Post by whiteredrose on Apr 20, 2021 22:28:52 GMT
NB: This is a work of fiction set in the future, hence the replacement of many real world political figures with similar people.
2024 was not a good year to be British. Not by any means. Britain had only narrowly avoided coming last in the Eurovision Song Contest that year, although it had not done well since it left the European Union in 2020. As for Euro 2024, it had not even qualified, missing out on the top spot to Hungary and then losing a play-off match with Italy. Since leaving the Single Market and having been left with subpar trade deals, Britain had been on a huge downturn, exacerbated by the long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Great Britain was anything but great, and this could be reflected in its politics.
The current Conservative PM, Peter Jenkinson, had not had a good time since the pandemic ended in 2021, being mired in corruption scandals involving his Cabinet, Brexit malaise, and bisexual affairs. Constituents in his own seat of Coulsdon, on the edge of Greater London and soon to be shrunk due to boundary changes, had openly taunted him about it even though like so many PMs before him he rarely had time to visit his constituency. Labour had not fared better under the uninspiring and obsequious leadership of Ramsay Braine, MP for Balham & Tooting, who had tried to be as moderate as possible, unlike his predecessor Julian Raven, now banished to the backbenches. The Liberal Democrats had lost their impetus after it became clear Britain was not going to be rejoining the EU anytime soon, and they were struggling to stay relevant. Paul Winstanley knew that his career was on the line, even though his seat of Kingston-upon-Thames looked safe. Furthermore they had lost sight of their old values of liberalism and had morphed into a second-rate version of the German Free Democratic Party (FDP). As for UKIP and successor groups, they had lost all meaning.
Step in the Green Party....
Alan Howard, unlike most leaders of a political party in the UK, was not especially privileged in the accepted sense. He had been state educated and had been educated at Keele and Brunel universities. He was however committed to ensuring that Britain would have a green and pleasant land again, to the extent that it was possible, as spoken of by William Blake. He had first stood in South Hertfordshire, aged just 24, albeit polling only 1930 votes.
2024 was not a good year to be British. Not by any means. Britain had only narrowly avoided coming last in the Eurovision Song Contest that year, although it had not done well since it left the European Union in 2020. As for Euro 2024, it had not even qualified, missing out on the top spot to Hungary and then losing a play-off match with Italy. Since leaving the Single Market and having been left with subpar trade deals, Britain had been on a huge downturn, exacerbated by the long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Great Britain was anything but great, and this could be reflected in its politics.
The current Conservative PM, Peter Jenkinson, had not had a good time since the pandemic ended in 2021, being mired in corruption scandals involving his Cabinet, Brexit malaise, and bisexual affairs. Constituents in his own seat of Coulsdon, on the edge of Greater London and soon to be shrunk due to boundary changes, had openly taunted him about it even though like so many PMs before him he rarely had time to visit his constituency. Labour had not fared better under the uninspiring and obsequious leadership of Ramsay Braine, MP for Balham & Tooting, who had tried to be as moderate as possible, unlike his predecessor Julian Raven, now banished to the backbenches. The Liberal Democrats had lost their impetus after it became clear Britain was not going to be rejoining the EU anytime soon, and they were struggling to stay relevant. Paul Winstanley knew that his career was on the line, even though his seat of Kingston-upon-Thames looked safe. Furthermore they had lost sight of their old values of liberalism and had morphed into a second-rate version of the German Free Democratic Party (FDP). As for UKIP and successor groups, they had lost all meaning.
Step in the Green Party....
Alan Howard, unlike most leaders of a political party in the UK, was not especially privileged in the accepted sense. He had been state educated and had been educated at Keele and Brunel universities. He was however committed to ensuring that Britain would have a green and pleasant land again, to the extent that it was possible, as spoken of by William Blake. He had first stood in South Hertfordshire, aged just 24, albeit polling only 1930 votes.