SDP, NDP and ILP had shown such instability, few felt they had an alternative. The parliament would consist of 300 Conservative MPs, 249 SDP MPs, 52 NDP MPs and 10 Independent Labour MPs. Like the now former MP Glasman, Paterson decided a minority government wasthe way to go. However the Coronavirus has seen his polls slump, and his mourning the death of his wife has meant that his deputy, David Davis, is temporarily in charge.
 

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Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

[1]
Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.
 
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Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1971: Iain Mcleod (Conservative) [2]
[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2} In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Mcleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Mcleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]
1973:
Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]

[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.
[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]
1973:
Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977:
Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]

[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.
[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.
[/QUOTES/]
[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative)
[2]
1973:
Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour)
[4]
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]

[1]
Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However alot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hatersley resigned in protest. The polls would slum and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]
1973:
Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985:
David Owen (Labour) [6]

[1]
Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]
1973:
Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985:
David Owen (Labour) [6]
1991
John Smith (Labour) [7]


[1]
Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

{7) Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]

1973: Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985: David Owen (Labour) [6]
1989: David Owen (Labour)

1991: John Smith (Labour) [7]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour) [8]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour)

[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

{7) Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.

[8] Smith’s tragic death in the winter of 1994 came as a shock to the British Public. However a new Prime Minister was needed and Smith’s deputy, Tony Blair, stood in as acting PM until he beat Gordon Brown in a leadership election. Within his first year in office, Blair would introduce the Short-Term Parliament Act, which would limit a parliaments term from 5 to 4 years although the current parliament would run it‘s 5 year term. More devolution in Scotland would lead to it becoming her own member of the EU while still in Britain. However, Owen had defined the One Nation Labour brand as a Eurosceptic one, so despite Blair‘s personal beliefs he had to keep Europe at arms length. Running on a platform of scaling back the Lords and Peace in Ulster, Blair would trounce Norman Tebbit in the ’94 election, leading to Michael Portillo being elected as Tory leader.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]
1973:
Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985:
David Owen (Labour) [6]
1989: David Owen (Labour)
1991: John Smith (Labour)
1991: John Smith (Labour) [7]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour) [8]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour)
1999: Michael Portillo (Conservative minority) [9]

[1]
Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

[7] Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since the Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.

[8] Smith’s tragic death in the winter of 1994 came as a shock to the British Public. However a new Prime Minister was needed and Smith’s deputy, Tony Blair, stood in as acting PM until he beat Gordon Brown in a leadership election. Within his first year in office, Blair would introduce the Short-Term Parliament Act, which would limit a parliaments term from 5 to 4 years although the current parliament would run it‘s 5 year term. More devolution in Scotland would lead to it becoming her own member of the EU while still in Britain. However, Owen had defined the One Nation Labour brand as a Eurosceptic one, so despite Blair‘s personal beliefs he had to keep Europe at arms length. Running on a platform of scaling back the Lords and Peace in Ulster, Blair would trounce Norman Tebbit in the ’94 election, leading to Michael Portillo being elected as Tory leader.

[9] Unfortunately, Europe would become the major issue of the 1990s. The long stint of Labour ministries had encompassed the entire spectrum - from the cynical Owen, the pragmatic Smith and the tentatively pro-European Blair. Despite his best efforts, Blair was unable to maintain unity with those demanding a referendum on Britain's future links with the continent. The 1999 election, fought to inaugurate the first government under the Short-Term Parliament Act, continued to widen divisions. It was a close affair, with Portillo capturing a narrow majority of Eurosceptic voters as Blair hoped to reinvigorate his party around a globalist agenda. Neither party was able to win an outright majority under PR, with the Liberals serving as the kingmakers. Although leader David Penhaligon favoured an alliance with Labour in principle, sharing many of the internationalist views of Blair, ultimately he was prevented from doing so by his Europhiles (partly in response to Labour's reticence about joining the European single currency). This was a lose-lose situation, as Portillo subsequently formed an unstable Conservative minority government.
 
Last edited:
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]

1973: Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985: David Owen (Labour) [6]
1989: David Owen (Labour)

1991: John Smith (Labour) [7]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour) [8]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour)
1999: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative) [9]

[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

{7) Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.

[8] Smith’s tragic death in the winter of 1994 came as a shock to the British Public. However a new Prime Minister was needed and Smith’s deputy, Tony Blair, stood in as acting PM until he beat Gordon Brown in a leadership election. Within his first year in office, Blair would introduce the Short-Term Parliament Act, which would limit a parliaments term from 5 to 4 years although the current parliament would run it‘s 5 year term. More devolution in Scotland would lead to it becoming her own member of the EU while still in Britain. However, Owen had defined the One Nation Labour brand as a Eurosceptic one, so despite Blair‘s personal beliefs he had to keep Europe at arms length. Running on a platform of scaling back the Lords and Peace in Ulster, Blair would trounce Norman Tebbit in the ’94 election, leading to Michael Portillo being elected as Tory leader.

[9] After three consecutive Labour victories, the Conservative Party seemed to be in trouble, especially since Labour's third victory was yet another >100 seat landslide. But events would soon catch up with Labour. First, a recession in 1996 shattered the Blair-Brown team's reputation for economic competence, and they would never again regain first place in polls during the 1994-1999 Parliament. Second, Blair's grand plans to secure peace in Ulster fell flat at the last minute as the 1997 referendum on the Good Friday Agreement was shockingly rejected by the electorate of Northern Ireland, with 50.4% of votes against despite every poll having suggested it would pass. The referendum result can be understood partly as a result of feeling amongst Unionist voters that the agreement was a sell-out, but more than this it was a way of lodging a protest vote against the Blair government, with the economic crash and subsequent slow growth having particularly affected working-class loyalist voters in Belfast who turned out in droves. A subsequent upsurge in sectarian activity left Blair's government looking directionless and incompetent. Finally, Labour Eurosceptics nd became increasingly unhappy with the direction Blair was taking the party - culminating in the shock events of Autumn 1997 when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Frank Field, crossed the floor to the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Michael Portillo had been forced to resign the Conservative leadership amidst accusations, whipped up by prominent critics of his leadership including Ann Widdecombe, that he was a closeted homosexual. Despite Portillo's resignation, Widdecombe's behaviour was widely seen as unprincipled and careerist, and sank her own leadership ambitions, as moderate candidate Virginia Bottomley won the subsequent leadership election in a landslide. In the general election, Bottomley campaigned on a platform of economic competence, mild Euroscepticism, and greater support for science, technology and innovation. Her uncontroversial programme offended few voters and ensured she was seen as a safe pair of hands to take over from the rudderless Blair government. An electorate tired of Labour after three consecutive terms handed Bottomley a solid 70-seat majority, allowing her to become the first female Conservative Prime Minister.
 
