How many carrier do britain have in this timeline, and Is the hms bulwark you name drop the OTL centaur class or is it a different ship
TL: The UK Overseas Regions
- Thread starter Devvy
- Start date
Devvy
Donor
My thoughts were that there would be 2 "Indominatable-class aircraft carrier" (as I wrote in Part 1), which are the CVA-01 ships. HMS Queen Elizabeth II and HMS Prince of Wales, which seems to be what there names were supposed to be (boring names to me, but ho hum!). Can't see the Govt financing a third one.
HMS Bulwark (ex-Centaur class aircraft carrier) was name dropped as it was converted in OTL 1960 (so not something I can see changing here) in to a commando carrier, hence the comments about it being diverted to help restore law and order.
Is two aircraft carrier even enough i know the British government doesn’t like to spend money or spend it wisely but with malta and their east of Suez commitment two carriers seem kinda unlikely, since the royal navy plan to build four CVA-01
And I also hoped you would kinda tell what the RAF inventories look like
Devvy
Donor
The Navy will have to deal with what the navy gets; it's got 2 large aircraft carriers, and support vessels for operations. The money pot in limited; 2 is better then none!
For the RAF and other branches of the armed forces, it's well outside of my expertise unfortunately. Given the overseas UK that's now present in this TL, it'll be a little bit bigger then OTL, but it won't be massive.
Most of my writings will focus on the nation building / semi-political side of this. Maybe after I finish the list of Premierships, I'll widen out, but at the moment there's no plan.
I imagine that it will have more Frigates and Patrol Craft though to cover its large commitments abroad given that they have more integrated territory, in particular, the Caribbean, Seychellesand the Med so we are probably seeing more in that area at the very least. Also probably a slight increase in the number of Destroyers to give them some extra escorts to the Carriers. As well will probably see more of a development of HMS Ocean maybe another ship in the class as well same for the Albion-class due to how many more Islands the UK has now they will need a greater troop lift for the RM and the Army heck I wouldn't be surprised if more do get built especially after the Falklands War.The Navy will have to deal with what the navy gets; it's got 2 large aircraft carriers, and support vessels for operations. The money pot in limited; 2 is better then none!
RM will probably be expanded as well to cover more of the commitments.
RAF would probably have more Maritime patrol commitments particularly given it has more places to cover in the Caribbean, Med and along the African coast based out of Seychelles maybe more Hawker Siddeley Nimrod's ordered maybe some Super King Air's as well modified for maritime patrol as well. May also see a slightly larger Strike Command too as well as maybe an expansion of specific fields for the various stations. Knock onto this you will probably see Training Command as well to help cover it's enlarged commitments.
As a side you will probably also see an expansion to the RAF Regiment as well to cover the Air Fields.
As well the Regular Army will probably stay mostly the same except for the Territorials who will probably found regiments to cover the newly integrated territories. Though now that I think on it there will probably be regiments founded for Malta and also for the Caribbean as well. Though any new regiments that would be founded would probably be light infantry maybe mechanized if it required.
There are already regiments in places like Malta (Royal Malta Artillery, The King’s Own Malta Regiment), Gibraltar (Royal Gibraltar Regiment), Hong Kong (Royal Hong Regiment) and Bermuda (Royal Bermuda Regiment). The West Indies Regiment could cover the Caribbean, or the Jamaica Regiment and Trinidad and Tobago Regiment might exist. So, no real need to raise new regiments.
Part 5
Devvy
Donor
The Kinnock Premiership (1986-1994, won 1986, 1990)
The Kinnock Premiership is notable for overseeing the end of the Cold War at the close of the 1980s, and also for returning one of the younger Prime Ministers to work in the UK - seen as a turn away from aged politics with the defeated Tory leader Heath 70 years old.. Kinnock saw the reunification of Germany, with the former East Germany being subsumed in to (West) Germany, agreeing not to oppose it as long as Germany remained within the European Community and NATO, thereby precluding a military or economic conflict, whilst also seemingly being relaxed to the potential expansion of the European Community to eastern Europe. This was also Labour's first time to shine since the economic woes of the 1970s as Britain underwent a transformation.
