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I can't decide whether I vote Labour or Gladstone in the next election. Have to examine the election manifestos carefully.
I would have seriously considered voting Labour after they dumped the socialists if Cardwell was still leader, but now Gladstone's climbed the greasy pole I smell a change in the air.
I have noticed that most partiers seem to have a major ''downside'' or ''unpopular'' area of policies....
Labour its foreign policy
Conservative is industry
Liberals is a highly volatile party unity, but their policies tend to be well rounded......
I am torn between conservative and Gladstone's liberals in this up coming election.
however I have a feeling we will have a never ending coalition of Labour-Socialist govts.
Labour its foreign policy
Conservative is industry
Liberals is a highly volatile party unity, but their policies tend to be well rounded......
I am torn between conservative and Gladstone's liberals in this up coming election.
however I have a feeling we will have a never ending coalition of Labour-Socialist govts.
I probably will, I shall bide my time to see the policies and if the ''Red block'' is still around.
On one hand, political repression against Marxists and Anarchists is evil.
On the other hand, things like anarchy and State Capitalism distract from the main purpose of Labour and of the very British Revolution: social reform.
But is giving away political reforms for social reforms by banning communists and anarchists from trade unions and politics any different than giving away political reforms for social reforms under hard-left communist rule, or under hard right BNP rule?
If moderation is done at gunpoint, can it be called moderation at all?
There is a compelling case to be made for the libertarian cause of the Socialist Party.
On the other hand, things like anarchy and State Capitalism distract from the main purpose of Labour and of the very British Revolution: social reform.
But is giving away political reforms for social reforms by banning communists and anarchists from trade unions and politics any different than giving away political reforms for social reforms under hard-left communist rule, or under hard right BNP rule?
If moderation is done at gunpoint, can it be called moderation at all?
There is a compelling case to be made for the libertarian cause of the Socialist Party.
With Gladstone leading, Liberals will regain power and govern the Republic properly
BNP doesn't exsist yet
but we know what you mean, maybe moderation shall be more...'moderated' in the coming election
Election of 1869
With the split of the Marxist Left from the the Labour party Prime Minister Burt lost his majority in Parliament, after the Liberals withdrew their support following the end of the war in Portugal Burt was forced to call a new election.
Perhaps more so than in any election for decades it was totally unclear whom the major parties would be after the closure of the polls. With the once mighty Labour Party now divided between the the Socialist Party and the continuation of the old Labour Party (now under more moderate leadership) it was not at all clear which party would dominate the Left and whether the left wing of British politics could retain its strength. Meanwhile the BNU and Tories seemed locked in a battle to become the dominant force on the right wing, however neither had been so effective and dynamic in opposition as the Liberals under the new leadership of Gladstone – a man who had staked his career on the promise of a Liberal revival.
The Labour Party
11 years of Labour government had transformed British politics. As their revivals splintered and struggled to come to grips with this new political force the party had begun the process of reforming Britain into a fairer nation whilst at the same time stepping away from the rampant Imperialism of the past and securing outstanding economic growth. However, this monolithic party faced disaster in 1868 as the Marxist Left split away whilst many of the more revolutionary lower ranks left the party too – some to join the Socialists, others to form their own extra-parliamentary bodies. The dream of one party for an entire class had been ended.
Party Leader: Thomas Burt
Thomas Burt had wrenched the Labour Party kicking and screaming to the right during his short term as Prime Minister from late 1867 until early 1869. Indeed, Burt seemed to be closer to Gladstone's Liberals than Odger's Socialists. Either way Burt's political career and the future direction of the Labour Party as a whole rested entirely on electoral success.
Policies
Economic:
11 years of Labour government. 11 years of unheard of growth rates. No Tory nor Liberal nor Nationalist nor Communist can point to such a record of consistent economic success. We therefore support the continuation of our old policies:
‘’We support a progressive taxation system in which the wealthiest shall pay taxes 20% higher than those on middle incomes who shall in turn pay 10% more than the poorest.
We should raise social spending to the highest level it can reach.
If need be the state should intervene in order to ensure that vital factories remain open so that workingmen do not lose their jobs.
We should use the state to support continued industrial growth in both Britain and Ireland.’’
A vote for Labour is a vote for a safe pair of hands and for guaranteed economic success. Under the Tories or Liberals there has always been high levels of unemployment in some part of the country – not so under Labour! Let each man have a job to go to in the day and food to fill his belly at night.