Last edited:
Bad luck. Technically I was in by a minute (!) but let's go with yours. I just wrote a quick one to move it on, whereas your contribution is far more interesting. All I have changed is the editing to bring it up to line with convention. I would suggest that majorities could theoretically be much harder now under PR, although a two-party system is pretty entrenched in UK thinking so it might prove an outlier.

Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]
1973:
Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977:
Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]

1977: Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985:
David Owen (Labour) [6]
1989:
David Owen (Labour)

1991: John Smith (Labour) [7]
1994:
Tony Blair (Labour) [8]
1994:
Tony Blair (Labour)
1999: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative) [9]

[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

[7] Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.

[8] Smith’s tragic death in the winter of 1994 came as a shock to the British Public. However a new Prime Minister was needed and Smith’s deputy, Tony Blair, stood in as acting PM until he beat Gordon Brown in a leadership election. Within his first year in office, Blair would introduce the Short-Term Parliament Act, which would limit a parliaments term from 5 to 4 years although the current parliament would run it‘s 5 year term. More devolution in Scotland would lead to it becoming her own member of the EU while still in Britain. However, Owen had defined the One Nation Labour brand as a Eurosceptic one, so despite Blair‘s personal beliefs he had to keep Europe at arms length. Running on a platform of scaling back the Lords and Peace in Ulster, Blair would trounce Norman Tebbit in the ’94 election, leading to Michael Portillo being elected as Tory leader.

[9] After three consecutive Labour victories, the Conservative Party seemed to be in trouble, especially since Labour's third victory was yet another >100 seat landslide. But events would soon catch up with Labour. First, a recession in 1996 shattered the Blair-Brown team's reputation for economic competence, and they would never again regain first place in polls during the 1994-1999 Parliament. Second, Blair's grand plans to secure peace in Ulster fell flat at the last minute as the 1997 referendum on the Good Friday Agreement was shockingly rejected by the electorate of Northern Ireland, with 50.4% of votes against despite every poll having suggested it would pass. The referendum result can be understood partly as a result of feeling amongst Unionist voters that the agreement was a sell-out, but more than this it was a way of lodging a protest vote against the Blair government, with the economic crash and subsequent slow growth having particularly affected working-class loyalist voters in Belfast who turned out in droves. A subsequent upsurge in sectarian activity left Blair's government looking directionless and incompetent. Finally, Labour Eurosceptics became increasingly unhappy with the direction Blair was taking the party - culminating in the shock events of Autumn 1997 when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Frank Field, crossed the floor to the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Michael Portillo had been forced to resign the Conservative leadership amidst accusations, whipped up by prominent critics of his leadership including Ann Widdecombe, that he was a closeted homosexual. Despite Portillo's resignation, Widdecombe's behaviour was widely seen as unprincipled and careerist, and sank her own leadership ambitions, as moderate candidate Virginia Bottomley won the subsequent leadership election in a landslide. In the general election, Bottomley campaigned on a platform of economic competence, mild Euroscepticism, and greater support for science, technology and innovation. Her uncontroversial programme offended few voters and ensured she was seen as a safe pair of hands to take over from the rudderless Blair government. An electorate tired of Labour after three consecutive terms handed Bottomley a solid 70-seat majority, allowing her to become the first female Conservative Prime Minister.
 
Last edited:
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]

1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]
1973:
Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977:
Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]

1977: Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985:
David Owen (Labour) [6]
1989:
David Owen (Labour)

1991: John Smith (Labour) [7]
1994:
Tony Blair (Labour) [8]
1994:
Tony Blair (Labour)
1999: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative) [9]
2003:
Virginia Bottomley (Conservative) [10]

[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

[7] Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.

[8] Smith’s tragic death in the winter of 1994 came as a shock to the British Public. However a new Prime Minister was needed and Smith’s deputy, Tony Blair, stood in as acting PM until he beat Gordon Brown in a leadership election. Within his first year in office, Blair would introduce the Short-Term Parliament Act, which would limit a parliaments term from 5 to 4 years although the current parliament would run it‘s 5 year term. More devolution in Scotland would lead to it becoming her own member of the EU while still in Britain. However, Owen had defined the One Nation Labour brand as a Eurosceptic one, so despite Blair‘s personal beliefs he had to keep Europe at arms length. Running on a platform of scaling back the Lords and Peace in Ulster, Blair would trounce Norman Tebbit in the ’94 election, leading to Michael Portillo being elected as Tory leader.