With a large United Kingdom, spread across the globe, Kinnock appointed another Royal Commission on the future of the United Kingdom system. The Commission visited Canada and Australia in particular, both countries under a monarchy, operating a Westminster style of politics, and functioning as a federation, but also visited West Germany (as it was at the time) to study how German federalism functioned. The Commission looked at the division of powers, how the federation functioned, and the causes of tension - taking note in particular of Quebec in Canada which had a referendum on independence in 1980. It's report was noted by the Labour Government in 1992, and largely enacted soon after, laying out the principles of the division of powers between Westminster and the Home Nation assemblies. It also made substantial reference to the Canadian doctrine of "pith and substance", allowing for the House of Lords Judicial Committee to rule on the aims of a law and the de facto results of a law to judge which jurisdiction they should sit under.
Of more visible impact to much of the general population was the reform of the House of Lords, covered in part by the earlier Royal Commission. The existing hereditary heirs were to lose their right to sit in the House of Lords, with the numbers decreasing year-by-year, and they would be replaced by a set of appointed peers, with the same powers as the existing House of Lords (as it was to continue unelected). Each year, a set of people would be ennobled and allowed to sit in the House of Lords for 12 years, after which they could be re-appointed if so wished, with the allotment of places mostly decided on the suggestion of the UK Government - but with some places reserved for suggestion by the devolved administrations. For the first time, the devolved administrations would have a voice in Westminster legislation, the ability to influence, even if the numbers in the House of Lords and power of the chamber were limited (*1).
Being a committed unionist as well as Labour Prime Minister, changes showed up elsewhere. The rollout of universal healthcare to the overseas regions was complete, but work to link up the systems with a globally unique patient identifier was needed in order to allow patients to move and transfer around the system. The Royal Mail expanded it's coverage to fully UK-wide, with postal codes allocated to the various islands. Telecommunications were modernised with "British Telecommunications" being split off from the Post Office organisation, and investing in a new core fibre-optic network which would stretch across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, also linking to Gibraltar and Malta in order to provide core services. A British-French joint venture was formed to collaboratively do the same across the Atlantic, linking the UK & France to Guadeloupe and Barbados - a further West Indies network would then link Barbados to the other islands. This was utilised by the BBC, and thereafter the other terrestrial radio & television networks to broadcast equally in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and all overseas regions; this also meant the TV license was expanded to those regions too, although it was to be incrementally increased from a half of the standard GB price to equal with GB price over 15 years. This also saw the standardisation of all parts of the UK under the British telecoms system and within the +44 international dialling code, although designed in such a way that calls in the America to the British Caribbean would avoid being routed back and forth across the Atlantic, and would therefore see most of the West Indies moving away from the unified North American Numbering Plan for the British Numbering Plan (*2) - "integration means integration" as one minister put it.
As such, Kinnock's Premiership - in hindsight - is looked upon as the period of time where the UK overseas region became socially and culturally integrated in to the UK, instead of just legally (and partially economically). Emerging technologies allowed better simultaneous experiences across the entire United Kingdom, with the BBC expanding it's remit, whilst the Wisden Trophy took on a new meaning. The Wisden Trophy, a cricket trophy between England (technically and Wales) and the West Indies islands, now became largely a domestic "bragging rights" match - although several non-UK players from other islands such as Jamaica still competed for the West Indies. The "Protected Sports Coverage" list was passed in to law by Kinnock's government, providing a list of events which had to be shown on TV - events being categorised firstly as either "full free-to-air coverage" or "free-to-air highlights coverage", and then whether the event was "UK-wide" or just in the "Home Nation". Events such as the football, cricket and rugby World Cups, Five Nations, Summer & Winter Olympics, Commonwealth Games Wimbledon (tennis) all gained full coverage on a UK-wide scale, giving the entire nation unifying shared moments.
