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I've estimated that the Conservatives will rule until the 1990s, given that Ms Thatcher realls dies or does not run. There will be a massive economic program for Africa and Asia with the intent of raising the standard of living, but alas I fear World War 2 will be in the way. The first priority of any post-war administration will be to do just that, helped by the massive spoils of the war and it will also hepl redirecting the roaring British War Economy towards a long-term goal, and it helps to keep it running. The usual postwar economic downturn will be much less or not even exist. Is raising the standard to British levels by the late 1980s a realistic goal? Incame that would be represented by building infrastructure and factories all over the Empire.

As for Army: I think that until 'national' armies can be formed they will serve in the British Forces. This would partially explain the rediculously large armies I will have to build.
 
Eams said:
Not to mention that universal suffrage throughout the Empire will make the Conservatives look like the good guys, ensuring a long reign which might come to an abrupt halt if they don't manage to raise the standard of living in the African and Asian parts of the Empire.
A further advantage is that those few extra hundred million voters might just serve as a catalyst to reform the British electoral system.

Then there's the question of what Enoch Powell will make of your United Kingdom, not to mention the Scottish separatists.
On the living standards question it depends very much on the extent (actual and perceived) of the Imperial Parliament. Assuming it can exert some control over local issues it's hard to imagine the historical corruption and mismanagement being allowed to happen (in Africa at least, in the East I just hope India can be saved it's disastrous decades of quasi-Communism).

All that money and resources being spent locally and not in Switzerland can only help improve things, consequence of that is there will be less of a 'brain drain', the best and brightest have more reasons to stay home and less to leave, it's a virtuous circle. Whether it's good enough is a different question, but it's hard to see it being as bad as it was.

Scottish separatists were not a factor at the time, whether they become one again depends on the split of power. I can see national parliament withering away over the long term; big issues (defence, foreign policy) go to the Imperial Parliament, small ones (local police, nearby hospitals etc) to Local councils and that leaves not a lot for National Parliaments to do. In that situation not alot for nationalists to argue about, save the nutters who can safely be ignored.

Old Enoch well, do you want the reaction from the actual man or from the caricature the left has made him into? Either way if living standards across the Empire go up then it's probably less of an issue, why emigrate to Britain when home is pretty good and getting better? No mass immigration to Britain, less tensions, no need (perceived or actual) for his 'warning' speech.

And why are Scandinavians so keen on changing Britain's voting system? This is the second time in a few weeks someone from the bitter north has wanted to change it.
 
Yes, I for my part think the existing system isn't that bad.


The Imperial Parliament will have jurisidiction over: Defence, with the local forces being under the Imperial General Staff in case of war, meaning you will see RIAF, RAF, RAAF and RNZAF forces in case an Air war needs to be fought over the Pacific, foreign policy and until the whole of the Empire has the same standard of living and semi-competent politicians also economy in the local counties. Until then the local trade ministries only have an advisory function, meaning that an Imperial Ministry of Economics will be built in Britian to handle it. It would report directly to the Imperial Parliament.

Until the local councils can be trusted to be competent enough it will be that way, and correct me if I am wrong, but I think the locals will accept it as long as the money really comes to them.
 
Again, I am open to discuss this subject in depth. The only condition that has to be mot for me to regard this AAR as a success is that the British Empire is still a Superpower when we reach the end.
 
El Pip said:
On the living standards question it depends very much on the extent (actual and perceived) of the Imperial Parliament. Assuming it can exert some control over local issues it's hard to imagine the historical corruption and mismanagement being allowed to happen (in Africa at least, in the East I just hope India can be saved it's disastrous decades of quasi-Communism).