[9] After three consecutive Labour victories, the Conservative Party seemed to be in trouble, especially since Labour's third victory was yet another >100 seat landslide. But events would soon catch up with Labour. First, a recession in 1996 shattered the Blair-Brown team's reputation for economic competence, and they would never again regain first place in polls during the 1994-1999 Parliament. Second, Blair's grand plans to secure peace in Ulster fell flat at the last minute as the 1997 referendum on the Good Friday Agreement was shockingly rejected by the electorate of Northern Ireland, with 50.4% of votes against despite every poll having suggested it would pass. The referendum result can be understood partly as a result of feeling amongst Unionist voters that the agreement was a sell-out, but more than this it was a way of lodging a protest vote against the Blair government, with the economic crash and subsequent slow growth having particularly affected working-class loyalist voters in Belfast who turned out in droves. A subsequent upsurge in sectarian activity left Blair's government looking directionless and incompetent. Finally, Labour Eurosceptics became increasingly unhappy with the direction Blair was taking the party - culminating in the shock events of Autumn 1997 when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Frank Field, crossed the floor to the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Michael Portillo had been forced to resign the Conservative leadership amidst accusations, whipped up by prominent critics of his leadership including Ann Widdecombe, that he was a closeted homosexual. Despite Portillo's resignation, Widdecombe's behaviour was widely seen as unprincipled and careerist, and sank her own leadership ambitions, as moderate candidate Virginia Bottomley won the subsequent leadership election in a landslide. In the general election, Bottomley campaigned on a platform of economic competence, mild Euroscepticism, and greater support for science, technology and innovation. Her uncontroversial programme offended few voters and ensured she was seen as a safe pair of hands to take over from the rudderless Blair government. An electorate tired of Labour after three consecutive terms handed Bottomley a solid 70-seat majority, allowing her to become the first female Conservative Prime Minister.

[10] Bottomley, strengthened by her comfortable victory in 1999, had a strong term. Public confidence in the government was high, and further emboldened by the great success of the Millennium Celebrations. Despite the lingering issue of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and the deep controversy surrounding the attempted creation of a pan-nationalist European Rapid Response Force (EURORF) in 2001, Bottomley secured a second victory in 2003. However, for the first time since the implementation of PR the traditional British two-party system was challenged; although the Conservatives and Labour easily remained the largest (and Bottomley returned to Downing Street with a thirty-three seat majority) the nationalist parties had been strengthened by the implementation of full-scale Owenite devolution. The Scottish National Party, an opponent of further European integration since the 1970s, sought to withdraw Scotland from her EU membership - threatening a full-scale crisis with Europe given that thanks to devolution it would remain part of a larger member state (the United Kingdom). Although Bottomley was able to secure concessions from Strasbourg regarding the Scottish fisheries, as well as an attempted new border strategy in Ireland, the Conservatives lost headway against more stridently anti-European parties as the Owenite tendency reappeared in control of the Labour Party. (The Liberals, the only party directly favouring further European integration, did well out of PR in the 2003 contest. However, they remained the distant third force in British politics). Nevertheless, by 2005 it was clear that general public opinion had once again turned against Europe - threatening to split the Conservative vote, empower the Labour Party back into relevance and widen the nationalist cracks springing up all over Britain.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]

1973: Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]
1977:
Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985: David Owen (Labour) [6]
1989: David Owen (Labour)

1991: John Smith (Labour) [7]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour) [8]

1994:
Tony Blair (Labour)
1999
: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative) [9]
2003: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative)
[10]
2006: Michael Howard (Conservative) [11]
2007: Michael Howard (Conservative Minority)


[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

[7] Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.

[8] Smith’s tragic death in the winter of 1994 came as a shock to the British Public. However a new Prime Minister was needed and Smith’s deputy, Tony Blair, stood in as acting PM until he beat Gordon Brown in a leadership election. Within his first year in office, Blair would introduce the Short-Term Parliament Act, which would limit a parliaments term from 5 to 4 years although the current parliament would run it‘s 5 year term. More devolution in Scotland would lead to it becoming her own member of the EU while still in Britain. However, Owen had defined the One Nation Labour brand as a Eurosceptic one, so despite Blair‘s personal beliefs he had to keep Europe at arms length. Running on a platform of scaling back the Lords and Peace in Ulster, Blair would trounce Norman Tebbit in the ’94 election, leading to Michael Portillo being elected as Tory leader.

[9] After three consecutive Labour victories, the Conservative Party seemed to be in trouble, especially since Labour's third victory was yet another >100 seat landslide. But events would soon catch up with Labour. First, a recession in 1996 shattered the Blair-Brown team's reputation for economic competence, and they would never again regain first place in polls during the 1994-1999 Parliament. Second, Blair's grand plans to secure peace in Ulster fell flat at the last minute as the 1997 referendum on the Good Friday Agreement was shockingly rejected by the electorate of Northern Ireland, with 50.4% of votes against despite every poll having suggested it would pass. The referendum result can be understood partly as a result of feeling amongst Unionist voters that the agreement was a sell-out, but more than this it was a way of lodging a protest vote against the Blair government, with the economic crash and subsequent slow growth having particularly affected working-class loyalist voters in Belfast who turned out in droves. A subsequent upsurge in sectarian activity left Blair's government looking directionless and incompetent. Finally, Labour Eurosceptics became increasingly unhappy with the direction Blair was taking the party - culminating in the shock events of Autumn 1997 when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Frank Field, crossed the floor to the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Michael Portillo had been forced to resign the Conservative leadership amidst accusations, whipped up by prominent critics of his leadership including Ann Widdecombe, that he was a closeted homosexual. Despite Portillo's resignation, Widdecombe's behaviour was widely seen as unprincipled and careerist, and sank her own leadership ambitions, as moderate candidate Virginia Bottomley won the subsequent leadership election in a landslide. In the general election, Bottomley campaigned on a platform of economic competence, mild Euroscepticism, and greater support for science, technology and innovation. Her uncontroversial programme offended few voters and ensured she was seen as a safe pair of hands to take over from the rudderless Blair government. An electorate tired of Labour after three consecutive terms handed Bottomley a solid 70-seat majority, allowing her to become the first female Conservative Prime Minister.

[10] Bottomley, strengthened by her comfortable victory in 1999, had a strong term. Public confidence in the government was high, and further emboldened by the great success of the Millennium Celebrations. Despite the lingering issue of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and the deep controversy surrounding the attempted creation of a pan-nationalist European Rapid Response Force (EURORF) in 2001, Bottomley secured a second victory in 2003. However, for the first time since the implementation of PR the traditional British two-party system was challenged; although the Conservatives and Labour easily remained the largest (and Bottomley returned to Downing Street with a thirty-three seat majority) the nationalist parties had been strengthened by the implementation of full-scale Owenite devolution. The Scottish National Party, an opponent of further European integration since the 1970s, sought to withdraw Scotland from her EU membership - threatening a full-scale crisis with Europe given that thanks to devolution it would remain part of a larger member state (the United Kingdom). Although Bottomley was able to secure concessions from Strasbourg regarding the Scottish fisheries, as well as an attempted new border strategy in Ireland, the Conservatives lost headway against more stridently anti-European parties as the Owenite tendency reappeared in control of the Labour Party. (The Liberals, the only party directly favouring further European integration, did well out of PR in the 2003 contest. However, they remained the distant third force in British politics). Nevertheless, by 2005 it was clear that general public opinion had once again turned against Europe - threatening to split the Conservative vote, empower the Labour Party back into relevance and widen the nationalist cracks springing up all over Britain.