Kinnock would also expand the United Kingdom again - just a little bit - bowing to significant pressure from the Falklands in particular for integration. The South Atlantic Act of Union would see the Falkland Islands, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha all integrate as a "South Atlantic" Home Nation within the United Kingdom, some having defined themselves as "more British then Britain" in the past. This was much to Argentine displeasure - but having been defeated in war and undergoing their own political turmoil, there was little to be done about it bar protest at the United Nations and make clear their unrelinquished claim to "Las Malvinas". The North Atlantic Act of Union saw the British Virgin Islands and Turks & Caicos Islands integrated within the West Indies. This brought the total to nine Home Nations within the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Malta, Gibraltar, Seychelles, West Indies and South Atlantic). There were consequences to this expansion though, as in 1991 Kinnock closed down much of the remaining Singapore Royal Navy base, bring an end to just over 50 years of HMS Sembawang, with a new UK-Singapore agreement providing for defence responsibilities in collaboration with Australia, and also rendering support services if and when needed by the Royal Navy (as well as certain other Commonwealth partner navies) for repair, refuel & resupply. This decision, brought significant debate within the House of Commons, as "reducing Britain's global influence and power", but justified by the Government on economic measures, and the lack of need for UK strategy for a base in Singapore.
Looking overseas, with Guatemala seemingly tacitly accepting the existence of British Honduras, the nation gained independence as "Belize" in 1991, as did Brunei at the same time. The Trucial States also ended their protectorate status, gaining independence, as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, given the less irredentist Saudi Arabia to their south as they engaged in a new "Great Game" between the Arab powers. Kinnock tried to draw the UK, Jordan, Oman and the former Trucial States in to a new military alliance, but was rebuffed, retaining only really close relations with Jordan and Oman - something pounced upon by his Parliamentary opposition. Kinnock was quickly entangled by military action overseas though; not normally a forte of Labour governments. Significant action in the Gulf War in 1990, backing up the United States in liberating Kuwait - a former British protectorate - bought Kinnock allies in the US, something which would allow Britain to play a larger role in working with Jordan to negotiate a lasting peace agreement with Israel, a key regional US ally (*3). Further action in collaboration with the East Africans saw intervention in the Rwandan Civil War, once news of an ongoing genocide leaked out, with British air power deployed via the Seychelles at Assumption Island base. The British played an important, but largely supporting role with East Africa leading in restoring law and order in Rwanda and then Burundi; the two nations were later amalgamated again as "Buranda" and acceded to the East African Federation as state, popularly supported as the least worst way of preventing one ethnic group gaining supremacy over the other in Rwanda & Burundu, as well as bringing a chance at some economic recovery.
By the early 1990s, the situation in Northern Ireland had improved substantially enough for face to face negotiations to restart over the future of Northern Ireland. Although at times peaceful - helped in no end by the British Army's decision to frequently use troops from other areas of the United Kingdom to avoid English troops enflaming tensions (especially Maltese given their frequent dual nature as both British and Catholic) - not infrequent spurts of violence between paramilitary factions flared up. Kinnock's 7 years in power saw an agreement brokered by his government, with the most paramilitaries agreeing to a ceasire, and both Kinnock and the Irish Republic's Prime Minister declaring that the future of Northern Ireland must be decided by those in Northern Ireland through peaceful and democratic means. Further talks, including the various factions in Northern Ireland directly, tackled difficult issues involving weapon decomissioning, marches and policing, but eventually an agreement (the "Belfast Accords") was achieved, allowing the restoration of devolved governance in Northern Ireland after ratification by a referendum in 1993. The creation of the new Northern Irish Assembly would be modelled on the existing devolution pattern in the United Kingdom, and the presence of both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland within both the European Union Customs Union and the Common Travel Area would allow virtually all border checks to be removed, to be replaced by specific intelligence-led searches.