Reforms:
The Labour Party supports 2 further reforms:
Let there be better safety standards in the heavy industries – there are simply far too many injuries and even deaths in these dangerous but invaluable factories.
Let there be a small increase in the pension for all men and women who retire after working for 50 years.
Foreign Policy:
Whilst the Labour Party is totally opposed to becoming involved in continental wars unless Britain or one of her allies are directly attacked by a needless act of aggression – as happened in India by the hands of the Portuguese – we may be willing to alter our previous policy of neutrality elsewhere. We must be willing to go to war in order to protect strategically important possessions of the Republic. However, we shall attempt to avoid war with major powers under all circumstances.
The Socialist Party
Not yet one year old the Socialist Party already has a Parliamentary force over half that of the Liberal Party, substantial grass roots connections to the labour movement as a whole – especially through Trade Unions – and the backing of most of the Marxist revolutionary intelligentsia.
Party Leader: George Odger
An experienced Trade Unionist and lifelong warrior for the working class Odger had taken part in the foundation of the Labour Party as well as the government. However, after years of disillusionment as the party failed to go far enough in its reforms the combative leadership of the centrist Burt finally pushed him over the edge and out of the party. Now at the head of a new movement he is determined to replace the Labour Party with the Socialist Party and bring about a revolution to the British Republic.
The Manifesto of the Socialist Party
The Socialist Party shall fight tirelessly in the interests of the working class. We shall oppose any government that opposes those interests and we shall support any government's measures that strengthen those interests. We have no further interests beyond those of our class.
We Demand:
That the current minimal safety standards in factories be increased to acceptable levels. (Two levels of reform)
That pensions for those who ave worked throughout their lives be increased from the current trinkets thrown to elderly workers to an acceptable level. (Two levels of reform)
That our health service be improved further so that all citizens of the Republic shall have some sort of access to healthcare. (One level of reform)
That the minimum wage be raised. (One level of reform)
The institution of a heavily progressive tax system that shall turn the weak stream of wealth that flowed down to the workers under Labour into an unstoppable torrent.
The creation of low level working class democracy in the manner that the heroes of the Manhattan Commune created:
Workers' Councils are to be established throughout the Republic – these Councils shall be run by the local communities and shall allow the workers of a particular region to manner most of their affairs themselves.
Larger Regional Councils are to be created for entire cities or regions. In these Councils the delegates shall be elected representatives and shall be fully recallable.
Our political system must be restructured. Parliament shall be replaced by a Grand Council of the Republic. This Council shall be made up of delegates elected by the Workers' Councils themselves, all delegates shall be fully recallable. Elections for the Grand Council are to take place every 5 years.
That all land currently under the control of these wealthy land barons are to be seized by the farmers who work upon them and given over to these farmers so that they may own the land upon which they work.
That all inheritance rights are to be abolished – within a generation the old families of plutocrats and aristocrats shall finally have their booty, accumulated through the mass exploitation and murder of working men and women, wrenched from them.
That any property owned by emigrants or rebels is to seized by the state.
That any industries seized through this method, or through the abolition of inheritance, or through simple abandonment are to be turned over to the those who work in them to own and manage.
That all banking services are to be centralised under the banner of a national Bank – controlled by the state.
That the means of communication and transportation are to be turned over to the control of the state.
That the state shall be used to expand our industrial sector further and to provide financial support to struggling industries.
That the colonial holdings of the Republic be given their freedom – we must look to establish the same sort of working class democracy and control in these regions before granting them autonomy. However they shall retain our protection.
That a new Workers' Republic be declared!
''The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.
The Liberal Party
It was widely speculated that after their disasterous split and then humiliating electoral performance that the Liberal Party was dead. As the defeated Coalition Liberals went on to join with Labour the Independent Liberals – with just 55 seats – forged on to rebuild the Liberal Party anew. Since Gladstone's takeover the party seemed to be on a definite rise within opinion polls whilst the support of the Labour government during the war earned them a degree of kudos amongst those who promote national unity as well as many would be Labour voters.
Party Leader: William Ewert Gladstone
Desperate to rebuild the Liberals as a major force in Parliament some of Gladstone's more confident supporters felt that he could even become Prime Minister. Less ambitious Liberals hoped to return the party to its old position where it held the balance of power between the Left and Right. The Liberals wanted to be able to pick and choose quite equally between the Tories or Labour as coalition partners and go alongside whichever gave them the best deal and whoever was best for the country – that being said the party still had a clear preference for the Tories. Gladstone, meanwhile, had already ruled out any cooperation with the BNU or the Socialists calling them bost dangerous parties of extremists.