[11] By her seventh year in office, few were surprised that Virginia Bottomley had resigned in order to allow a new face to run Britain. Her successor would make a deal with David Davis in order to allow him to win the leadership election against George Osborne. Howard would pander to many Nationalist and Eurospectic voters by offering an EU In/Out Referendum to take place by the end of the decade. Whilst the exit poll expected the 2007 election to be a Labour Majority of 20, the Tories would defy all expectations and form a minority government with Liberal Support. Whilst Howard would have much preferred to have made a deal with a handful of nationalist parties, the seats just weren't there. Vince Cable would be elected Labour leader almost immediately after the election, whilst Ming Campbell was heralded as a hero by his party. With the Liberals refusing to offer an EU Referendum, Howard might just have to back track on his main election pledge.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]

1973: Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]
1977:
Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985: David Owen (Labour) [6]
1989: David Owen (Labour)

1991: John Smith (Labour) [7]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour) [8]

1994:
Tony Blair (Labour)
1999
: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative) [9]
2003: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative)
[10]
2006: Michael Howard (Conservative) [11]
2007: Michael Howard (Conservative Minority)

2010: David Campbell-Bannerman (UKIP-Conservative-DUP-UUP-Caledonians Coalition) [12]

[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

[7] Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.

[8] Smith’s tragic death in the winter of 1994 came as a shock to the British Public. However a new Prime Minister was needed and Smith’s deputy, Tony Blair, stood in as acting PM until he beat Gordon Brown in a leadership election. Within his first year in office, Blair would introduce the Short-Term Parliament Act, which would limit a parliaments term from 5 to 4 years although the current parliament would run it‘s 5 year term. More devolution in Scotland would lead to it becoming her own member of the EU while still in Britain. However, Owen had defined the One Nation Labour brand as a Eurosceptic one, so despite Blair‘s personal beliefs he had to keep Europe at arms length. Running on a platform of scaling back the Lords and Peace in Ulster, Blair would trounce Norman Tebbit in the ’94 election, leading to Michael Portillo being elected as Tory leader.

[9] After three consecutive Labour victories, the Conservative Party seemed to be in trouble, especially since Labour's third victory was yet another >100 seat landslide. But events would soon catch up with Labour. First, a recession in 1996 shattered the Blair-Brown team's reputation for economic competence, and they would never again regain first place in polls during the 1994-1999 Parliament. Second, Blair's grand plans to secure peace in Ulster fell flat at the last minute as the 1997 referendum on the Good Friday Agreement was shockingly rejected by the electorate of Northern Ireland, with 50.4% of votes against despite every poll having suggested it would pass. The referendum result can be understood partly as a result of feeling amongst Unionist voters that the agreement was a sell-out, but more than this it was a way of lodging a protest vote against the Blair government, with the economic crash and subsequent slow growth having particularly affected working-class loyalist voters in Belfast who turned out in droves. A subsequent upsurge in sectarian activity left Blair's government looking directionless and incompetent. Finally, Labour Eurosceptics became increasingly unhappy with the direction Blair was taking the party - culminating in the shock events of Autumn 1997 when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Frank Field, crossed the floor to the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Michael Portillo had been forced to resign the Conservative leadership amidst accusations, whipped up by prominent critics of his leadership including Ann Widdecombe, that he was a closeted homosexual. Despite Portillo's resignation, Widdecombe's behaviour was widely seen as unprincipled and careerist, and sank her own leadership ambitions, as moderate candidate Virginia Bottomley won the subsequent leadership election in a landslide. In the general election, Bottomley campaigned on a platform of economic competence, mild Euroscepticism, and greater support for science, technology and innovation. Her uncontroversial programme offended few voters and ensured she was seen as a safe pair of hands to take over from the rudderless Blair government. An electorate tired of Labour after three consecutive terms handed Bottomley a solid 70-seat majority, allowing her to become the first female Conservative Prime Minister.

[10] Bottomley, strengthened by her comfortable victory in 1999, had a strong term. Public confidence in the government was high, and further emboldened by the great success of the Millennium Celebrations. Despite the lingering issue of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and the deep controversy surrounding the attempted creation of a pan-nationalist European Rapid Response Force (EURORF) in 2001, Bottomley secured a second victory in 2003. However, for the first time since the implementation of PR the traditional British two-party system was challenged; although the Conservatives and Labour easily remained the largest (and Bottomley returned to Downing Street with a thirty-three seat majority) the nationalist parties had been strengthened by the implementation of full-scale Owenite devolution. The Scottish National Party, an opponent of further European integration since the 1970s, sought to withdraw Scotland from her EU membership - threatening a full-scale crisis with Europe given that thanks to devolution it would remain part of a larger member state (the United Kingdom). Although Bottomley was able to secure concessions from Strasbourg regarding the Scottish fisheries, as well as an attempted new border strategy in Ireland, the Conservatives lost headway against more stridently anti-European parties as the Owenite tendency reappeared in control of the Labour Party. (The Liberals, the only party directly favouring further European integration, did well out of PR in the 2003 contest. However, they remained the distant third force in British politics). Nevertheless, by 2005 it was clear that general public opinion had once again turned against Europe - threatening to split the Conservative vote, empower the Labour Party back into relevance and widen the nationalist cracks springing up all over Britain.