All that money and resources being spent locally and not in Switzerland can only help improve things, consequence of that is there will be less of a 'brain drain', the best and brightest have more reasons to stay home and less to leave, it's a virtuous circle. Whether it's good enough is a different question, but it's hard to see it being as bad as it was.
All good points, but even a lesser gap between the British Isles and the rest of the Empire may serve as point of tension during the second half of the 20th century. The gap may be eroded, but it's still there and will almost certainly cause a lot of turmoil, which remains one of federalism's great disadvantages IMO.
So, disturbingly enough, we're not disagreeing.
Though I should mention that the British Empire should probably stay well clear of the kind of sluggish, quasi-communist command economy that they had previously employed in Africa (monoculture FTW!)

El Pip said:
Scottish separatists were not a factor at the time, whether they become one again depends on the split of power. I can see national parliament withering away over the long term; big issues (defence, foreign policy) go to the Imperial Parliament, small ones (local police, nearby hospitals etc) to Local councils and that leaves not a lot for National Parliaments to do. In that situation not alot for nationalists to argue about, save the nutters who can safely be ignored.
You're handling the mention of Scottish separatism with a degree of seriousness, I'm both impressed and not a little concerned

El Pip said:
Old Enoch well, do you want the reaction from the actual man or from the caricature the left has made him into? Either way if living standards across the Empire go up then it's probably less of an issue, why emigrate to Britain when home is pretty good and getting better? No mass immigration to Britain, less tensions, no need (perceived or actual) for his 'warning' speech.
The real one, of course. The one who made an intellectual mistake but who wasn't a new Oswald Mosley.
Because there will still remain advantages to living in Britain and the step might be perceived as even more natural that OTL due to it and the sending areas being part of the same meta-country.

El Pip said:
And why are Scandinavians so keen on changing Britain's voting system? This is the second time in a few weeks someone from the bitter north has wanted to change it.
Because
A) We like to play with your mind
B) Every once so often reports come in of the amount of votes received by the Liberal Democrats and the amount of seats in Parliament that they receive. The rift between those two seems a bit wide frankly, though I suppose it's quite all right if you dislike both Liberal Democrats and principles.
 
Eams said:
All good points, but even a lesser gap between the British Isles and the rest of the Empire may serve as point of tension during the second half of the 20th century. The gap may be eroded, but it's still there and will almost certainly cause a lot of turmoil, which remains one of federalism's great disadvantages IMO.
So, disturbingly enough, we're not disagreeing.
Though I should mention that the British Empire should probably stay well clear of the kind of sluggish, quasi-communist command economy that they had previously employed in Africa (monoculture FTW!)

As I said, never intended to build a uthopia. But it will be a longstanding unwritten law that a substantial ammount of resources will always be used for closing the gap, both by the Industry ( Better economy in the counties means better profits as more people can buy your goods ) and the conservative party ( prosperous, happy people are happy voters ). Churchill's economic policy will be one where the single parts of the Empire are tied so closely with each other that it is almost Imperial Preference allthough with a fair share of free trade. With the lower labour costs and the immense resources avaiable the Imperial economy should be able to hold its own, especially when a majority money does really go back to the people in some way, be it through investments or infrastructure. I'm still an idealist. Sue me. :D



Eams said:
You're handling the mention of Scottish separatism with a degree of seriousness, I'm both impressed and not a little concerned

Same here.

Eams said:
The real one, of course. The one who made an intellectual mistake but who wasn't a new Oswald Mosley.
Because there will still remain advantages to living in Britain and the step might be perceived as even more natural that OTL due to it and the sending areas being part of the same meta-country.

Of course, but many will stay where they are, and the Goverment will do a lot to encourage people to build a prosperous economy and therefore reasons to stay in their Home Nations. Inter-nation movement is of course not frowned upon, but no one wants whole areas completely devoid of human life.



Eams said:
Because
A) We like to play with your mind
B) Every once so often reports come in of the amount of votes received by the Liberal Democrats and the amount of seats in Parliament that they receive. The rift between those two seems a bit wide frankly, though I suppose it's quite all right if you dislike both Liberal Democrats and principles.