Policies
Economic:
A system of tax cuts for the enterprising should be reintroduced; there should be no tariffs and extremely limited intervention by the government in economic affairs.
A free market makes a free society.
The rising bureaucratism that Labour is already causing must be fought against!
Reform:
We must ensure the protection of the essential freedoms of the British Republic from both the Far Right BNU and the Far Left Socialist Party! It has been and shall always remain the central duty of all Liberals to ensure that our freedoms – won after so much bloodshed – are not threatened.
Whilst not proposing further social reforms the Liberal Party is not against joining a government that would support them.
Foreign Policy:
What do you get if you put Labour in government? Weakness in Europe, weakness in Asia and alienation in North America.
The Liberal Party would look to restore friendship with the Americans whilst at the same time encouraging them to end their oppression of Leftists there.
In Europe we would look to build a strong balance of power between the rising might of Prussia in Germany and the continued domination of France in Western Europe. We must be strong and reactive to the changing political situation in Europe – Germany can not be allowed to unite, but at the same time we cannot allow France the security of a safe Eastern border.
We must find a way to counter the threat of China's rising power. A direct military confrontation would be foolhardy at best and suicidal at worst. We must find a way of diplomatically limiting their influences across East Asia which threaten our own.
It is also time that the Empire begins its expansion anew!
British National Union (BNU)
1864 was a triumph for the then very young British National Union. Winning an impressive 91 seats and becoming Parliament's 3rd largest party – a rival not so far behind the Tories themselves – there was speculation that the BNU might replace the Conservatives as a more compative force to lead the right in their fight against the so called ''loony left''.
Party Leader: Admiral Alexander Milne
Coming from a strong military background the popular Admiral has transformed himself into one of the most influencial politicians in the entire country. As his rising political power shows a right wing party with substantial strength on the streets has captured the imagination and the backing of much of the British rightwing.
Policies
Economic:
The economic interventionism of the Labour government was one of its few successes. Therefore the policy of creating a mixed economy should be continued: the state shall intervene when necessary to continue to power industrial growth.
There should be a flat tax across the board for all citizens – this shall make taxation easier to collect and fair for all whilst also supporting private investment in a way that Labour’s ‘progressive’ taxation never could.
If necessary tariffs should be used to protect native industry and provide funds for government.
Over the past 11 years a tremendous amount of taxation has been taken from Britain and invested in Irish industry. Over this period Ireland, South of Protestant Ulster, has become heavily industrialised and rather wealthy. So why does the wealth of Britain flow across the sea to this colony? What is the point of an Empire that provides nothing for the home country?
Just as the subsidies of Ireland should be cut down we should stop using British wealth to promote the industrialisation of god forsaken jungles across the world. Let them industrialise – but let them use funds gathered in the colonies themselves.
The state should provide encouragement for areas of the country with low industrial growth to develop.
Reforms:
We should provide an acceptable pension for all men who have served this country in the field of battle or in the factories or in the fields and for all women who have lost their husbands. These people have given everything for this country and deserve our respect for that. (Two levels of reform)
The dusky head of Anarchist destruction has already emerged on our beautiful shores. This vile ideology has been responsible for the callous murder of innocent members of the British public who merely wished to attend a meeting of our party. Despicable. Labour, as always, has failed to adress this issue to the correct degree.
Anarchism as a whole is an enemy of the British people. All suspected Anarchist organisations are to be shut down and their terrorist members placed under arrest. All Anarchist publications are to be shut down. Every Anarchist found guilty of implication in terrorist murder is to be executed. If we are not strong now this disease may well spread.
To believe our enemies are limited to the Anarchists is to be foolish. All these 'communists' that infect even the Parliament itself are enemies of the the British people. The Socialist Party is to be banned and its members expelled from Parliament. Likewise, all organisations promoting the overthrow of Parliament are to be shut down and the ringleaders arrested so that we might wring out the scum from our brave nation.
Those emigres who have spread these ideas to this country are to be expelled.
The British National Union continues to support the restoration of the Monarchy – which for so long gave us political stability and pride that the Republic cannot compete with. The Monarch shall be chosen from a short list of claimants to the British crown through a refferendum.