[11] By her seventh year in office, few were surprised that Virginia Bottomley had resigned in order to allow a new face to run Britain. Her successor would make a deal with David Davis in order to allow him to win the leadership election against George Osborne. Howard would pander to many Nationalist and Eurospectic voters by offering an EU In/Out Referendum to take place by the end of the decade. Whilst the exit poll expected the 2007 election to be a Labour Majority of 20, the Tories would defy all expectations and form a minority government with Liberal Support. Whilst Howard would have much preferred to have made a deal with a handful of nationalist parties, the seats just weren't there. Vince Cable would be elected Labour leader almost immediately after the election, whilst Ming Campbell was heralded as a hero by his party. With the Liberals refusing to offer an EU Referendum, Howard might just have to back track on his main election pledge.

[12] Michael Howard's inability to win Parliamentary backing for an EU Referendum would cost him dear. The new Conservative-Liberal coalition was unpopular with natural supporters of both parties, and many backbench Tories saw it as a betrayal that the referendum pledge had been dropped to conciliate Ming Campbell and keep the Liberals onside. The next year saw 26 Eurosceptic Conservative MPs, including two cabinet ministers (Owen Paterson and Adam Afriyie), defect to a new political force - the United Kingdom Independence Party, once a single-issue party campaigning on Britain leaving the EU, and which had won 30 seats in the 2007 election under PR. After David Campbell-Bannerman (a distant relative of the former Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman) defeated Robert Kilroy-Silk in the 2008 UKIP leadership election, UKIP diversified its support base to become a catch-call party of the populist right, supporting lower immigration, a tough stand on law and order, and traditionalist policies on social issues, but eschewing racist rhetoric. With Howard's government now sitting on a tiny majority and barely able to enact its agenda, UKIP gained support rapidly from the Tories, allowing Labour to gain a lead in the opinion polls. But in 2008 UKIP pledged to ringfence higher NHS spending in line with inflation and to revitalise the Northern manufacturing industry through a 'buy British' campaign and elements of economic protectionism, meaning that it began to peel votes off Labour as well. In 2010, the Liberals withdrew from the governing coalition in protest against a new bill introduced by the embattled Howard to reduce immigration (which he had hoped could counter the UKIP threat). With its majority wiped out, Howard was forced to call a snap election. Under proportional reputation, this produced the most divided parliament in history - UKIP won 27.5% of the vote, Labour 26%, the Conservatives 23%, and the Liberals 15%. Howard resigned as Prime Minister, and rejected the offer of a cabinet position in the new government. Campbell-Bannerman became Prime Minister, in a five-party coalition with the Conservatives, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Ulster Unionist Party, and the Caledonian Party (a right-of-centre Scottish nationalist party that was formed by Scottish nationalists discontented with the leftward drift of the SNP, which agreed to enter-government in return for 'devo-max' for Scotland) - together adding up to a slim but workable fifteen-seat majority.
 
Macmillan doesn’t resign in 1963 and wins a majority

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)
1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]

1973: Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]
1977:
Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985: David Owen (Labour) [6]
1989: David Owen (Labour)

1991: John Smith (Labour) [7]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour) [8]

1994:
Tony Blair (Labour)
1999
: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative) [9]
2003: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative)
[10]
2006: Michael Howard (Conservative) [11]
2007: Michael Howard (Conservative Minority)

2010: David Campbell-Bannerman (UKIP-Conservative-DUP-UUP-Caledonians Coalition) [12]

[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

[7] Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.

[8] Smith’s tragic death in the winter of 1994 came as a shock to the British Public. However a new Prime Minister was needed and Smith’s deputy, Tony Blair, stood in as acting PM until he beat Gordon Brown in a leadership election. Within his first year in office, Blair would introduce the Short-Term Parliament Act, which would limit a parliaments term from 5 to 4 years although the current parliament would run it‘s 5 year term. More devolution in Scotland would lead to it becoming her own member of the EU while still in Britain. However, Owen had defined the One Nation Labour brand as a Eurosceptic one, so despite Blair‘s personal beliefs he had to keep Europe at arms length. Running on a platform of scaling back the Lords and Peace in Ulster, Blair would trounce Norman Tebbit in the ’94 election, leading to Michael Portillo being elected as Tory leader.

[9] After three consecutive Labour victories, the Conservative Party seemed to be in trouble, especially since Labour's third victory was yet another >100 seat landslide. But events would soon catch up with Labour. First, a recession in 1996 shattered the Blair-Brown team's reputation for economic competence, and they would never again regain first place in polls during the 1994-1999 Parliament. Second, Blair's grand plans to secure peace in Ulster fell flat at the last minute as the 1997 referendum on the Good Friday Agreement was shockingly rejected by the electorate of Northern Ireland, with 50.4% of votes against despite every poll having suggested it would pass. The referendum result can be understood partly as a result of feeling amongst Unionist voters that the agreement was a sell-out, but more than this it was a way of lodging a protest vote against the Blair government, with the economic crash and subsequent slow growth having particularly affected working-class loyalist voters in Belfast who turned out in droves. A subsequent upsurge in sectarian activity left Blair's government looking directionless and incompetent. Finally, Labour Eurosceptics became increasingly unhappy with the direction Blair was taking the party - culminating in the shock events of Autumn 1997 when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Frank Field, crossed the floor to the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Michael Portillo had been forced to resign the Conservative leadership amidst accusations, whipped up by prominent critics of his leadership including Ann Widdecombe, that he was a closeted homosexual. Despite Portillo's resignation, Widdecombe's behaviour was widely seen as unprincipled and careerist, and sank her own leadership ambitions, as moderate candidate Virginia Bottomley won the subsequent leadership election in a landslide. In the general election, Bottomley campaigned on a platform of economic competence, mild Euroscepticism, and greater support for science, technology and innovation. Her uncontroversial programme offended few voters and ensured she was seen as a safe pair of hands to take over from the rudderless Blair government. An electorate tired of Labour after three consecutive terms handed Bottomley a solid 70-seat majority, allowing her to become the first female Conservative Prime Minister.