:rofl:
 
trekaddict said:
As I said, never intended to build a uthopia.
Good, intended utopia tends to end up with mass death and political terror.
trekaddict said:
But it will be a longstanding unwritten law that a substantial ammount of resources will always be used for closing the gap, both by the Industry ( Better economy in the counties means better profits as more people can buy your goods ) and the conservative party ( prosperous, happy people are happy voters ). Churchill's economic policy will be one where the single parts of the Empire are tied so closely with each other that it is almost Imperial Preference allthough with a fair share of free trade. With the lower labour costs and the immense resources avaiable the Imperial economy should be able to hold its own, especially when a majority money does really go back to the people in some way, be it through investments or infrastructure. I'm still an idealist. Sue me. :D
A decent enough plan, though it depends too much on the capitalists taking a farsighted approach to the economy. Not to mention that socialists (reformist or not) will be able to pounce on it should the economic development stagnate.
Well-meaning, Imperialist and somewhat naïve, you've managed to work all of Winston's most prominent traits into your plan :D

trekaddict said:
Of course, but many will stay where they are, and the Goverment will do a lot to encourage people to build a prosperous economy and therefore reasons to stay in their Home Nations. Inter-nation movement is of course not frowned upon, but no one wants whole areas completely devoid of human life.
Naturally. It's the presumption from both your and El Pip's part that the migration will be lower or not as controversial that I remain reserved towards. Racism and xenophobia will still exist. Though that can of course be alleviated by more Britons migrating to the rest of the empire and acting more like skilled labour and less like colonial masters.
trekaddict said:
Happy to amuse :D
 
Eams said:
Good, intended utopia tends to end up with mass death and political terror.

I only say Soviet Union.

Eams said:
A decent enough plan, though it depends too much on the capitalists taking a farsighted approach to the economy. Not to mention that socialists (reformist or not) will be able to pounce on it should the economic development stagnate.
Well-meaning, Imperialist and somewhat naïve, you've managed to work all of Winston's most prominent traits into your plan :D

They will have no other choice. I can't spoil too much now, but lets just say I played a bit ahead and the Post-War world will leave them no other choice.

Eams said:
Naturally. It's the presumption from both your and El Pip's part that the migration will be lower or not as controversial that I remain reserved towards. Racism and xenophobia will still exist. Though that can of course be alleviated by more Britons migrating to the rest of the empire and acting more like skilled labour and less like colonial masters.

Exactly. And who knows, maybe in another hundred years the xenophobia will be just like the 'racism' between the different parts of Germany, i.e. stupid jokes that no one takes serious.

Eams said:
Happy to amuse :D

:)
 
trekaddict said:
I only say Soviet Union.
You can say a lot more, but that's kind of redundant.

trekaddict said:
They will have no other choice. I can't spoil too much now, but lets just say I played a bit ahead and the Post-War world will leave them no other choice.
Hmm, the real Cold War didn't stop a lot of western businesses from making stupid decisions. I wonder what you've got in store for us.

trekaddict said:
Exactly. And who knows, maybe in another hundred years the xenophobia will be just like the 'racism' between the different parts of Germany, i.e. stupid jokes that no one takes serious.
Right, it's all a bit of innocent fun until you add football and alcohol into the mix, after which heads will be bashed.
Or the whole thing turns into a global version of former Yugoslavia
 
Eams said:
You can say a lot more, but that's kind of redundant.

Aye.

Eams said:
Hmm, the real Cold War didn't stop a lot of western businesses from making stupid decisions. I wonder what you've got in store for us.

The TTL Cold war will be VERY different from the one we know. All I can say is that Germany won't be to front. :p

Eams said:
Right, it's all a bit of innocent fun until you add football and alcohol into the mix, after which heads will be bashed.
Or the whole thing turns into a global version of former Yugoslavia

It won't. The Cold War and it's threat potential will probably be a factor, but only a very small one. As you can see from the history of the FRG democracy and economic prosperity do wonders to tie a populace to its system of Government.
 