Foreign Policy:
How lax Labour have been. In Asia the Chinese Dragon is on the rise whilst both Portugal and France unite to undermine us in India.
In North America the once strong alliance with the Americans, one of the few peoples who are taking a strong stand against socialist terror, has been totally wiped away.
In Europe Labour has done nothing to limit the rise of Prussia and nothing to undermine Frence hegemony in Western Europe.
But what can one expect from the impident rule of the Labourites?
We must finish our work in Indochina by conquering the North of Vietnam. We must ready a substantial naval force in East Asia to counter the growing influence of the Chinese whilst we cannot allow Korea to fall under their infleunce.
In North America we should rebuild our alliance with the Democrat led United States and support them in their crusade agaisnt communism.
In Europe we should work with powers who are similarily concerned with the Prussians and French. In Italy we should work with the Austrians to break France's stranglehold of the peninsula. In Spain we should support the attempts of that Kingdom to rise from under France's thumb. In the East we cannot allow Prussia to gobble up any more of Russia. In the North we should once more look to Sweden for an ally against our enemies.
We can surround and contain the twin threats to European stability.
But, should the French ever again threaten our allies – as they did in Hyderabad – we shall not hesitate to go to war.
The Conservative Party (Tories)
The Tories have yet to recover from the 1858 election when they lost a huge share of the vote and were flung from government. This was followed by the defection to the BNU of several members and another terrible electoral result in 1864. Now under the leadership of Lord Derby the old dominat party of the right is determined to restore its fortunes and return to government.
Party Leader: Lord Derby
As the oldest party leader going into the election Derby is also by far the most experienced. He first entered Parliament five decades before and became a Minister for the first time as early as 1830. After being prevented from stepping up to the Conservative Party leadership for many years by Disraeli's longterm dominance of the party he was almost gleeful when a humiliated Disraeli was forced to step down after a second distaster at the polls. After a period of 5 years as leader of the opposition Derby hopes to ensure a new Tory led government.
Policies
Our economic policies must ensure strong growth in the economy and protect our people from harm. We therefore propose an economic regime that, unlike the Labourite system, promotes investment and entrepunuership but also provides state support when necessary.
We propose a flat tax regime.
Social spending should remain as high as possible.
Tariffs shall be used to raise funds and to protect native industries.
If need be, to avoid unemployment, subsidies can be provided to ensure that industries remain operative if they start to lose money in the short term.
Subsidies for the expansion of industries may also be provided in order to fight unemployment.
Reforms:
The Conservative Party must join the stand against Anarchist destruction. We must make sure that the terrorist cells implicated in any bombings are utterly destroyed. We cannot allow them to survive after what they have already done and what they no doubt plan to do.
However, we cannot destroy all groups that associate with Anarchism as a whole. As unconvincing an ideology as it is people must be allowed to think what they wish and join whichever groups they wish to – so long as they are not a threat to other citizens, to peace, to law and order and to the state. So only the Anarchist groups who are implicated in violence are to be brought down.
Whilst we do not seek to roll back Labour's reforms we shall fight against any attempts to further meddle with society in this way. Britain is not to become the specimen for Labour's social engineering experiment.
Foreign Policy:
Since Prussia’s rapid rise two principle enemies of Britain have emerged on the continents who threaten the balance of power – as in the past, France, and now the newly emerging North German Confederation.
In Europe a united Germany is a much greater risk to stability than a powerful France – it is therefore imperative that on the continent we do everything to prevent the Prussians from defeating the French and unifying all of Germany. Whilst a strong France is able to compete with Britain on many levels a strong and united Germany may well be able to dominate the continent and threaten British power around the globe.
In India we must prevent any further expansion by the Portuguese – the vile, traitorous, cut throats that they are – whilst trying to at the very least limit French growth in the region.
But China is a much greater threat in East Asia. We must do everything we can to limit Chinese growth – if China is able secure dominance over Russia it would be a disaster on an unimgainable scale. It must be prevented! Likewsie, we must look to secure Korea, Japan and our holdings in Vietnam from this peril.
The old friendship with the Americans has served us in the past and shall do so again! No matter who sits in the Whitehouse we must have that friendship that Labour can never provide if we are to be secure.
The Empire should be expanded!
We must be willing to use force when necessary, however we must concentrate first and foremost on restoring our diplomatic efforts around the world.
The election is now open!
Every reader has one vote and may only vote once per election.