[10] Bottomley, strengthened by her comfortable victory in 1999, had a strong term. Public confidence in the government was high, and further emboldened by the great success of the Millennium Celebrations. Despite the lingering issue of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and the deep controversy surrounding the attempted creation of a pan-nationalist European Rapid Response Force (EURORF) in 2001, Bottomley secured a second victory in 2003. However, for the first time since the implementation of PR the traditional British two-party system was challenged; although the Conservatives and Labour easily remained the largest (and Bottomley returned to Downing Street with a thirty-three seat majority) the nationalist parties had been strengthened by the implementation of full-scale Owenite devolution. The Scottish National Party, an opponent of further European integration since the 1970s, sought to withdraw Scotland from her EU membership - threatening a full-scale crisis with Europe given that thanks to devolution it would remain part of a larger member state (the United Kingdom). Although Bottomley was able to secure concessions from Strasbourg regarding the Scottish fisheries, as well as an attempted new border strategy in Ireland, the Conservatives lost headway against more stridently anti-European parties as the Owenite tendency reappeared in control of the Labour Party. (The Liberals, the only party directly favouring further European integration, did well out of PR in the 2003 contest. However, they remained the distant third force in British politics). Nevertheless, by 2005 it was clear that general public opinion had once again turned against Europe - threatening to split the Conservative vote, empower the Labour Party back into relevance and widen the nationalist cracks springing up all over Britain.

[11] By her seventh year in office, few were surprised that Virginia Bottomley had resigned in order to allow a new face to run Britain. Her successor would make a deal with David Davis in order to allow him to win the leadership election against George Osborne. Howard would pander to many Nationalist and Eurospectic voters by offering an EU In/Out Referendum to take place by the end of the decade. Whilst the exit poll expected the 2007 election to be a Labour Majority of 20, the Tories would defy all expectations and form a minority government with Liberal Support. Whilst Howard would have much preferred to have made a deal with a handful of nationalist parties, the seats just weren't there. Vince Cable would be elected Labour leader almost immediately after the election, whilst Ming Campbell was heralded as a hero by his party. With the Liberals refusing to offer an EU Referendum, Howard might just have to back track on his main election pledge.

[12] Michael Howard's inability to win Parliamentary backing for an EU Referendum would cost him dear. The new Conservative-Liberal coalition was unpopular with natural supporters of both parties, and many backbench Tories saw it as a betrayal that the referendum pledge had been dropped to conciliate Ming Campbell and keep the Liberals onside. The next year saw 26 Eurosceptic Conservative MPs, including two cabinet ministers (Owen Paterson and Adam Afriyie), defect to a new political force - the United Kingdom Independence Party, once a single-issue party campaigning on Britain leaving the EU, and which had won 30 seats in the 2007 election under PR. After David Campbell-Bannerman (a distant relative of the former Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman) defeated Robert Kilroy-Silk in the 2008 UKIP leadership election, UKIP diversified its support base to become a catch-call party of the populist right, supporting lower immigration, a tough stand on law and order, and traditionalist policies on social issues, but eschewing racist rhetoric. With Howard's government now sitting on a tiny majority and barely able to enact its agenda, UKIP gained support rapidly from the Tories, allowing Labour to gain a lead in the opinion polls. But in 2008 UKIP pledged to ringfence higher NHS spending in line with inflation and to revitalise the Northern manufacturing industry through a 'buy British' campaign and elements of economic protectionism, meaning that it began to peel votes off Labour as well. In 2010, the Liberals withdrew from the governing coalition in protest against a new bill introduced by the embattled Howard to reduce immigration (which he had hoped could counter the UKIP threat). With its majority wiped out, Howard was forced to call a snap election. Under proportional reputation, this produced the most divided parliament in history - UKIP won 27.5% of the vote, Labour 26%, the Conservatives 23%, and the Liberals 15%. Howard resigned as Prime Minister, and rejected the offer of a cabinet position in the new government. Campbell-Bannerman became Prime Minister, in a five-party coalition with the Conservatives, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Ulster Unionist Party, and the Caledonian Party (a right-of-centre Scottish nationalist party that was formed by Scottish nationalists discontented with the leftward drift of the SNP, which agreed to enter-government in return for 'devo-max' for Scotland) - together adding up to a slim but workable fifteen-seat majority.
2014 - Ed Miliband (Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition)
The coalition worked well initially but fell into internal disagreements after remains victory in the 2013 referendum on EU membership, the relatively young Ed Miliband leads the Labour party back into power after a long stretch of opposition, however, due to proportional representation only a minority government was achievable and a confidence and supply agreement with Plaid Cymru was necessary.
 
773E32FA-D7EB-435F-98DE-91C9F30B2AD4.jpeg

1964: Harold MacMillan (Conservative)
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative) [1]
1968: Edward Heath (Conservative)

1971: Iain Macleod (Conservative) [2]
1973: Harold Wilson (Labour) [3]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour) [4]
1977: Barbara Castle (Labour)
1982: Douglas Hurd (Conservative) [5]
1985: David Owen (Labour) [6]
1989: David Owen (Labour)

1991: John Smith (Labour) [7]
1994: Tony Blair (Labour) [8]

1994: Tony Blair (Labour)
1999: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative) [9]
2003: Virginia Bottomley (Conservative) [10]

2006: Michael Howard (Conservative) [11]
2007: Michael Howard (Conservative Minority)
2010: David Campbell-Bannerman (UKIP-Conservative-DUP-UUP-Caledonians Coalition) [12]
2014 - Ed Miliband (Labour-Plaid Cymru Confidence Deal) [13]
2018 - Ed Miliband (Labour) [14]


[1] Following a twenty seat Conservative majority in 1964, Harold Macmillan continued on as Prime Minister. His premiership would see many big social changes in Britain and would see the decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. Macmillan would also preside over Britain's second EEC rejection in 1967 which would see the Anti-Europe factions of the Labour Party and Conservative Party emboldened. Economically, Macmillan managed to prop up Sterling by going into Vietnam with President Kennedy (who narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet in Dallas), pledging a brigade of British troops to fight alongside Australian and New Zealander troops already there and creating a "Commonwealth Division", avoiding the potential fiasco of devaluation. During this time, Macmillan also signed the 1966 Defense White Paper, which pledged a pull out of most of Britain's troops "East of Suez" whilst retaining Britain's commitments and territories in the Gulf. This would in time be seen as a good decision, as it would see Britain gain the bountiful profits of Gulf Oil. By 1968, Macmillan was tired and announced his intention to resign, using his remaining political clout to convince the 'Magic Circle' to tell the Queen to send for Foreign Secretary Edward Heath.

