Most reasonable scenario for the US staying within the British Empire?

The assumption is often made (at least around here), that even if the rebels had lost the American Revolutionary war it was inevitable that the 13 colonies would have still become independent sooner or later.

Are there any plausible scenarios where the colonies stayed within the Empire at least in terms of some sort of partnership?
 
The assumption is often made (at least around here), that even if the rebels had lost the American Revolutionary war it was inevitable that the 13 colonies would have still become independent sooner or later.

Are there any plausible scenarios where the colonies stayed within the Empire at least in terms of some sort of partnership?

A successful Olive Branch Petition could be a plausible POD to achieve this.
 
For making sure the 13 colonies stay with Britain for longer: make Edmund Burke prime minister/ have him head the reform of the colonial office. If you read his reconciliatory speech in parliament, you see he has the correct ideas about how the relationship between the UK and the 13C had changed.
 
make Edmund Burke prime minister/ have him head the reform of the colonial office.

What he said. I think the most plausible POD for the USA both existing and being part of the British Empire/Commonwealth would be for Lord North to suffer some sort of scandal or setback (Maybe the Boston Massacre is worse ITTL and the Tories take the blame?) putting the Whigs in a stronger political position going into in 1775. Burke successfully lobbies for a "soft touch" approach, which in turn leads to a negotiated settlement with the rebellious colony of Massachusetts in the spring of 1776 rather than the military escalation that prompted the Declaration of Independence IOTL.

Edit: Spelling
 
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more oversight and support from the very beginning. A big chunk of the reason the rebellion happened was because the colonists had been forging their own path right from the path, with little help or guidance from London. The colonists, on their own, endured some pretty harsh conditions in the early days. London generally paid little attention to the place, not bothering to appoint governors who were competent or keeping track of taxes collected. When the ARW happened, it was more a matter of formalizing the separation that had been happening from the start.
 
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