You may vote for:
Labour
Socialists
Conservatives (you may also write Tories)
British National Union (you may also write BNU)
Liberals
Please either bold your vote or place it in a separate post to make it easier for me to count them.
Polls shall close at 2 PM on Saturday.
Good Luck!
With the split of the Marxist Left from the the Labour party Prime Minister Burt lost his majority in Parliament, after the Liberals withdrew their support following the end of the war in Portugal Burt was forced to call a new election.
Perhaps more so than in any election for decades it was totally unclear whom the major parties would be after the closure of the polls. With the once mighty Labour Party now divided between the the Socialist Party and the continuation of the old Labour Party (now under more moderate leadership) it was not at all clear which party would dominate the Left and whether the left wing of British politics could retain its strength. Meanwhile the BNU and Tories seemed locked in a battle to become the dominant force on the right wing, however neither had been so effective and dynamic in opposition as the Liberals under the new leadership of Gladstone – a man who had staked his career on the promise of a Liberal revival.
The Labour Party
11 years of Labour government had transformed British politics. As their revivals splintered and struggled to come to grips with this new political force the party had begun the process of reforming Britain into a fairer nation whilst at the same time stepping away from the rampant Imperialism of the past and securing outstanding economic growth. However, this monolithic party faced disaster in 1868 as the Marxist Left split away whilst many of the more revolutionary lower ranks left the party too – some to join the Socialists, others to form their own extra-parliamentary bodies. The dream of one party for an entire class had been ended.
Party Leader: Thomas Burt
Thomas Burt had wrenched the Labour Party kicking and screaming to the right during his short term as Prime Minister from late 1867 until early 1869. Indeed, Burt seemed to be closer to Gladstone's Liberals than Odger's Socialists. Either way Burt's political career and the future direction of the Labour Party as a whole rested entirely on electoral success.
Policies
Economic:
11 years of Labour government. 11 years of unheard of growth rates. No Tory nor Liberal nor Nationalist nor Communist can point to such a record of consistent economic success. We therefore support the continuation of our old policies:
‘’We support a progressive taxation system in which the wealthiest shall pay taxes 20% higher than those on middle incomes who shall in turn pay 10% more than the poorest.
We should raise social spending to the highest level it can reach.
If need be the state should intervene in order to ensure that vital factories remain open so that workingmen do not lose their jobs.
We should use the state to support continued industrial growth in both Britain and Ireland.’’
A vote for Labour is a vote for a safe pair of hands and for guaranteed economic success. Under the Tories or Liberals there has always been high levels of unemployment in some part of the country – not so under Labour! Let each man have a job to go to in the day and food to fill his belly at night.
Reforms:
The Labour Party supports 2 further reforms:
Let there be better safety standards in the heavy industries – there are simply far too many injuries and even deaths in these dangerous but invaluable factories.
Let there be a small increase in the pension for all men and women who retire after working for 50 years.
Foreign Policy:
Whilst the Labour Party is totally opposed to becoming involved in continental wars unless Britain or one of her allies are directly attacked by a needless act of aggression – as happened in India by the hands of the Portuguese – we may be willing to alter our previous policy of neutrality elsewhere. We must be willing to go to war in order to protect strategically important possessions of the Republic. However, we shall attempt to avoid war with major powers under all circumstances.
The Socialist Party
Not yet one year old the Socialist Party already has a Parliamentary force over half that of the Liberal Party, substantial grass roots connections to the labour movement as a whole – especially through Trade Unions – and the backing of most of the Marxist revolutionary intelligentsia.
Party Leader: George Odger
An experienced Trade Unionist and lifelong warrior for the working class Odger had taken part in the foundation of the Labour Party as well as the government. However, after years of disillusionment as the party failed to go far enough in its reforms the combative leadership of the centrist Burt finally pushed him over the edge and out of the party. Now at the head of a new movement he is determined to replace the Labour Party with the Socialist Party and bring about a revolution to the British Republic.
The Manifesto of the Socialist Party
The Socialist Party shall fight tirelessly in the interests of the working class. We shall oppose any government that opposes those interests and we shall support any government's measures that strengthen those interests. We have no further interests beyond those of our class.
We Demand:
That the current minimal safety standards in factories be increased to acceptable levels. (Two levels of reform)
That pensions for those who ave worked throughout their lives be increased from the current trinkets thrown to elderly workers to an acceptable level. (Two levels of reform)
That our health service be improved further so that all citizens of the Republic shall have some sort of access to healthcare. (One level of reform)
That the minimum wage be raised. (One level of reform)
The institution of a heavily progressive tax system that shall turn the weak stream of wealth that flowed down to the workers under Labour into an unstoppable torrent.