[2] In 1969 Heath along with Alec Douglas-Home created an leadership election system for the Conservative Party so as to assuage increasing concern over the Queen being dragged into politics. In 1971 Heath was dining out at a restaurant in London when he was shot dead by an anti-Vietnam war protestor. Macleod who was Chancellor was the only candidate and was quickly elected as leader and PM. Macleod continued the policies of his predecessors but also started to influence President Johnson to try and bring an end to the conflict. Likewise he and politicians in both Ulster and the Irish Republic oversaw the creation of the Ulster Assembly comprising Unionist, Nationalist and Alliance parties.

[3] There was considerable sympathy for Macleod; the sympathy surrounding the death of Heath (the first Prime Minister to be assassinated since Spencer Perceval in 1812), the temporary success of the Ulster Assembly and the withdrawal of the Commonwealth Division from their remaining obligations in the unpopular wars in Southeast Asia bequeathed a strong honeymoon, and Macleod remained a strong performer as a Commons orator. However, by the time he took the premiership the Conservatives had governed Britain for twenty years and the cracks within the party were beginning to show. In contrast Labour, although still led by Harold Wilson, steadily grew in strength until a surprisingly-strong victory in the 1973 election. Wilson committed his government to widespread spending on the welfare state, supported by his Chancellor Eric Varley, and presided over a diversification of the economy. Although his economic reforms were criticized by the vocal but largely-inconsequential left-wing Wilson attempted to portray Labour as the new party of government in Britain given the length of the previous Conservative ministries.

[4] Harold Wilson resigns after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the popular Home Secretary, Barbara Castle succeeds him as the first woman Prime Minister, and the first female leader of the Labour party, winning a comfortable victory in a snap election held 6 weeks after entering No.10.

[5] What led to Barbara Castle's landslide defeat? Some attribute it to the unpopular Argentine War that began a mere month before the nation went to the polls and the "Winter of Discontent". However a lot of people attributed it to the removal of Jim Callaghan from the cabinet in which the outrage from it was massive. The "Callaghan Group" of Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, David Owen and a reluctant Roy Hattersley resigned in protest. The polls would slump and the Conservative Party with Douglas Hurd would return to power. Winning the Argentine War within a month, Hurd would see unprecedented popularity. However with David Owen overwhelmingly elected over Michael Foot under the slogan "Reformed Labour, Reformed Britain", the polls would get ever closer.

[6] Although Hurd would ride high on the post-war euphoria, his domestic policies fell short of public expectation. Held back in part by the onset of global economic recession in the 1980s, Hurd was ultimately unable to compete with the fresh and revitalized Labour Party under Owen. As the Falklands fell from the public consciousness, so did the Conservative lead in the polls. In early-1985 Hurd called a snap election in a tense bid to 'cash-in' before Labour emerged a clear favourite; Hurd had unfortunate timing, as the announcement fell on the same day as the South London Derby Riot (in which fans of Millwall and Charlton Athletic clashed prior to their meeting in the FA Cup quarter-final), leading to strong headlines criticizing his self-proclaimed successes on law and order. Owen would dominate the campaign, and unsurprisingly stormed into Downing Street at the head of his 'Reformed Labour'. Owen had an ambitious agenda that in many ways shared the same optimism of the Macmillan governments, and although the new Prime Minister sensationalized many by stating his commitment to 'One Nation Labour' in fact his government appealed to a wide spectrum of society.

[7] Owen oversaw the biggest constitutional reforms in the UK since Magna Carta. The United Kingdom Constitution Act 1987 enshrined a bill of rights into law as well as PR and Scotland and Wales taking control of all issues except Foreign and Defence with a series of "rolling devolution" measures in Northern Ireland. Labour retained power in 1989 with a 107 seat majority. Owen stepped down in 1991 and Chancellor John Smith beat Tony Benn hands down.

[8] Smith’s tragic death in the winter of 1994 came as a shock to the British Public. However a new Prime Minister was needed and Smith’s deputy, Tony Blair, stood in as acting PM until he beat Gordon Brown in a leadership election. Within his first year in office, Blair would introduce the Short-Term Parliament Act, which would limit a parliaments term from 5 to 4 years although the current parliament would run it‘s 5 year term. More devolution in Scotland would lead to it becoming her own member of the EU while still in Britain. However, Owen had defined the One Nation Labour brand as a Eurosceptic one, so despite Blair‘s personal beliefs he had to keep Europe at arms length. Running on a platform of scaling back the Lords and Peace in Ulster, Blair would trounce Norman Tebbit in the ’94 election, leading to Michael Portillo being elected as Tory leader.

