"The Commonwealth of Britain" - Republican UK Wikibox TL

[powerab]

What party would I, a man in his 30s who would consider the abolition of the monarchy no more than an act of treason, be a member of in this 2020? I would also, like OTL, be in favour of Brexit and, again like OTL, be of the opinion that England should have more of the power due to its size, population and economic strength.

It would depend on how much you care about electability, the English Democrats fit that to a tee, but they've declined significantly since their peak in the late 2000s and now have no regional legislators and get less than 1% of the vote.

UKIP is the only national party to support restoration and scrapping devolution, but they have moved to the fringes of British politics with people like Tommy Robinson, Paul Joseph Watson and Carl Benjamin so it would depend on how comfortable you would be with those figures.

The Brexit Alliance is officially neutral on the issue of the monarchy, but most of its major figures like Nigel Farage and Richard Tice support restoration so that could be an option, they support devolution but they believe that Westminster should be strengthened and the powers of the regions rolled back

The Conservatives currently have a Eurosceptic Leader and there is a large minority of Tory MPs who support restoration, people like Jacob Rees-Mogg. But most Tories support the status quo in regard to devolution.

So it really depends on how you would weight up electability versus principles, either UKIP or the Brexit Alliance would probably best suit your beliefs, but the Conservatives are fairly close to your beliefs and have the added bonus of being a party of Government. But if the Monarchy is your die-hard primary belief then the only avowedly royalist national party is UKIP.

 

[aaa]

Do UKIP and the pro-restoration BA/Tories support restoring the Windsors because they believe they’re innocent of Diana’s death? Or in spite of it?

 

[powerab]

Do UKIP and the pro-restoration BA/Tories support restoring the Windsors because they believe they’re innocent of Diana’s death? Or in spite of it?

In spite of it, there are a few rogue conspiracy theorists who think Blair/The Deep state etc stagged Diana's assassination, but its a fringe belief not held by elected politicians

 

[Orchard]

In spite of it, there are a few rogue conspiracy theorists who think Blair/The Deep state etc stagged Diana's assassination, but its a fringe belief not held by elected politicians

What’s UKIP’s go to defence for supporting the monarchy?

 

[Geoffreylannister]

What’s UKIP’s go to defence for supporting the monarchy?

Tradition? The fact that the monarchy has does worse things historically? Hardcore fanaticism? Maybe the idea that the institution should continue but the individuals resign?

 

[powerab]

What’s UKIP’s go to defence for supporting the monarchy?

Tradition? The fact that the monarchy has does worse things historically? Hardcore fanaticism? Maybe the idea that the institution should continue but the individuals resign?

Geoffery is pretty much right

 

[Geoffreylannister]

How's the Commonwealth's climate record ITTL? With Miliband in power and Labour being the predominant party, in coalition with the Greens, I imagine it should be improved somewhat?

 

[powerab]

How's the Commonwealth's climate record ITTL? With Miliband in power and Labour being the predominant party, in coalition with the Greens, I imagine it should be improved somewhat?

Yes climate has been Miliband's main priority as President and Britain has become Europe's leading major economy in terms of climate emissions.

 

[sarahz]

I've always been interested in the youth wings of political parties and how under-25s engage with politics. Perhaps because I got my own start in politics through the SNP's youth wing. Has there been any major change in how youth wings are run in TTL? Was the Conservative's youth wing still shut down for bullying?

it was more than bullying major ballot rigging, fake conference delegates and South African dirty money were amongst the issues in 1980-83 FCS Conferences It was really quite surreal..

 

[powerab]

2019 General Election

For the 2019 election incumbent, Prime Minister was seeking a second term after his narrow victory in 2015. The Conservatives did not have an overall majority and had to rely on deals with smaller parties to pass legislation, especially the Liberals. The Liberals were punished at the ballot box for this and they continued their 2011 decline into third party status. However neither party was able to capitalise on their decline to seize a majority, and the Canadian Parliament remained as divided and unstable as ever, with both the NDP and the Conservatives neck and neck in terms of seats.

Next Canadian Election

Canada's 43rd Parliament was enguffled in the Prince Andrew affair, as the Ottawa based royal was indited by a US grand jury over his relationship with the child sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein. A committed royalist, MacKay initally resisted calls to extradite Andrew, but after pressure both internally and abroad, MacKay was forced into an embrassing u-turn. Prince Andrew was arrested and extradited to the US. The NDP under Charlie Agnus seized on this, pledging a referendum on the monarchy should they win the next election. The Candian Conservative's collapsed in the polls during this period, with some polls showing them below the Liberals, but MacKay's polling recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic, his relatively competent handling of the virus contrasted with Canda's neighbours to the south. Despite this the NDP are expected to be the largest party at the next election.

