Anyway, almost forgot. Praise, praise and praise for your timeline! In particular liked the fact that you attempted to deconstruct the trope of "The happy marriage of Labour and Liberal Democrats and the subsequent perpetual coalition government".
Thanks, though I think that particular cliché has fallen by the wayside of late.
This TL did a really good job highlighting people who could never be President but could be PM (Cook, for example). And arguably for the better.
Thanks. Cook didn't think he could be PM in OTL for image issues (or so he said, anyway) and to an extent this TL has avoided or lessened the 'presidentialisation' of British politics (to be fair, people were complaining about that even in Wilson's day) to make it more viable.
I just applauded. Flawless butterfly execution.
Thande: A Cut Above
Thanks very much!
Well, I understood
that reference, so all hope is not lost.
So, in this world:
- No UKIP
- British Rail remains government-owned
- No 9/11 and no GWoT
- The UK has a much less acrimonious relationship with the EU
- The British tabloid press is brought to heel
- And most importantly, Spitting Image is never cancelled
Did you set out to make this a utopian timeline, or was that a side effect?
I decided TLs like this tend to 'default to dystopian', if only because of the grass-is-greener effect, so I went with a more utopian slant just to be different. I understand now why people avoid that--it's hard to find stuff to write about if you avert wars and stuff.
UKIP or something like them do exist in TTL, they're just still in the 'Tory pressure group' stage and their rise may have been delayed due to the euro-elections remaining FPTP (though I'm not sure if that would actually happen or not, I think it may have been an EU requirement to make them PR at some point).
There was actually an earlier 'war on terror' in TTL with Cuomo after Bush's assassination, mentioned briefly, but it stayed one of those slow-burning background things like the 'war on drugs' rather than provoking everyone to start recycling WW2 impassioned speeches while feeling around in people's digestive system at airports.
Anyway, a good read. The fact that an Unknowing Outsider like me can read and enjoy it is a testament to your writing skills Mr. Thande.
Thank you! That is always something worth going for if possible I think. That's why I gave all the PMs a little write-up on their background even though it's generally unchanged from OTL (barring bits like Brown's marriage, as I'd forgotten just how late in life that was for him). This is a work of fiction, but those of you who know less about British politics have now been introduced to a number of figures who played important parts in OTL without being PM, such as Cook and Mowlam.
Mick Jagger should've been PM.
More seriously, this is one great piece of work Thande. I've been thinking of doing a Swedish Shuffling the Deck, only to be disillusioned by how little there is to work with, but perhaps this could be a more interesting bandwagon TLIAD to adapt…
Feel free! Did you see the reference I inadvertently directed at Makemakean instead of yourself, btw?
I see what you did there.
A very enjoyable read. Not too predictable either. I liked it a lot.
This TL basically kept me sane over the past two days. Thank you very much; this is delightful.
Thank you all!
OH GOD YES!
As questionable a politician Lembit is I've always had a soft spot for him, mostly because he went to Uni with my Dad! I've met him a few times at reunions and such, quite a nice chap actually.
I've always had a soft spot for Lembit as well, mainly because of SPAAACE. Iain will say he'd never survive to the top and he's probably right but I bent plausibility a lot to get this: not only Major's assault on Fleet Street meaning Lembit's bad habits don't get as much airing, but also giving him more success early in his career on the local and Euro level to give him a head start, and removing Simon Hughes as a rival for the presidency by making him Mayor of London instead.
Fantastic finish there Thande.
Really enjoyed this. The key component of a good timeline, IMO, is getting just the right mix of familiarity and surprise. This had both, and more importantly, delivered the surprise element in a believable way.
Well done!
Will
Thanks to you both.