The creation of low level working class democracy in the manner that the heroes of the Manhattan Commune created:
Workers' Councils are to be established throughout the Republic – these Councils shall be run by the local communities and shall allow the workers of a particular region to manner most of their affairs themselves.
Larger Regional Councils are to be created for entire cities or regions. In these Councils the delegates shall be elected representatives and shall be fully recallable.
Our political system must be restructured. Parliament shall be replaced by a Grand Council of the Republic. This Council shall be made up of delegates elected by the Workers' Councils themselves, all delegates shall be fully recallable. Elections for the Grand Council are to take place every 5 years.
That all land currently under the control of these wealthy land barons are to be seized by the farmers who work upon them and given over to these farmers so that they may own the land upon which they work.
That all inheritance rights are to be abolished – within a generation the old families of plutocrats and aristocrats shall finally have their booty, accumulated through the mass exploitation and murder of working men and women, wrenched from them.
That any property owned by emigrants or rebels is to seized by the state.
That any industries seized through this method, or through the abolition of inheritance, or through simple abandonment are to be turned over to the those who work in them to own and manage.
That all banking services are to be centralised under the banner of a national Bank – controlled by the state.
That the means of communication and transportation are to be turned over to the control of the state.
That the state shall be used to expand our industrial sector further and to provide financial support to struggling industries.
That the colonial holdings of the Republic be given their freedom – we must look to establish the same sort of working class democracy and control in these regions before granting them autonomy. However they shall retain our protection.
That a new Workers' Republic be declared!
''The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.
Workingmen of all countries unite!
The Liberal Party
It was widely speculated that after their disasterous split and then humiliating electoral performance that the Liberal Party was dead. As the defeated Coalition Liberals went on to join with Labour the Independent Liberals – with just 55 seats – forged on to rebuild the Liberal Party anew. Since Gladstone's takeover the party seemed to be on a definite rise within opinion polls whilst the support of the Labour government during the war earned them a degree of kudos amongst those who promote national unity as well as many would be Labour voters.
Party Leader: William Ewert Gladstone
Desperate to rebuild the Liberals as a major force in Parliament some of Gladstone's more confident supporters felt that he could even become Prime Minister. Less ambitious Liberals hoped to return the party to its old position where it held the balance of power between the Left and Right. The Liberals wanted to be able to pick and choose quite equally between the Tories or Labour as coalition partners and go alongside whichever gave them the best deal and whoever was best for the country – that being said the party still had a clear preference for the Tories. Gladstone, meanwhile, had already ruled out any cooperation with the BNU or the Socialists calling them bost dangerous parties of extremists.
Policies
Economic:
A system of tax cuts for the enterprising should be reintroduced; there should be no tariffs and extremely limited intervention by the government in economic affairs.
A free market makes a free society.
The rising bureaucratism that Labour is already causing must be fought against!
Reform:
We must ensure the protection of the essential freedoms of the British Republic from both the Far Right BNU and the Far Left Socialist Party! It has been and shall always remain the central duty of all Liberals to ensure that our freedoms – won after so much bloodshed – are not threatened.
Whilst not proposing further social reforms the Liberal Party is not against joining a government that would support them.
Foreign Policy:
What do you get if you put Labour in government? Weakness in Europe, weakness in Asia and alienation in North America.
The Liberal Party would look to restore friendship with the Americans whilst at the same time encouraging them to end their oppression of Leftists there.
In Europe we would look to build a strong balance of power between the rising might of Prussia in Germany and the continued domination of France in Western Europe. We must be strong and reactive to the changing political situation in Europe – Germany can not be allowed to unite, but at the same time we cannot allow France the security of a safe Eastern border.
We must find a way to counter the threat of China's rising power. A direct military confrontation would be foolhardy at best and suicidal at worst. We must find a way of diplomatically limiting their influences across East Asia which threaten our own.
It is also time that the Empire begins its expansion anew!
British National Union (BNU)
1864 was a triumph for the then very young British National Union. Winning an impressive 91 seats and becoming Parliament's 3rd largest party – a rival not so far behind the Tories themselves – there was speculation that the BNU might replace the Conservatives as a more compative force to lead the right in their fight against the so called ''loony left''.