[9] After three consecutive Labour victories, the Conservative Party seemed to be in trouble, especially since Labour's third victory was yet another >100 seat landslide. But events would soon catch up with Labour. First, a recession in 1996 shattered the Blair-Brown team's reputation for economic competence, and they would never again regain first place in polls during the 1994-1999 Parliament. Second, Blair's grand plans to secure peace in Ulster fell flat at the last minute as the 1997 referendum on the Good Friday Agreement was shockingly rejected by the electorate of Northern Ireland, with 50.4% of votes against despite every poll having suggested it would pass. The referendum result can be understood partly as a result of feeling amongst Unionist voters that the agreement was a sell-out, but more than this it was a way of lodging a protest vote against the Blair government, with the economic crash and subsequent slow growth having particularly affected working-class loyalist voters in Belfast who turned out in droves. A subsequent upsurge in sectarian activity left Blair's government looking directionless and incompetent. Finally, Labour Eurosceptics became increasingly unhappy with the direction Blair was taking the party - culminating in the shock events of Autumn 1997 when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Frank Field, crossed the floor to the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Michael Portillo had been forced to resign the Conservative leadership amidst accusations, whipped up by prominent critics of his leadership including Ann Widdecombe, that he was a closeted homosexual. Despite Portillo's resignation, Widdecombe's behaviour was widely seen as unprincipled and careerist, and sank her own leadership ambitions, as moderate candidate Virginia Bottomley won the subsequent leadership election in a landslide. In the general election, Bottomley campaigned on a platform of economic competence, mild Euroscepticism, and greater support for science, technology and innovation. Her uncontroversial programme offended few voters and ensured she was seen as a safe pair of hands to take over from the rudderless Blair government. An electorate tired of Labour after three consecutive terms handed Bottomley a solid 70-seat majority, allowing her to become the first female Conservative Prime Minister.

[10] Bottomley, strengthened by her comfortable victory in 1999, had a strong term. Public confidence in the government was high, and further emboldened by the great success of the Millennium Celebrations. Despite the lingering issue of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and the deep controversy surrounding the attempted creation of a pan-nationalist European Rapid Response Force (EURORF) in 2001, Bottomley secured a second victory in 2003. However, for the first time since the implementation of PR the traditional British two-party system was challenged; although the Conservatives and Labour easily remained the largest (and Bottomley returned to Downing Street with a thirty-three seat majority) the nationalist parties had been strengthened by the implementation of full-scale Owenite devolution. The Scottish National Party, an opponent of further European integration since the 1970s, sought to withdraw Scotland from her EU membership - threatening a full-scale crisis with Europe given that thanks to devolution it would remain part of a larger member state (the United Kingdom). Although Bottomley was able to secure concessions from Strasbourg regarding the Scottish fisheries, as well as an attempted new border strategy in Ireland, the Conservatives lost headway against more stridently anti-European parties as the Owenite tendency reappeared in control of the Labour Party. (The Liberals, the only party directly favouring further European integration, did well out of PR in the 2003 contest. However, they remained the distant third force in British politics). Nevertheless, by 2005 it was clear that general public opinion had once again turned against Europe - threatening to split the Conservative vote, empower the Labour Party back into relevance and widen the nationalist cracks springing up all over Britain.

[11] By her seventh year in office, few were surprised that Virginia Bottomley had resigned in order to allow a new face to run Britain. Her successor would make a deal with David Davis in order to allow him to win the leadership election against George Osborne. Howard would pander to many Nationalist and Eurospectic voters by offering an EU In/Out Referendum to take place by the end of the decade. Whilst the exit poll expected the 2007 election to be a Labour Majority of 20, the Tories would defy all expectations and form a minority government with Liberal Support. Whilst Howard would have much preferred to have made a deal with a handful of nationalist parties, the seats just weren't there. Vince Cable would be elected Labour leader almost immediately after the election, whilst Ming Campbell was heralded as a hero by his party. With the Liberals refusing to offer an EU Referendum, Howard might just have to back track on his main election pledge.

[12] Michael Howard's inability to win Parliamentary backing for an EU Referendum would cost him dear. The new Conservative-Liberal coalition was unpopular with natural supporters of both parties, and many backbench Tories saw it as a betrayal that the referendum pledge had been dropped to conciliate Ming Campbell and keep the Liberals onside. The next year saw 26 Eurosceptic Conservative MPs, including two cabinet ministers (Owen Paterson and Adam Afriyie), defect to a new political force - the United Kingdom Independence Party, once a single-issue party campaigning on Britain leaving the EU, and which had won 30 seats in the 2007 election under PR. After David Campbell-Bannerman (a distant relative of the former Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman) defeated Robert Kilroy-Silk in the 2008 UKIP leadership election, UKIP diversified its support base to become a catch-call party of the populist right, supporting lower immigration, a tough stand on law and order, and traditionalist policies on social issues, but eschewing racist rhetoric. With Howard's government now sitting on a tiny majority and barely able to enact its agenda, UKIP gained support rapidly from the Tories, allowing Labour to gain a lead in the opinion polls. But in 2008 UKIP pledged to ringfence higher NHS spending in line with inflation and to revitalise the Northern manufacturing industry through a 'buy British' campaign and elements of economic protectionism, meaning that it began to peel votes off Labour as well. In 2010, the Liberals withdrew from the governing coalition in protest against a new bill introduced by the embattled Howard to reduce immigration (which he had hoped could counter the UKIP threat). With its majority wiped out, Howard was forced to call a snap election. Under proportional reputation, this produced the most divided parliament in history - UKIP won 27.5% of the vote, Labour 26%, the Conservatives 23%, and the Liberals 15%. Howard resigned as Prime Minister, and rejected the offer of a cabinet position in the new government. Campbell-Bannerman became Prime Minister, in a five-party coalition with the Conservatives, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Ulster Unionist Party, and the Caledonian Party (a right-of-centre Scottish nationalist party that was formed by Scottish nationalists discontented with the leftward drift of the SNP, which agreed to enter-government in return for 'devo-max' for Scotland) - together adding up to a slim but workable fifteen-seat majority.

[13] The coalition worked well initially but fell into internal disagreements after remains victory in the 2013 referendum on EU membership, the relatively young Ed Miliband leads the Labour party back into power after a long stretch of opposition, however, due to proportional representation only a minority government was achievable and a confidence and supply agreement with Plaid Cymru was necessary.

[14] As promised the 2016 Welsh Independence Referendum was held and resulted in a much narrower result than expected. With 55% of the vote, Miliband was left on high alert and would devolve Wales more. Whilst Miliband would gain a poll boost from it, Iain Duncan Smith was removed as Tory Leader in October 2016 with David Davis winning on the last ballot against Smith loyalist Theresa May. As Plaid Cymru would fade into obscurity many expected the 2018 election to end in a hung parliament. However Miliband was able to secure a shock majority and UKIP securing themselves as the dominant right wing party over the Tories.
 
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