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(*1) I'd imagine something along the lines of 45 Lords being appointed per year or so (with a 12 year mandate, so 540 Lords, plus a few Lords Spiritual), with some appointed by the PM, and some appointed by the First Minister of the devolved governments?
(*2) Along with the telecoms reforms at the time, I'd imagine 01xx area codes being "Great Britain" geographic phone numbers and 02xx being "Northern Ireland & Overseas Regions".
(*3) Having not embarrassed itself in the Middle East with the Suez Crisis, Britain is a more trusted partner in the area, even if people know that British military power is rapidly fading.
Late PS: I can't decide whether the UK adding Emancipation Day is overdoing it or not. It's really a rebranding of the existing OTL pre-1971 early August bank holiday, which ties in nicely with existing celebrations in the West Indies, so it's not really an "additional" holiday. I see it being presented publicly as "let's celebrate the UK emancipating the slaves" and just quietly overlook what happened previously to that.
The Kinnock Premiership is notable for overseeing the end of the Cold War at the close of the 1980s, and also for returning one of the younger Prime Ministers to work in the UK - seen as a turn away from aged politics with the defeated Tory leader Heath 70 years old.. Kinnock saw the reunification of Germany, with the former East Germany being subsumed in to (West) Germany, agreeing not to oppose it as long as Germany remained within the European Community and NATO, thereby precluding a military or economic conflict, whilst also seemingly being relaxed to the potential expansion of the European Community to eastern Europe. This was also Labour's first time to shine since the economic woes of the 1970s as Britain underwent a transformation.
With a large United Kingdom, spread across the globe, Kinnock appointed another Royal Commission on the future of the United Kingdom system. The Commission visited Canada and Australia in particular, both countries under a monarchy, operating a Westminster style of politics, and functioning as a federation, but also visited West Germany (as it was at the time) to study how German federalism functioned. The Commission looked at the division of powers, how the federation functioned, and the causes of tension - taking note in particular of Quebec in Canada which had a referendum on independence in 1980. It's report was noted by the Labour Government in 1992, and largely enacted soon after, laying out the principles of the division of powers between Westminster and the Home Nation assemblies. It also made substantial reference to the Canadian doctrine of "pith and substance", allowing for the House of Lords Judicial Committee to rule on the aims of a law and the de facto results of a law to judge which jurisdiction they should sit under.
Of more visible impact to much of the general population was the reform of the House of Lords, covered in part by the earlier Royal Commission. The existing hereditary heirs were to lose their right to sit in the House of Lords, with the numbers decreasing year-by-year, and they would be replaced by a set of appointed peers, with the same powers as the existing House of Lords (as it was to continue unelected). Each year, a set of people would be ennobled and allowed to sit in the House of Lords for 12 years, after which they could be re-appointed if so wished, with the allotment of places mostly decided on the suggestion of the UK Government - but with some places reserved for suggestion by the devolved administrations. For the first time, the devolved administrations would have a voice in Westminster legislation, the ability to influence, even if the numbers in the House of Lords and power of the chamber were limited (*1).
Being a committed unionist as well as Labour Prime Minister, changes showed up elsewhere. The rollout of universal healthcare to the overseas regions was complete, but work to link up the systems with a globally unique patient identifier was needed in order to allow patients to move and transfer around the system. The Royal Mail expanded it's coverage to fully UK-wide, with postal codes allocated to the various islands. Telecommunications were modernised with "British Telecommunications" being split off from the Post Office organisation, and investing in a new core fibre-optic network which would stretch across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, also linking to Gibraltar and Malta in order to provide core services. A British-French joint venture was formed to collaboratively do the same across the Atlantic, linking the UK & France to Guadeloupe and Barbados - a further West Indies network would then link Barbados to the other islands. This was utilised by the BBC, and thereafter the other terrestrial radio & television networks to broadcast equally in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and all overseas regions; this also meant the TV license was expanded to those regions too, although it was to be incrementally increased from a half of the standard GB price to equal with GB price over 15 years. This also saw the standardisation of all parts of the UK under the British telecoms system and within the +44 international dialling code, although designed in such a way that calls in the America to the British Caribbean would avoid being routed back and forth across the Atlantic, and would therefore see most of the West Indies moving away from the unified North American Numbering Plan for the British Numbering Plan (*2) - "integration means integration" as one minister put it.