It all sounds good, though trekaddict is starting to reveal himself to be an Adenauer-fanboy :p

Now, since you've thrown us so many quizzes throughout this AAR, answer the following; which song spanning seven minutes of psychedelic orchestral arrangements and with the lyrics performed by a drunken Irishman who couldn't pronounce the title (also the main part of the chorus) of the song would become a worldwide hit in 1968, climbing to the nr. 2 spot on the American chart?
 
I'm not much of an Adenauer fan, as he completely screwed up our social security system. I merely used post-war Germany as an example.

I am afraid I've never been into 1960s pop music... :eek:o
 
Tisch, the song is "MacArthur Park", and the singer is Richard Harris, the original Dumbledore. Suggested viewing if you want to see more of him would be "Major Dundee", "This Sporting Life" and "Orca" (the "300" of monster movies)
 
Eams said:
Tisch, the song is "MacArthur Park", and the singer is Richard Harris, the original Dumbledore. Suggested viewing if you want to see more of him would be "Major Dundee", "This Sporting Life" and "Orca" (the "300" of monster movies)

I see, thank you.
 
Eams said:
All good points, but even a lesser gap between the British Isles and the rest of the Empire may serve as point of tension during the second half of the 20th century. The gap may be eroded, but it's still there and will almost certainly cause a lot of turmoil, which remains one of federalism's great disadvantages IMO.
It's not perfect obviously, but as a way of uniting a geographically distant area (without the use of force) it's yet to be beaten.

Eams said:
You're handling the mention of Scottish separatism with a degree of seriousness, I'm both impressed and not a little concerned
I don't like nationalists, that doesn't mean I don't like individual Scots. While such people are deluded and utterly wrong in almost every way that doesn't mean their concerns aren't valid and you should ignore them. Listen to them, patiently explain why they are so wrong and only then, if they don't learn, do you ignore them. :D

Eams said:
Because there will still remain advantages to living in Britain and the step might be perceived as even more natural that OTL due to it and the sending areas being part of the same meta-country.
Excellent choice of worlds on Enoch, 'Intellectual mistake' is a most elegant way of putting it, I'll have to remember that.

If what you propose is true then I think your answering your own concern, if the former Dominons/colonies become even more Anglicised there's less culture clash when peoples meet. Moreover I would the issues are not so much racism or even strictly speaking xenophobia, but are more about general outsiders regardless of colour of creed. These problems come to the fore generally when the economy is bad, when people are losing jobs or struggling seeing a group who 'aren't from round here' doing well cause anger. There is a assumption (an incorrect one) that their prosperity has been stolen from the 'natives' and if the outsiders went away the natives could have that prosperity back.

It happened in Sweden in the early 1990s is I recall correctly (it's important to remind Swedes their country is a very, very long way from perfect.) so is I believe inevitable given human nature. However the scale and scope of it very much depends on how different the communities are.

If multiculturalism is dismissed as the bloody stupid idea it clearly is, there is hope the tensions can at least be minimised. Getting angry at people who are like you but a different colour is very much harder than getting angry at people who speak a different language, use a different alphabet and generally don't mix with the locals. Not saying that it's right, but I think that's the way it is.

Eams said:
Because
A) We like to play with your mind
B) Every once so often reports come in of the amount of votes received by the Liberal Democrats and the amount of seats in Parliament that they receive. The rift between those two seems a bit wide frankly, though I suppose it's quite all right if you dislike both Liberal Democrats and principles.

On A) you miss. It's just annoying and somewhat condescending. On B) you misunderstand, the purpose of First Pass the Post is to prevent nutters gaining any power and minimising their influence. It's really a kindness, rather than disenfranchise the alarmingly large number of said nutters we give them a large variety of no-hope parties to vote for so they feel involved but can't do any real damage.

It is this system, together with proper beer and the a proper Breakfast that gave Britain the greatest Empire the world has ever known and produced TV, electricity, modern sewerage systems, the jet engine, hovercraft, railways, transatlantic airliners, the package holiday, the world wide web and most of the world's sports.

