Second Kingdom Come

ooc: I've written quite bit of this already, but it's fairly rough at the moment I just wanted to get it out there - the plan will be to revise extensively as it continues.

Second Kingdom Come

Westminster Hall, London, 1879.

The Right Honourable Bill Lovett Esq. former First Secretary for Popular Education and Social Good gently placed his cup and saucer back on the occasional table and rested his head, before closing his heavy eyes.

His friend and deputy for many years, Frederick Chapman leaned forward cautiously, Bill was clearly exhausted and frankly who wouldn’t be after 79 years of fighting to create the good society?

Bill’s eyes opened wide. “sorry old friend, must have drifted off for a moment. Now where were we?”

Fred smiled indulgently. “India, though not literally of course.”

“Ah yes. And what has the committee decided to recommend to the House?”

“Full independence as a federal state within the Commonwealth and with the Queen, God bless as head of state.”

“Good.”

A few miles away the daily Edinburgh run arrived in a blast of whistles and a cloud of steam at Mornington. One of the passengers who disembarked from a third class carriage was an earnest faced young man who already carried the wear and tear of someone who had spent a good few years toiling underground.

James Hardie was the newest Christian Democrat MP in the House, elected just two weeks before at the by-election in Lanarkshire; and at just 23 he was also now the youngest MP in the twenty nine years of the Second Kingdom.

Hardie’s face broke into a smile as he saw his friend and confidant Wullie Gallacher waiting just beyond the platform gates, Wullie had already been in the capital for two days arranging lodging and registering them both with the police, and as James was about to find out had already placed a story about him with the Poorman’s Guardian and organised a meeting of the local branch of the Friends of the Mineworkers.

Getting elected as a Christian Democrat in Lanarkshire was the easy bit, now the hard work would begin.
 
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2 Thessalonians

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

......................................................
 
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1831 The Red Lion Public House, Clitheroe, Lancashire

Sir Richard Vyvyan was far from home on a chill November morning but his own warm bed was the last thing on his mind as he met with the tousle haired tailor who had written to him some weeks before with a most interesting proposition.

The letter as an artefact was a poorly scrawled rant, but it was the central idea that hooked him like a prize salmon and dragged him up here from Bristol.

"Yes, I'm interested in what you have to say Mr Gabardine, and you thought I might be otherwise you would not have written to me in the first place. You know I and my friends are better chums to the English Protestant working man than the Radicals or that fool bogtrotter".
 
Now I like this!

Keir Hardie as a Christian Democrat, that should be interesting!

Did you mean that Bill had been WORKING for 79 years, that would make him positively ancient (at least 95!)

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Courage Eight Portraits of Good Christians

Courage Eight Portraits of Good Christians, by revd; Ebenezer James Brown, Lilbourne House Press, 2010.

Hardie was of course responsible in the summer of '88 for the fiery, passionate, and freewheeling speech which captivated the General Council of the Christian Workers Federation and convinced them en masse to continue supporting the Christian Democrats and to give short shrift to Morrison's upstart Independent Labour Party.

James Hardie however knew that the contents of his speech were no use alone, and that it was his solid background as a tribune of the worker, and a Kirk leader that leant real weight to his fine message.

It is Hardie that we still thank today for the eternal union of faith, family, and justice in Britain.
 
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Westminster Hall, London, February 1880

(Two months until the General Election)

Frederick Chapman wasn't convinced. He hadn't been happy with his fellow party grandees and their decision to approach the still relatively young Henry Hyndman to take up the chairmanship of the Christian Democrats. In Frederick's opinion the man was an outspoken liability and was known to associate not just with Tories but also with foreign rabble rousers and free love types.

In his short parliamentary career Hyndman certainly hadn't shown any real commitment to the common man, and seemed like one of those types for whom church was a place to network rather than a place to worship and contemplate.

Frederick helped himself to another scone while his dining companion stroked his chin and digested Chapman's complaints.

"My dear fellow, listen to me Freddie; Hyndman is a clown and a weathervane, but you chaps will be the largest party after the next election. And a weak leader, let alone a weak Prime Minister is going to need a man like you. If dear old Bill needed you, just think how needed you will be now."
 
The Election of 1880 part one

"Frederick Chapman is the enemy of the worker! Brothers this man comes to us for our support at every election, he promises us bread now and roses after we die. That is the trick of these so called Christian so called Democrats. That we just have to stay in the tea room give their campaigns a few pennies and wait for them to take office and ennact the ten hour day. Well brothers yes they have brought us that. But where is the 'moral wage'? Where is the two day weekend? And where is the old age pension? They preach family values but what of those who don't have families?

Brothers it is time we sent them a message the 'moral forcers' must be forced to listen to us.

Brothers not only must we vote in this election, but we must vote for a true friend and that true friend is Brother Pherson the Republican candidate.

And secondly we must talk to our fellows in the other yards and organise a show of strength, not through the bishops friends in the CWF but as real workers with the TUC."

William Budge looked out across the prop room of Maskells boat yard . His workmates were muttering now about his speech and casting glances at him , the steward Yates looked nervous, well let him, Chapman's man in the yard was next on the list. Then the majority of the blokes turned back to Budge.

Stoker the heavyset gaffer from the plate room raised his fist.

"We're with you brother Budge, and Pherson and the Republicans. Come on lads let's grab a mug of tea before we have to go home and hand over our hard earned to our missuses".

They dispersed with laughter and clapped Stoker on the back with mock sympathy. His wife was known for her sharp tongue and control of the purse strings

A few miles along the coast a small group of men wrapped up against the chill Atlantic breeze were hurriedly hurling oil skin wrapped parcels into the back of a covered cart.

The boat from which they had initially been thrown was chugging back out from the darkened bay on a south easterly course.

At the same time in London the General Council of the Christian Workers Federation was meeting at Working Men's Hall in Clerkenwell.

"Brothers" said Isaiah Bentley secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Brassmakers or ASB as they were known.

"Yes of course we must once again support the Christian Democrats not a man in this room would disagree, but we must put pressure on them to see that the condition of the working man in this country is in danger of decline and that it is the policies of their friends in the Radical party, for more free trade beyond even that with the Commonwealth that will jeopardise it."

Nods of agreement from most of those round the table.

The CD's agent who was sat in a deep armchair by the door looked uncomfortable in his high starched collar and heavy over sized wool coat.

"We need our representatives in parliament to pledge not to remove further tariffs and further to institute an eight hour day within the first year of forming a government as a minimum requirement for our support."

Agreement rumbled around the table, Cook the chairman just smiled as he looked over at Goodfellow the party agent by the door.
 
Interesting though I am not sure what the POD is here. Trying to follow all the Parties and their stances, and if the title is an allusion to Britain becoming a republic and then later having the monarchy restored.
 
Interesting though I am not sure what the POD is here. Trying to follow all the Parties and their stances, and if the title is an allusion to Britain becoming a republic and then later having the monarchy restored.

Thanks, I'm taking the approach of throwing lots of clues in then bringing it back into a proper narrative over the next couple of weeks.

Next update in a mo' - it's a "seasonal" special.;)
 
17:16 GMT on 23 November 1963

Jimmy Hunt sat idly on the saggy old sofa in his gramma's house. Gramma and her second wife Gramma Mo were in the back garden dismantling the shed while Jimmy had come in to watch the fascinating new colour wireless.

A weird distorted whine blurted from the wireless set and Jimmy's eyes widened.

Jimmy's heart was racing as the name of the show spiraled out of the centre of the screen in an exciting typeface.

'The Adventures of Professor Y in Time and Space'.
 
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