As such, Kinnock's Premiership - in hindsight - is looked upon as the period of time where the UK overseas region became socially and culturally integrated in to the UK, instead of just legally (and partially economically). Emerging technologies allowed better simultaneous experiences across the entire United Kingdom, with the BBC expanding it's remit, whilst the Wisden Trophy took on a new meaning. The Wisden Trophy, a cricket trophy between England (technically and Wales) and the West Indies islands, now became largely a domestic "bragging rights" match - although several non-UK players from other islands such as Jamaica still competed for the West Indies. The "Protected Sports Coverage" list was passed in to law by Kinnock's government, providing a list of events which had to be shown on TV - events being categorised firstly as either "full free-to-air coverage" or "free-to-air highlights coverage", and then whether the event was "UK-wide" or just in the "Home Nation". Events such as the football, cricket and rugby World Cups, Five Nations, Summer & Winter Olympics, Commonwealth Games Wimbledon (tennis) all gained full coverage on a UK-wide scale, giving the entire nation unifying shared moments.
Kinnock would also expand the United Kingdom again - just a little bit - bowing to significant pressure from the Falklands in particular for integration. The South Atlantic Act of Union would see the Falkland Islands, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha all integrate as a "South Atlantic" Home Nation within the United Kingdom, some having defined themselves as "more British then Britain" in the past. This was much to Argentine displeasure - but having been defeated in war and undergoing their own political turmoil, there was little to be done about it bar protest at the United Nations and make clear their unrelinquished claim to "Las Malvinas". The North Atlantic Act of Union saw the British Virgin Islands and Turks & Caicos Islands integrated within the West Indies. This brought the total to nine Home Nations within the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Malta, Gibraltar, Seychelles, West Indies and South Atlantic). There were consequences to this expansion though, as in 1991 Kinnock closed down much of the remaining Singapore Royal Navy base, bring an end to just over 50 years of HMS Sembawang, with a new UK-Singapore agreement providing for defence responsibilities in collaboration with Australia, and also rendering support services if and when needed by the Royal Navy (as well as certain other Commonwealth partner navies) for repair, refuel & resupply. This decision, brought significant debate within the House of Commons, as "reducing Britain's global influence and power", but justified by the Government on economic measures, and the lack of need for UK strategy for a base in Singapore.
Looking overseas, with Guatemala seemingly tacitly accepting the existence of British Honduras, the nation gained independence as "Belize" in 1991, as did Brunei at the same time. The Trucial States also ended their protectorate status, gaining independence, as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, given the less irredentist Saudi Arabia to their south as they engaged in a new "Great Game" between the Arab powers. Kinnock tried to draw the UK, Jordan, Oman and the former Trucial States in to a new military alliance, but was rebuffed, retaining only really close relations with Jordan and Oman - something pounced upon by his Parliamentary opposition. Kinnock was quickly entangled by military action overseas though; not normally a forte of Labour governments. Significant action in the Gulf War in 1990, backing up the United States in liberating Kuwait - a former British protectorate - bought Kinnock allies in the US, something which would allow Britain to play a larger role in working with Jordan to negotiate a lasting peace agreement with Israel, a key regional US ally (*3). Further action in collaboration with the East Africans saw intervention in the Rwandan Civil War, once news of an ongoing genocide leaked out, with British air power deployed via the Seychelles at Assumption Island base. The British played an important, but largely supporting role with East Africa leading in restoring law and order in Rwanda and then Burundi; the two nations were later amalgamated again as "Buranda" and acceded to the East African Federation as state, popularly supported as the least worst way of preventing one ethnic group gaining supremacy over the other in Rwanda & Burundu, as well as bringing a chance at some economic recovery.