 

[TheBerlinguer]

@powerab, could you give us a brief summary of the way the republican British constitution was drafted after the referendum which did away with the Windsor monarchy? Was it a purely parliamentary procedure? Who were the "Constituent Fathers" (to borrow an expression from my country) of the Commonwealth, i.e. the statesmen who were most involved in the shaping of the Constitution (aside from future President Blair of course)? Did the Conservatives participate to the drafting process in any fashion? Leaving the opinions of the main opposition force completely unheard during such a pivotal moment in British history sounds just a tiny bit... dictatorial IMHO.

 

[powerab]

@powerab, could you give us a brief summary of the way the republican British constitution was drafted after the referendum which did away with the Windsor monarchy? Was it a purely parliamentary procedure? Who were the "Constituent Fathers" (to borrow an expression from my country) of the Commonwealth, i.e. the statesmen who were most involved in the shaping of the Constitution (aside from future President Blair of course)? Did the Conservatives participate to the drafting process in any fashion? Leaving the opinions of the main opposition force completely unheard during such a pivotal moment in British history sounds just a tiny bit... dictatorial IMHO.

Of course, the Commonwealth constitution was drafted at a convention involving Members of the House of Commons and representatives from all primary local authorities. Time was of the essence so the Blair Government rushed the convention through as fast as possible to maintain momentum. As for "fathers" of the Commonwealth, of course, Labour figures like Blair, John Prescott, Gordon Brow, Derry Irvine and Robin Cook played a fairly major role, (Cook especially took much of the lead due to his personal interest in constitutional reform). The Liberal Democrats also played a decent role with Paddy Ashdown, Alan Beith, Malcolm Bruce, Ming Campbell leading the Liberal Democrats at the convention.

Conservative MPs and Councillors were invited to the convention, but at the time the party leadership and most MPs were strictly royalists, so people like William Hague, Peter Liley and Michael Howard at best refused to take part, or at worst were actively obstructionist. However some notable Conservatives did break ranks to support the constitution and the Republic, they thus played an outsized role in its drafting, these included figures like Ken Clarke, Stephen Dorrell, Tim Yeo, Michael Heseltine and Malcolm Rifkind. This split over the Commonwealth would lead to Hague's primary challenge in 99 (wikibox coming soon)

If I had to name the four most influential figures in passing the Constitution for a Commonwealth Rushmore I'd say, Blair, Prescott, Clarke and Ashdown.

 

[Orchard]

Of course, the Commonwealth constitution was drafted at a convention involving Members of the House of Commons and representatives from all primary local authorities. Time was of the essence so the Blair Government rushed the convention through as fast as possible to maintain momentum. As for "fathers" of the Commonwealth, of course, Labour figures like Blair, John Prescott, Gordon Brow, Derry Irvine and Robin Cook played a fairly major role, (Cook especially took much of the lead due to his personal interest in constitutional reform). The Liberal Democrats also played a decent role with Paddy Ashdown, Alan Beith, Malcolm Bruce, Ming Campbell leading the Liberal Democrats at the convention.

Conservative MPs and Councillors were invited to the convention, but at the time the party leadership and most MPs were strictly royalists, so people like William Hague, Peter Liley and Michael Howard at best refused to take part, or at worst were actively obstructionist. However some notable Conservatives did break ranks to support the constitution and the Republic, they thus played an outsized role in its drafting, these included figures like Ken Clarke, Stephen Dorrell, Tim Yeo, Michael Heseltine and Malcolm Rifkind. This split over the Commonwealth would lead to Hague's primary challenge in 99 (wikibox coming soon)

If I had to name the four most influential figures in passing the Constitution for a Commonwealth Rushmore I'd say, Blair, Prescott, Clarke and Ashdown.

To be honest now I really want an Agent Lavender esq TL detailing that

 

[powerab]

Whilst Labour dutifully lined up behind Blair after the Diana Crisis and the 1998 referendum, the Conservatives descended into infighting. Hague had stuck his neck out, loyally defending the Royal Family, he had led the Monarchist campaign during the referendum which lost by a landslide. Whilst this won him friends in Buckingham, he was wildly out of step with the British public. He spoke both in Parliament and at the constitutional convention against the Commonwealth, but he was caught in the tide of history and swept aside, his already low approval ratings dipped to new depths.

This culminated in former Chancellor Ken Clarke announcing he would be challenging Hague for the Tory Presidental nomination, on a platform of supporting the Commonwealth, social liberalism and pro-Europeanism. This opened the floodgates and Thatcherite Michael Portillo announced he would also be challenging Hague, seeing a path back into politics. Whilst Portillo remained on the right of the party economically, he had reinvented himself as a social liberal outside of Parliament, coming out as bisexual. Portillo had voted against the Commonwealth in 98' but said the party needed to "move on".

The Primary was bruising the party dividing three ways, almost equally, with committed monarchists backing Hague, reformers backing Clarke, and Portillo caught in the middle. Despite the pressure from Clarke and Portillo, Hague still pledged to restore the monarchy should he be elected President. In one of the last PMQ clashes between Blair and Hague, Blair accused him of being "yesterday's man, for yesterday's Britain".

