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.
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.