By the early 1990s, the situation in Northern Ireland had improved substantially enough for face to face negotiations to restart over the future of Northern Ireland. Although at times peaceful - helped in no end by the British Army's decision to frequently use troops from other areas of the United Kingdom to avoid English troops enflaming tensions (especially Maltese given their frequent dual nature as both British and Catholic) - not infrequent spurts of violence between paramilitary factions flared up. Kinnock's 7 years in power saw an agreement brokered by his government, with the most paramilitaries agreeing to a ceasire, and both Kinnock and the Irish Republic's Prime Minister declaring that the future of Northern Ireland must be decided by those in Northern Ireland through peaceful and democratic means. Further talks, including the various factions in Northern Ireland directly, tackled difficult issues involving weapon decomissioning, marches and policing, but eventually an agreement (the "Belfast Accords") was achieved, allowing the restoration of devolved governance in Northern Ireland after ratification by a referendum in 1993. The creation of the new Northern Irish Assembly would be modelled on the existing devolution pattern in the United Kingdom, and the presence of both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland within both the European Union Customs Union and the Common Travel Area would allow virtually all border checks to be removed, to be replaced by specific intelligence-led searches.
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(*1) I'd imagine something along the lines of 45 Lords being appointed per year or so (with a 12 year mandate, so 540 Lords, plus a few Lords Spiritual), with some appointed by the PM, and some appointed by the First Minister of the devolved governments?
(*2) Along with the telecoms reforms at the time, I'd imagine 01xx area codes being "Great Britain" geographic phone numbers and 02xx being "Northern Ireland & Overseas Regions".
(*3) Having not embarrassed itself in the Middle East with the Suez Crisis, Britain is a more trusted partner in the area, even if people know that British military power is rapidly fading.
Late PS: I can't decide whether the UK adding Emancipation Day is overdoing it or not. It's really a rebranding of the existing OTL pre-1971 early August bank holiday, which ties in nicely with existing celebrations in the West Indies, so it's not really an "additional" holiday. I see it being presented publicly as "let's celebrate the UK emancipating the slaves" and just quietly overlook what happened previously to that.
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So within a year of being independent they were invaded after rebuffing British attempts at military alliance? What were the political ramifications once all this played out?
Devvy
Donor
Kuwait wasn't a Trucial state and was independent back in the 1961 in OTL, something I can't see changing here given how early it is.
PS Extra: It's quite clear from the Gulf War that the UK has a role to play in the Middle East, but it's not going to be taking on entire countries; the US is where the power is, and people like Kuwait will gravitate to the US given security concerns.
The Trucial States have paid for the defence relationship (effectively in cash), so now that the Saudis have come to terms with their nationhood, there's little need for the Trucial States to spend on the relationship with the UK. With the North Sea Oil churning away, the UK has less direct need for Middle Eastern oil from the Trucial States. But given the fall of the Soviets, the UK can withdraw slightly from it's overseas commitments and save the cash; Singapore, Trucial States etc. As long as the Suez is open for transit through, then the UK can defend the UK territory at Seychelles. As long as the Egyptians continue to charge reasonable fees and don't block the UK (which I can't see any reason to given the UK has allowed the canal to be nationalised), then I don't see a problem with the Royal Navy sailing up and down it as it needs. Israel remains a staunch US ally, and a lesser French ally, whilst the UK is seen as closer to Jordan and Oman in particular by now, choosing to stay neutral in the Arab-Israeli wars.
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Devvy
Donor
Sorry, added a load of comments to the previous post after I posted it.
No Suez means you could really take the Middle East in dozens of different directions. Given I'm not really writing about the region here; it's more about the UK and overseas regions, I chose to keep the butterflies minimal in the area.
