Chapter 129, Parliament, 8 June 1941
Leo Amery scowled as he stalked into the Chamber. Whitehall is an indiscreet place and word was spreading through the corridors of the building that a dramatic moment was about to take place. Amery sat down on the Government front bench beside Kingsley Wood, who was offering a spirited endorsement of Butler’s forthcoming trip to the Commonwealth Prime Ministers. As Amery listened to Wood’s hollow comments about “Commonwealth fraternity” he allowed himself a vicious little smirk before resuming his angry, frustrated glower; the thought of bursting Kingsley Wood’s bubble made this day even better. Opposite him, Clement Attlee and Herbert Morrison shuffled awkwardly onto the Labour benches. Amery overheard Morrison hiss at Attlee “it’ll be worth it for God’s sakes”; the Labour Leader then shot a quick glance at the angry-looking Amery and shook his head in wonder. Amery squirmed in his seat, looking bewildered and unsure. Morrison, whose ability in devilling out information was legendary, beamed like a child at Christmas. Behind him on the Labour second bench two of the members chatted intently, and then a note (Amery could not see the domination) was passed. They were making a bet on him.
The speaker, Fitzroy, stalked in; his deputy had been tipped off by a Home Office Minister and had begged the Speaker to sit in the great chair for the statement. Fitzroy had then noticed the Conservative Chief Whip, Margesson, striding past him surrounded by a gaggle of nervously chatty junior whips. Fitzroy at that moment realised that his deputy was correct and had accepted his suggestion. Margesson had the fixed , controlled expression that he had set after Munich, Norway, Milan, and wordlessly and carefully took his place. He hissed a comment at a junior whip who fled from the Chamber to carry out his master’s bidding. Fitzroy took a breath. As he rose from his seat, taking in the great chamber, he saw the minute hand strike two.
“Mr Leo Amery”. There was cheering from the Opposition benches. Fitzroy winced. Kingsley Wood, who had just wound up the Commonwealth affairs debate, squirmed out of the way as Amery rose to the Despatch Box.
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Honourable Members will, I hope, forgive my intrustion into the proposed debate on merchant shipping tonnage,” Amery smirked at Attlee; both men knew that whatever was about to said, it wasn’t about the proposed increases into the freighter fleet. “But I am grateful to the House for permitting this slight delay in its important business.” He paused, marshalling the anger, feeling his ire rise.
“The Nazi wave flooding through Eastern Europe is a nauseous tide of unspeakable evil. Even as I stand here in this great and esteemed building people are dying as they do nothing more sinister than stand up to an enemy whose hunger demands their home. Honourable Members will have read this morning of the comprehensive defeat of yet another Russian force; a force, Sirs, that has violated no border and defied no law. Sirs, we cannot sit here and congratulate ourselves on sitting on the fence, of having ‘missed the bus’” here he smiled, remembering Chamberlain’s now infamous comment. “We have missed the bus, we allowed this evil to dominate Europe.”
They were craning their necks to see him, the Labour members cheering him on whilst the Conservatives, his own Party, sat in stony silence. Amery placed a nonchalant hand in his pocket and came to the climax of his statement.
Well not quite. He had a principle to fight for, a banner to raise. “I cannot, with any conviction, continue to support an approach that seems masterly in its inactivity. Something must be done, Mr Speaker.”
“Well do something!” That was a Labour heckler, a wide man with a flat face and a broad Yorkshire accent. The ‘something’ came out as ‘summat’ and the honest accent, lacking any affected graces, made his heckling seem more effective.
Amery had paused. He looked at the Labour member with dislike and continued. “With immediate effect I shall relinquish the post of Secretary of State for Home Affairs. As I speak my letter of resignation is being delivered to the Prime Minister in Downing Street. I expect that I shall be taken from this place to account for my actions. I am comfortable with my decision today and I will, from tomorrow, look to work with others to force this Government to rise to its responsibilities.”
He paused, savouring the moment. “I am reminded, Mr Speaker, of the words of another great Tory. On his deathbed, that great imperialist Cecil Rhodes is said to have muttered “so little done, so much to do.” These words, Mr Speaker, should be heeded by that man in another place.”
Amery bowed and strode out of the Chamber. Attlee, in a hastily prepared address, lauded Amery’s conscience and criticised Halifax’s leadership. In truth it was not his best speech and was forgotten by the lobby press circling like sharks around a liferaft. Amery was immediately cornered by them, only to be firmly escorted by Templewood and led towards a waiting car.
[Game Effect] – It was always going to happen. Halifax put Amery in Cabinet for a number of good political reasons: it kept the anti-appeasers happy, kept Amery on Halifax’s leash and gave a dynamic figure something challenging to do. But with Barbarossa, which has been met with polite and restrained displeasure, he has dramatically walked out of the Cabinet. Amery, never the most self-controlled of figures,
As a side comment, the debate on freighters was a small note to mark the fact that I had built a few extra convoys and escorts, ready for whatever will happen later in the year.
Kurt_Steiner: Spot on!
Nathan Madien: Yes, FDR is on the sidelines, but he was always was going to be in early 1941 I guess.
Sir Humphrey: Somehow I think that Lord H is scared of rabbits!
Morsky: Not necessarily...