Sweden with its sweet beer, continental breakfast (a ham and cheese sandwich in reality) and proportional representation produced none of these things. Instead it gave the world mass produced matchsticks, the Volvo, the world's most ironic prize (the Nobel Peace Prize), an inferior form of explosives and suicide.

I think you'll agree the first list was superior in almost every regard to the second list. :D

Eams said:
So, disturbingly enough, we're not disagreeing.
Progress! We'll beat that Swedish soft left socialism out of you yet.
ja.gif
 
El Pip said:
It's not perfect obviously, but as a way of uniting a geographically distant area (without the use of force) it's yet to be beaten.


I don't like nationalists, that doesn't mean I don't like individual Scots. While such people are deluded and utterly wrong in almost every way that doesn't mean their concerns aren't valid and you should ignore them. Listen to them, patiently explain why they are so wrong and only then, if they don't learn, do you ignore them. :D

Eams said:
Because there will still remain advantages to living in Britain and the step might be perceived as even more natural that OTL due to it and the sending areas being part of the same meta-country.[/QUOTE
Excellent choice of worlds on Enoch, 'Intellectual mistake' is a most elegant way of putting it, I'll have to remember that.

If what you propose is true then I think your answering your own concern, if the former Dominons/colonies become even more Anglicised there's less culture clash when peoples meet. Moreover I would the issues are not so much racism or even strictly speaking xenophobia, but are more about general outsiders regardless of colour of creed. These problems come to the fore generally when the economy is bad, when people are losing jobs or struggling seeing a group who 'aren't from round here' doing well cause anger. There is a assumption (an incorrect one) that their prosperity has been stolen from the 'natives' and if the outsiders went away the natives could have that prosperity back. It happened in Sweden in the early 1990s is I recall correctly (it's important to remind Swedes their country is a very, very long way from perfect.)



On A) you miss. It's just annoying and somewhat condescending. On B) you misunderstand, the purpose of First Pass the Post is to prevent nutters gaining any power and minimising their influence. It's really a kindness, rather than disenfranchise the alarmingly large number of said nutters we give them a large variety of no-hope parties to vote for so they feel involved but can't do any real damage.

It is this system, together with proper beer and the a proper Breakfast that gave Britain the greatest Empire the world has ever known and produced TV, electricity, modern sewerage systems, the jet engine, hovercraft, railways, transatlantic airliners, the package holiday, the world wide web and most of the world's sports.

Sweden with its sweet beer, continental breakfast (a ham and cheese sandwich in reality) and proportional representation produced none of these things. Instead it gave the world mass produced matchsticks, the Volvo, the world's most ironic prize (the Nobel Peace Prize), an inferior form of explosives and suicide.

I think you'll agree the first list was superior in almost every regard to the second list. :D


Progress! We'll beat that Swedish soft left socialism out of you yet.
ja.gif



:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


But you do have a point. Again, somehting I can't really explain without spoiling too much, but the 'let us pull together against a common threat' will be a huge factor to pull the federalized Empire during the critical first 20 years.
 
Enewald said:
So the brits still try to rule the world from London. Hard it is. :p

Evil nationalists. :D

Better London than Washington or Moscow. :D

When I started this AAR my goal was to make Britain the foremost power in Europe, but it grew with time, and I realized I had created a monster, and now my aim is to make Britain the leading and by the look of things only Superpower in the western world unless you count the French. (yeah right. :rolleyes: ) The French AI has been less than stellar so far, in fact it was downright abysmal, and only partially because of the ahistorical situation, so expect some serious France bashing. ( No offense AF, but the AI really played so damn crappy.)
 
El Pip said:
Sounding like Jeremy Clarkson on speed
It might be the lack of sleep, but right I'm rather worried that you actually mean some of that Jingoistic piffle.
Though I know that it can't be the case, since you've proven yourself intelligent enough to handle a keyboard (unless you have a well-trained ape to do it for you.) :p