Part 6
Devvy
Donor
The rough state of play:
Malta
Malta was the first overseas region to integrate to the United Kingdom, and being fairly populated (in comparison to other overseas regions), it's economy has been able to weather the ups and downs better. Malta has generally economically prospered from the full integration and is seen as a success story. It's UK-status and larger population now sees the Royal Navy base somewhat secure for the foreseeable future as the centre of the British military's Mediterranean operations. Making use of the UK membership has also allowed it to obtain a small nuclear power plant (with the UK looking after the waste) in order to drive down it's dependency on coal and gas electricity generation. It has also cemented a place as the UK's "holiday villa", competing with Spain for thousands of British (and to a lesser extent Irish) holiday makers looking for the classic summer holiday. It's widespread use of English, use of the British pound, and broadly speaking full integration - as well as the flight being a domestic one, has led to a surge in popularity for Malta as a holiday destination for families. Younger holidaymakers still tend to gravitate towards Spain, especially the Balearics (party islands) in part due to the difference in alcoholic weights and measures rules.
Gibraltar
Gibraltar was always a more complex territory to integrate from Malta, in part due to it's tiny size and small population. The accession of both the United Kingdom and Spain to the European Community has allowed the UK to "force the doors open" on the Gibraltar-Spanish border, and people & goods flow pretty freely over the border now given the harmonised economic regimes on both sides (shared membership of the customs union, VAT area, etc etc). The only checks are for immigration, between the Common Travel Area and the Schengen Area, plus a change in currency. The privatisation of the Royal Navy base caused issues in the local economy given the size of the former base compared to the region, but the Gibraltar economy has diversified away, and now uses much of the port area as a commercial bunkering facility to refuel ships heading past the Strait as well as for the Royal Navy who still retain some rights at the port. Tourism has risen in the region, with cruise ships arriving, but also a successful tourist market (relative to the size of Gibraltar) for mainland Spaniards who enter Gibraltar during days off - with the Gibraltar casinos proving a popular experience.
Seychelles
The Seychelles remains one of the more subsidised overseas regions of the United Kingdom, due to it's unique geography as a collection of small scattered islands in the Indian Ocean. Assomption Island remains a UK military base, useful for the Royal Navy in Indian Ocean operations as well as the Royal Air Force given the relative closeness of the southern end of the Suez Canal and related Red Sea. It has also served as a conveniently placed base for operations in Rwanda & Burundi in the early 1990s during joint intervention with East Africa. Across the wider Seychelles, high-end tourism plays a relatively large part in the Seychelles economy given it's public image as "far-flung Britain in the sun" and friendly administration. The small towns have historically played host to the backpacker tourist market as well, whilst high end hotels have sprung up along the shores. A new deal in the mid 1990s between the United Kingdom and Australia will see the historical "Kangaroo Route" flights between the UK and Australia routed via the Seychelles Airport as a hub, with Australian immigration added in the Seychelles, allowing all border formalities to be conducted during the flight connection. British Airways is also seeking to use the Seychelles as a transit point for flights to places in eastern and southern Africa which are not likely to warrant direct flights themselves.
West Indies
The West Indies is the most populated of the overseas regions, accounting for the vast majority of the former British Empire islands in the eastern Caribbean - only Trinidad & Tobago sought independence. The region accounts for a population of over half a million, and is rapidly developing as a unified economy in the region. European membership has also allowed a level of regional economic integration with the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Although having to compete with closer European (and British Mediterranean) holiday destinations, the West Indies is developing as a tourist destination - and not just for the rich,. A legacy of imperial connections is the trade in agriculture; West Indies foods are now increasingly exported to the United Kingdom, whilst increasing numbers of West Indians are making their way to Britain itself for university education and work, with some returning afterwards, leading to a growing West Indies ex-pat community in Great Britain. This raising of the educated workforce is leading to some multinationals opening subsidiaries in the region, with Barbados often an attractive destination, having become the unofficial capital of the region and seat of the devolved administration. In addition, a growing group of affluent Britons are now retiring from Great Britain to the West Indies, attracted by the climate, bringing in their wealth to the area. Barbados, economically, has become the hub of the West Indies; different islands farm different goods and trade, but Barbados is the lynchpin which economically administers much of it. It is the primary air transit hub for the West Indies, with regular flights to Britain including via Concorde, as well as a variety of destinations across North America, bringing a steady stream of tourists in from the United States and Canada.