Trekaddict:
BritishImperial: That aspect of the uniform was also in evidence in WWI – anything arising from that I wonder?
Atlantic Friend: Many thanks, undeserved but I am very grateful...
Atlantic Friend: Acutally you have hit the nail on the head. Halifax thought exactly as you typed – Winston was an unweasonable menace.
Trekaddict: The danger of backbench rebellion is ever real – and probably the best way (led by a good and well-known minister or ex-minister) of bringing the PM down.
Atlantic Friend:
Nathan Madien: I’ve usually tried to avoid lauding Winston too much. There are a few good rebels in the Tory Party, a few of whom are capable of causing trouble.
MITSGS John: A good point and one I agree with. It gives Halifax a number of options with India as well as carefully placing a senior military type in the Far East. Auchinleck, still labouring on as CINC India, will be key to making this work – Ironside now outranks him and though in a political appointment may end up meddling in the Indian Army.
Bafflegab: I agree with your points about Ironside, and your Eden comments are interesting. I think you’re right in saying that Lord H gains a lot from this – having Eden, the darling of the anti-appeasers, on side helps his position greatly – perhaps I am being too optimistic in the effect that the Moscow/Berlin Mission will have on Eden’s reputation.
DonnieBaseball: Macmillan, currently a backbencher, will feature in the story at some stage. At the moment he is quietly backing both Churchill and the Eden/Stanley wings.
Atlantic Friend: I was thinking someone utterly random – Lord Londonderry or even the Duke of Wellington.
Morsky/Atlantic Friend/Kurt_Stiener/Nathan Madien/MITGS John/Morsky:
VILenin: Agreed – I think that independence will happen, but Halifax is probably gunning for Dominion status after a protracted Whitehall muddle to slow the tempo down. Ironside is there to deal with the Nationalists as best he can, bringing his “no nonsense” attitude in to clear up the mess.
Arilou: It’s such a great scene. I’d love to have Halifax mutter it but just cannot see it happening (at least not in 1941).
Atlantic Friend: I have a few oddball characters in the wings, but the Cabinet will meander on for a while.
Derek Pullem: Lloyd George is an inspired choice: he did cause trouble throughout the War and was often suspected by Churchill of harbouring ambitions for the top job.
Atlantic Friend: Well, Amery was one of those members and has clearly and dramatically parted ways with the PM – but will the Tories give him any support?
Trekaddict: I was thinking that the other day – we’ll be a dying breed.
Atlantic Friend:
Trekaddict: I for one am doing it because it beats doing real work!
BritishImperial: My plan is to continue on HOI2 whilst cautiously giving HOI3 a go. But I hated EU3 and am worried that I’ll dislike HOI’s newest incarnation. KFM will stay firmly in HOI2.
Morsky: Yes! Stick here, to the tried and tested. None of this shiny stuff!
VILenin: I have to agree. It takes a lot to get a good narrative going and I think most of us will simply be enjoying playing the game first.
Atlantic Friend: Maybe a new group? The Association of Grumpy Narrationists!
Atlantic Friend:
Nathan Madien: I think the old guard will soldier on for a while yet...
Trekaddict: The thing is, I like gameplay AARs, but I can’t really get excited about “you used three ARM to crack ten INF?” or some other comment.
Kurt_Steiner: Sorry, came home from hols to find a mountain of work to get through.
Trekaddict:
Trekaddict:
Atlantic Friend::rofl:
Trekaddict: A world run by Downing Street is a good world indeed.
Kurt_Steiner:
Atlantic Friend/Trekaddict/Nathan Madien: He really is a force ten pain in the arse. At least in this AAR he rots away in Africa!
Arilou: He was an ungrateful, spiteful, grumpy fool whose only redeeming feature was that he hated the Germans just that little bit more than he hated the Allies.
Atlantic Friend: I must admit before starting this I worried about highlighting a load of people who only had a minor impact in the OTL war.
Bafflegab: Seconded.
Sir Humphrey: Apologies!
Nathan Madien: True!
El Pip: Well, Ironside has a clear mandate from Whitehall (a rarity) and lots of energy so may do well.
Trekaddict:
Arilou: A man of taste!
El Pip:
Trekaddict:
Ruckel: Welcome aboard! Hope you enjoy it and please add comments, most of this lot do...
Trekaddict:
Nathan Madien: That’s partly the reason for my wariness of FDR. By Yalta he was a corpse.
El Pip: Mogenthau? Oh dear God!
Atlantic Friend: I think with De Gaulle it’s just the sheer bloody rudeness of the man. He was also fairly stupid as a strategic leader, although this is perception from me and I will happily listen to argument on this one.
Kurt_Steiner: I’m with you on that one...
Arilou:
El Pip/Atlantic Friend: I’m with the “not a fan of De Gaulle” camp here.
Morsky: The oldest game in the world.
Nathan Madien/Sir Humphrey:
El Pip/Trekaddict: British Rail may (and I say may) never be formed...
Nathan Madien: It might do in this AAR...
El Pip/Atlantic Friend: Hopefully we may avoid this...
British Imperial: It may emerge as a side-venture from “other projects”.
MITSGS John: “A scramble for the solar system” sounds very very cool
Carlstadt Boy: Sorry, sorry!