Party Leader: Admiral Alexander Milne
Coming from a strong military background the popular Admiral has transformed himself into one of the most influencial politicians in the entire country. As his rising political power shows a right wing party with substantial strength on the streets has captured the imagination and the backing of much of the British rightwing.
Policies
Economic:
The economic interventionism of the Labour government was one of its few successes. Therefore the policy of creating a mixed economy should be continued: the state shall intervene when necessary to continue to power industrial growth.
There should be a flat tax across the board for all citizens – this shall make taxation easier to collect and fair for all whilst also supporting private investment in a way that Labour’s ‘progressive’ taxation never could.
If necessary tariffs should be used to protect native industry and provide funds for government.
Over the past 11 years a tremendous amount of taxation has been taken from Britain and invested in Irish industry. Over this period Ireland, South of Protestant Ulster, has become heavily industrialised and rather wealthy. So why does the wealth of Britain flow across the sea to this colony? What is the point of an Empire that provides nothing for the home country?
Just as the subsidies of Ireland should be cut down we should stop using British wealth to promote the industrialisation of god forsaken jungles across the world. Let them industrialise – but let them use funds gathered in the colonies themselves.
The state should provide encouragement for areas of the country with low industrial growth to develop.
Reforms:
We should provide an acceptable pension for all men who have served this country in the field of battle or in the factories or in the fields and for all women who have lost their husbands. These people have given everything for this country and deserve our respect for that. (Two levels of reform)
The dusky head of Anarchist destruction has already emerged on our beautiful shores. This vile ideology has been responsible for the callous murder of innocent members of the British public who merely wished to attend a meeting of our party. Despicable. Labour, as always, has failed to adress this issue to the correct degree.
Anarchism as a whole is an enemy of the British people. All suspected Anarchist organisations are to be shut down and their terrorist members placed under arrest. All Anarchist publications are to be shut down. Every Anarchist found guilty of implication in terrorist murder is to be executed. If we are not strong now this disease may well spread.
To believe our enemies are limited to the Anarchists is to be foolish. All these 'communists' that infect even the Parliament itself are enemies of the the British people. The Socialist Party is to be banned and its members expelled from Parliament. Likewise, all organisations promoting the overthrow of Parliament are to be shut down and the ringleaders arrested so that we might wring out the scum from our brave nation.
Those emigres who have spread these ideas to this country are to be expelled.
The British National Union continues to support the restoration of the Monarchy – which for so long gave us political stability and pride that the Republic cannot compete with. The Monarch shall be chosen from a short list of claimants to the British crown through a refferendum.
Foreign Policy:
How lax Labour have been. In Asia the Chinese Dragon is on the rise whilst both Portugal and France unite to undermine us in India.
In North America the once strong alliance with the Americans, one of the few peoples who are taking a strong stand against socialist terror, has been totally wiped away.
In Europe Labour has done nothing to limit the rise of Prussia and nothing to undermine Frence hegemony in Western Europe.
But what can one expect from the impident rule of the Labourites?
We must finish our work in Indochina by conquering the North of Vietnam. We must ready a substantial naval force in East Asia to counter the growing influence of the Chinese whilst we cannot allow Korea to fall under their infleunce.
In North America we should rebuild our alliance with the Democrat led United States and support them in their crusade agaisnt communism.
In Europe we should work with powers who are similarily concerned with the Prussians and French. In Italy we should work with the Austrians to break France's stranglehold of the peninsula. In Spain we should support the attempts of that Kingdom to rise from under France's thumb. In the East we cannot allow Prussia to gobble up any more of Russia. In the North we should once more look to Sweden for an ally against our enemies.
We can surround and contain the twin threats to European stability.
But, should the French ever again threaten our allies – as they did in Hyderabad – we shall not hesitate to go to war.
The Conservative Party (Tories)
The Tories have yet to recover from the 1858 election when they lost a huge share of the vote and were flung from government. This was followed by the defection to the BNU of several members and another terrible electoral result in 1864. Now under the leadership of Lord Derby the old dominat party of the right is determined to restore its fortunes and return to government.
Party Leader: Lord Derby
As the oldest party leader going into the election Derby is also by far the most experienced. He first entered Parliament five decades before and became a Minister for the first time as early as 1830. After being prevented from stepping up to the Conservative Party leadership for many years by Disraeli's longterm dominance of the party he was almost gleeful when a humiliated Disraeli was forced to step down after a second distaster at the polls. After a period of 5 years as leader of the opposition Derby hopes to ensure a new Tory led government.