Hague's campaign was widely considered a disaster by most pundits, despite being the incumbent he barely scraped a victory against Clarke in the final round, relying on the vote of Eurosceptic Conservatives fearful of Clarke's politics. Even though he won the primary, Hague's brand was irreversibly tarnished and he lost to Blair in a landslide at the 1999 Presidental Election

 

[Kennedy Forever]

Nice thanks for the added context on the forming of the Republic too

 

[powerab]

The Commonwealth of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the Commonwealth (CB or C.B.),[15] or Britain,[note 10] is a sovereign country in north-western Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The Commonwealth includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles.[16] Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland. Otherwise, the Commonwealth is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland. The total area of the Commonwealth is 94,000 square miles (240,000 km2).

The Commonwealth is a federal parliamentary democracy.[note 11][17][18] The head of state is President Ed Miliband, who has served since 2014.[19] The Commonwealth's capital is London, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.4 million.[20] The Commonwealth consists of twelve regions the regions have their own devolved governments. Other major cities include Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester.

The union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, followed by the union in 1801 of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK's name was adopted in 1927 to reflect the change. In 1999 after the assassination of Princess Diana and the subsequent Diana Crisis, a referendum was held in 1998 on abolishing the monarchy, alongside other far-reaching constitutional reforms. This led to the transition to the Commonwealth of Britain in 1999.

The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the CB, being dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation.[25] There are also 14 British Overseas Territories,[26] the last remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and political systems of many of its former colonies.[27][28][29][30][31]

The Commonwealth has the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the eighth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a high-income economy and a very high human development index rating, ranking 12th in the world. It was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries.[32][33] The CB remains a great power, with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific, technological and political influence internationally.[34][35] It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and is seventh in military expenditure in the world.[36] It has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.

The Commonwealth is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the G20, NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Interpol, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the European Union (EU)

 

[Geoffreylannister]

The Commonwealth has the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP),

Wow, has something devestating happened to the German economy in TTL or has Republican rule bolstered British economic outlook?

 

[powerab]

Wow, has something devestating happened to the Germany economy in TTL or has Republican rule bolstered British economic outlook?

Britain never took the economic hit from Brexit, furthermore, austerity was a lot less heavy than in OTL which has greatly helped its economy. As for Germany, Angela Merkel never became Chancellor, and they have spent the last 20 years jumping between short term unstable coalition Governments, so Germany's economy isn't as strong as it is OTL

 

[aaa]

Whilst Labour dutifully lined up behind Blair after the Diana Crisis and the 1998 referendum, the Conservatives descended into infighting. Hague had stuck his neck out, loyally defending the Royal Family, he had led the Monarchist campaign during the referendum which lost by a landslide. Whilst this won him friends in Buckingham, he was wildly out of step with the British public. He spoke both in Parliament and at the constitutional convention against the Commonwealth, but he was caught in the tide of history and swept aside, his already low approval ratings dipped to new depths.

This culminated in former Chancellor Ken Clarke announcing he would be challenging Hague for the Tory Presidental nomination, on a platform of supporting the Commonwealth, social liberalism and pro-Europeanism. This opened the floodgates and Thatcherite Michael Portillo announced he would also be challenging Hague, seeing a path back into politics. Whilst Portillo remained on the right of the party economically, he had reinvented himself as a social liberal outside of Parliament, coming out as bisexual. Portillo had voted against the Commonwealth in 98' but said the party needed to "move on".

The Primary was bruising the party dividing three ways, almost equally, with committed monarchists backing Hague, reformers backing Clarke, and Portillo caught in the middle. Despite the pressure from Clarke and Portillo, Hague still pledged to restore the monarchy should he be elected President. In one of the last PMQ clashes between Blair and Hague, Blair accused him of being "yesterday's man, for yesterday's Britain".

Hague's campaign was widely considered a disaster by most pundits, despite being the incumbent he barely scraped a victory against Clarke in the final round, relying on the vote of Eurosceptic Conservatives fearful of Clarke's politics. Even though he won the primary, Hague's brand was irreversibly tarnished and he lost to Blair in a landslide at the 1999 Presidental Election

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I wonder-- what would a Blair-Clarke or Blair-Portillo election have looked like? Would they be more appealing to the British public, or would they fail to shore up the Tory voting base and do worse than Hague did?

 

[powerab]

I wonder-- what would a Blair-Clarke or Blair-Portillo election have looked like? Would they be more appealing to the British public, or would they fail to shore up the Tory voting base and do worse than Hague did?

It's an interesting question. I feel Clarke might do better as he can win the second preferences of Ashdown voters and he wouldn't be seen defending an unpopular monarchy as Hague had. On the other hand, Clarke could very easily have split the party, losing royalist voters to UKIP. In the end, though I don't think anyone could defeat Blair. 1999 was the height of his popularity OTL (I think at one point he had a 92% approval rating), with the added bonus of leading the Diana Crisis and wide-ranging political reforms he'd was pretty much unstoppable.