South Atlantic
The South Atlantic is a name for the collection of tiny British islands scattered across the eponymous area. It includes the Falklands Islands, whose integration finally answered the age-old question about "who owned the Falkland Islands" - with the answer being not to Argentina's delight. The entire region only covers several thousand people, but administratively has become it's own region for reasons of governance and geography with thousands of kilometres separating islands. It required annual subsidy by Westminster, but given it's low population, the money spent is relatively low, and often spent on essential infrastructure projects such as the small civilian air terminal at RAF Mount Pleasant, serving the Falkland Islands.
Remaining Dependencies
Some territories remain a British Dependency - a variety of constitutional positions, but all largely self governing, and with no integration to the UK apart from the British ultimate right of ensuring defence, conducting international relations and ensuring "good governance". They all hold a limited version of British citizenship (British Dependant Territories Citizen), which despite offering visa-free travel to the UK, does not grant the right-of-abode or ability to work. They range from the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, to Jersey, Guernsey & Manx, to Antarctic Territory and Indian Ocean Territory, and the Pitcairns - literally a world away from Great Britain.
Westminster
Westminster is rapidly evolving towards a quasi-federal style system; the existence of several regions/nations has led to widespread devolution, and a clearer delineation between national/federal powers that Westminster holds and exercises, and national/regional powers that Westminster exercises on behalf of England, Wales or England & Wales together (ie. local government, transport, criminal law) to avoid disputes over the level of funding. Given the wider geographic spread of the United Kingdom, less parliamentary time is available for English & Welsh matters, which is finally fuelling a desire for some kind of answer to the lop-sided current devolution arrangement and "Caribbean Conundrum" where West Indies MPs can vote on English & Welsh affairs, but not the reverse. Analysts often repeat that a review and reform of the funding mechanism for Westminster and the devolved administration is needed, with the age old "Macmillan Method" (named for Maurice, not Harold), not seen as particularly clear or equitable in it's outcomes for funding nowadays.
Devvy
Donor
As the PoD here is primarily the Suez & Macmillan, I can't see that affecting Gabon's independence in 1960 given that it became autonomous in 1958 within the French Community, and similar with Equitorial Guinea. Almost all the overseas regions that the UK has amalgamated in this TL are territories which either stuck around until very late on, or are tiny islands who requested integration OTL.
Doesn't that place have like a population of 50 and a few dogs?
Wouldn't they only get half an MP if anything
Devvy
Donor
Doesn't that place have like a population of 50 and a few dogs?
Wouldn't they only get half an MP if anything
PItcairns are still a dependency (no integration) like OTL for exactly that reason!
Indiana Beach Crow
Monthly Donor
I'm sure the dog will make an excellent MP.Doesn't that place have like a population of 50 and a few dogs?
Wouldn't they only get half an MP if anything
Well leaping ahead rather a lot there was some sentiment in favour of reintegration after the Blair intervention in Sierra leone. In OTL this was not ever going to get anywhere. Here hmm... Elsewhere maybe Mauritus Andaman and Nocobar, the Maldives could be doable .As people have commented, it's not difficult to imagine where this TL will go, I'd rather keep it believable. Most territories will want independence themselves. A few smaller ones might ask for integration to the UK, or at least as a self governing dependency depending on external factors. There'll be a further integration territories, but those little effects will force the UK to act a bit differently, and politically look differently, but the UK wont accept a territory integrating if it's going to substantially alter the politics of Westminster, affecting the way the British (ie. Eng/Wal/Sco) rule themselves.
As far as we are at this point, it's a classic UK-style constitutional mashup, but soon the definitions will be clarified out in to the UK "regions", and whatever this TL version of "overseas territories"/dependencies are. Bear with!