Policies
Our economic policies must ensure strong growth in the economy and protect our people from harm. We therefore propose an economic regime that, unlike the Labourite system, promotes investment and entrepunuership but also provides state support when necessary.
We propose a flat tax regime.
Social spending should remain as high as possible.
Tariffs shall be used to raise funds and to protect native industries.
If need be, to avoid unemployment, subsidies can be provided to ensure that industries remain operative if they start to lose money in the short term.
Subsidies for the expansion of industries may also be provided in order to fight unemployment.
Reforms:
The Conservative Party must join the stand against Anarchist destruction. We must make sure that the terrorist cells implicated in any bombings are utterly destroyed. We cannot allow them to survive after what they have already done and what they no doubt plan to do.
However, we cannot destroy all groups that associate with Anarchism as a whole. As unconvincing an ideology as it is people must be allowed to think what they wish and join whichever groups they wish to – so long as they are not a threat to other citizens, to peace, to law and order and to the state. So only the Anarchist groups who are implicated in violence are to be brought down.
Whilst we do not seek to roll back Labour's reforms we shall fight against any attempts to further meddle with society in this way. Britain is not to become the specimen for Labour's social engineering experiment.
Foreign Policy:
Since Prussia’s rapid rise two principle enemies of Britain have emerged on the continents who threaten the balance of power – as in the past, France, and now the newly emerging North German Confederation.
In Europe a united Germany is a much greater risk to stability than a powerful France – it is therefore imperative that on the continent we do everything to prevent the Prussians from defeating the French and unifying all of Germany. Whilst a strong France is able to compete with Britain on many levels a strong and united Germany may well be able to dominate the continent and threaten British power around the globe.
In India we must prevent any further expansion by the Portuguese – the vile, traitorous, cut throats that they are – whilst trying to at the very least limit French growth in the region.
But China is a much greater threat in East Asia. We must do everything we can to limit Chinese growth – if China is able secure dominance over Russia it would be a disaster on an unimgainable scale. It must be prevented! Likewsie, we must look to secure Korea, Japan and our holdings in Vietnam from this peril.
The old friendship with the Americans has served us in the past and shall do so again! No matter who sits in the Whitehouse we must have that friendship that Labour can never provide if we are to be secure.
The Empire should be expanded!
We must be willing to use force when necessary, however we must concentrate first and foremost on restoring our diplomatic efforts around the world.
The election is now open!
Every reader has one vote and may only vote once per election.
You may vote for:
Labour
Socialists
Conservatives (you may also write Tories)
British National Union (you may also write BNU)
Liberals
Please either bold your vote or place it in a separate post to make it easier for me to count them.
Polls shall close at 2 PM on Saturday.
Good Luck!
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Isn't there only one Liberal party now? In any event, I am voting for the Liberals of Gladstone.
Whoops
That part was a copy paste job - just changing it now.
I was wondering why people kept writing Gladstone's Liberals.
On one hand, the Socialists have more lovely reforms and the whole decentralized council democracy system seems downright libertarian.
On the other hand, planned economy seems a bit much; and pacifistic isolationism is uninspiring.
Labour's level of reforms are acceptable, I have nothing against free foreign trade (or protectionism, either way is good), and they aren't talking about locking up anarchists or anything.
Liberals seem willing to play ball, so the safe bet is a Labour-Liberal or Liberal-Labour coalition.
However, it would be interesting to see future updates depicting the new Britain the Socialists would create...
I'll refrain from voting at this moment, I think. I want to see where the majority of the left votes seem to trend. I wouldn't want to divide the vote.
On the other hand, planned economy seems a bit much; and pacifistic isolationism is uninspiring.
Labour's level of reforms are acceptable, I have nothing against free foreign trade (or protectionism, either way is good), and they aren't talking about locking up anarchists or anything.
Liberals seem willing to play ball, so the safe bet is a Labour-Liberal or Liberal-Labour coalition.
However, it would be interesting to see future updates depicting the new Britain the Socialists would create...
I'll refrain from voting at this moment, I think. I want to see where the majority of the left votes seem to trend. I wouldn't want to divide the vote.
Liberals of Gladstone
I don´t understand yet why the BNP is fascist and not reactionary
I don´t understand yet why the BNP is fascist and not reactionary
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