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Spring, 1880: 20 year old Scottish coal miner Kier Hardie becomes de facto leader of the Labour Party. His first campaign is lobbying current MP's to introduce and support a bill removing the 15% threshhold needed to win seats in the House of Commons.
Kier Hardie takes over as Labour
Leader and pushes for removal
of the 15% threshhold.
Fall, 1880: With the completion of the Radio technology and the Assembly Line scheduled to be finished within 2 1/12 years and with the treasury back to over 2700 gold and producing 175 gold per quarter the Liberals have surged in the polls to a 60% to 39% lead over the Tories in the polls. The Cabinet decides that it's time for Home Secretary Edward Cardwell to institute his civics reforms bringing the British Empire back from the militaristic state it had become under the Tories.
Cardwell introduces Free Speech in place of Nationhood increasing gold and cultural output while removing the possibility of conscription and brings in Free Religion to replace Theocracy raising scientific development but removing the experience bonus given to new military builds. The measures pass with the 266 Liberals voting Aye and the 235 Tories voting Nay.
Spring, 1881: A diplomatic incident with the French has ruffled some feathers. The Gladstone Government's approval ratings have fallen to 54%. Former Prime Minister and current Tory Party Leader Benjamin Disraeli died this quarter. The season was spent with significant infighting and major discord within the Conservative Party as John Spencer-Churchill and Richard Temple-Grenville manuevered to become the next Party Leader. The Party went through the Spring Session without electing a new leader and former Home Secretary Michael Hicks-Beach - generally considered a non-threatening political non-entity was selected to serve as Interim Party Leader. But the Tories would remain in disarray until this situation was resolved.
At Home Secretary Cardwell's initiative, the cabinet agreed that due to the discord among the Tories, now would be a good time to introduce legislation that would reduce the threshold needed to winning seats in the House of Commons to 6% of the vote from the current 15%. The legislation passed the House 366-135, drawing 100 Tory votes to the Aye's with the disorganization of the Conservatives due to the death of Disraeli.
Home Secretary Edward Cardwell was
re-making the British Empire into a
constitutional, Liberal Democracy.
The timing of the legislation was crucial as due to it being a major constitutional change it need a 2/3 vote (330 votes) in the affirmative. Starting at the next election a party will only need to win 6% of the vote to take its place in the Commons - a big boost to the nascent Labour Party.
Summer, 1881: As the Tories continued to be plagued by a nasty leadership dispute the Liberals continued to take advantage, passing a new constitutional initiative that required a 2/3 vote to change any civics. the 266 Liberal MP's were joined by 117 Tories to pass the legislation 383 to 118. Home Secretary Cardwell and Prime Minister Gladstone were re-making Britain in a Liberal Democratic, constitutional image.
Winter, 1882: A diplomatic rapproachment between the Empire and Brazil led to a slight boost in the government's popularity. Colonial secretary Harcourt continued the Liberal Government's wealth creation policies by starting to build a customs house in Cape Town.
The Tories finally elected a leader but remained bitterly divided. John Spencer-Churchill, hero of the Boer War and former Chancellor of the Exchequer won the narrowest of victories in caucus with a 118-117 over Richard Temple-Grenville.
John Spencer-Churchill was elected
leader of a divided Conservative Party.
Temple-Grenville did not lose gracefully and how Spencer-Churchill was going to re-unite the Tories was a major question as pundits began to speculate when Gladstone would ask the Queen to drop the writ and what impact the working class left vote might have with the lowered threshold.
Spring, 1882: With Plymouth celebrating a "We Love The Prime Minister Day" things were looking up for the Gladstone Government which was a 58% to 41% lead over the disorganized Tories in the polls. If the current political climate continues pundits expect the Prime Minister to call a General Election for the Fall of 1882 or Winter of 1883.
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