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The Winds of Change OR; The Fall and Rise of Great Britain
by ?e?i? J. H??l

CHAPTER I: 7th April 1955, a date that will live in infamy

This was the day that long-time, twice Conservative Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, resigned. This came as no surprise to many Conservative MPs, he was getting older and many had been seeking to take the top job from Churchill for quite some time. The main person thought to be getting the job was Anthony Eden who had been in Churchill's cabinet since the war and who was the most likely successor. Now, another, less know, Conservative MP came to challenge Mr. Eden for the top job and his name was Lewis Hill. Hill had been MP since the 1945 election in which the Conservatives were ousted from power. He was re-elected in 1950 and 1951, 1951 being a Conservative victory.

Hill was from a good upbringing, born in Somerset in 1905, he was an upper-class person, but he refused to go to public school. In the state school he went to he was recognized as a gifted orator and a very intelligent man. He went to Oxford University and graduated at the age of 21, with a doctorate in Science and Law. When he was 18, he joined the Conservative Party and at the age of 25, he put himself forward as a candidate for the MP for Wells. He also worked as a Police Officer, this, consequently, saved him from the horrors of the Second World War. His humbleness in not going to a public school won the hearts of his constituents and he was elected MP for Wells in 1945.

On the 8th April 1955, Eden and Hill agreed to have a leadership election. The party went to the polls on the 10th April and the first ballot's results were declared on the 15th April:
Anthony Eden, MP : 154
Lewis Hill, MP : 144
Abstentions: 23
In this leadership election only the active MP'S in parliament could vote.

It became obvious to everyone that this was going to have to go to a second ballot. All this time the Leader of the Opposition and the Labour Party, Clement Attlee, was calling for a general election. On the 20th April, Hill gave a firey, passionate speech about why the wanted to become Prime Minister:

“I have seen the demise of our empire, through many means. The Second World War and the depletion of our treasury, the Americans blackmailing us into decolonization and Mr. Attlee's determination to make this country an American Trojan horse. I am here before you, my Right Honorable friends, to tell you that I will not allow this country to concede defeat to the Anti-Imperialist Alliance of the Soviet Union and the United States. We must rebuild our military strength, we must keep a stranglehold on our colonies and by extension, our status as a 'superpower'. Yes, Labour may have done good things such as set up the NHS, but apart from that one thing, they've spent five long years conceding power to Harry Truman and his cronies in Washington. Now, Egypt appears to be threatening the Suez Canal, so I say this to you. If I come to power, no longer shall we be the servants of America, no longer will we progress down the dark road to third-world nation status, If you elect me, I will put the great into Great Britain and make it even greater than that, If you elect me, the Winds of Change will sweep over this beautiful land.”
Lewis Hill

This speech appeared on the front page of every newspaper and the BBC even televised it. This would be know as the 'Winds of Change' speech and would be remembered in history for all the things it caused. Some good, some bad.

Not soon after this, Eden's advisor told him that most of the MPs were inclined toward Hill and his 'Greater Great Britain' policy. Eden met each senior cabinet minister one-by-one to see what they said. Most, if not all, told Eden that he wouldn't win. So, the next morning, he went to Buckingham Palace and informed the Queen. Then he went to Downing Street and gave a concession speech;

“I wish to congratulate Mr. Hill, on his victory and I would like to wish him the very best for the future. I will of course, stay on to help Her Majesty's Government but I will not be a minister. I would like to thank my colleagues for their support and I would like to thank the British nation.”
Anthony Eden

Later that day, Hill traveled to Buckingham Palace and met the Queen, shortly after he arrived at 10 Downing Street;

“Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II has asked me to form a government, and I have accepted.”
Lewis Hill

Hill then started to pick his cabinet:
Prime Minister, Minister for Civil Service and First Lord of the Treasury: Lewis Hill
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Richard Austen Butler
Foreign Secretary: Harold Macmillan
Home Secretary: Alec-Douglas Home
Minister of Defence and Welsh Affairs: Selwyn Lloyd
Obviously there were more ministers, but these were the only ones that would go down in history and in the conscience of the British people.

Richard Austen Butler was one of Hill's key allies in his rise to power, he quickly joined his campaign and persuaded many a Conservative MP to vote for Hill. He was rewarded for this by Hill, who put him as Chancellor, the second most important government position in the land. Butler was also de facto Deputy Prime Minister.

Hill decided to call a general election in December, so that he could, hopefully, gain a bigger majority and be able to pass legislation, unhindered by the unpredictable back-benchers.
But before this, Hill had to face Prime Minister's Question Time, a new thing created by Winston Churchill in 1953;

“Mr. Clement Attlee”
“Would the Prime Minister tell us, what plans does he have for the NHS?”
“Mr. Speaker, the NHS will stay in it's current form but private companies will be introduced to the system to lighten the burden on government money.”
“HEAR, HEAR.......SHAME, BOO, SHAME........HEEEAAARRRR.
“Doesn't he realize that that will endanger free healthcare, Mr. Speaker?”
“Mr. Speaker, we are still recovering from the Second World War we are still indebted to the United States of America and we can't pull money out of hat, Mr. Speaker. Surely, he should have realized that, since he was Prime Minister for five years.”
*Roaring laughter from the Conservative benches, Attlee looks embarrassed.*
“Mr. William Codge”
“Thank You, Mr. Speaker. Here I hold a photograph of the Prime Minister with none other than Sir Oswald Mosely and Benito Mussolini.”
“OHHHHH.....OUTRAGE......SHAME.....SHAME......HEAR, HEAR.”
*The Conservative benches sit in shocked silence with a few members shouted abuse at William Codge. Labour benches are are also silent apart from a few members laughing their heads off.*

This provoked shockwaves throughout the country and the papers of the country either printed slanderous comments about Codge or about Hill. Hill quickly called a press conference to clear his name;

“People of Britain, I believe that we should always be honest, yes, I did meet Mussolini and Mosely. Although, I met with Mosely when he was a Labour MP and I met Mussolini in 1919, in Rome. I am not a fascist, If I was a fascist I would have burned down the Houses of Parliament.”
Lewis Hill

Some people were assured by this, others were convinced that Hill was a lying rat bastard, intent on having a 'Socialist Genocide', as a matter of fact those were the words that William Codge used to describe Hill.

Even though Hill had been rather negative toward the United States earlier in the year, he was now on friendly terms with Dwight D. Eisenhower. They two leaders agreed to support the British Empire in order to counter communist revolts in surrounding, decolonized nations. Both Churchill and Eden praised Hill for his 'Somerset Summits' in which Eisenhower and Hill met in Somerset to discuss things, mostly related to the Soviet Union and communism in general. Eisenhower even persuaded Hill to adopt McCarthyist policies for the United Kingdom government, this led to a number of arrests of high-profile members of the cabinet. Including Selwyn Lloyd who was arrested on the charge of being a communist and seeking a 'People's Republic of Wales'. In reality, what this was , was Hill disposing of all his political enemies in time for the general election in December.

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