United Kingdom

The **United Kingdom,** officially the **United Kingdom of Great Britain** is an island nation located in Northern Europe. It is currently a consitutional monarchy under Elizabeth II while the Prime Minister being David Owen. It is often called the last bastian of democracy in Europe. The country is also a member of the British Isles Protection Union, a defense pact with Ireland and Ulster.

## History

### Labour Government (1945 - 1951)

The British government from 1945 to 1951 was led by Prime Miniser Clement Attlee who have won the election in a landslide against British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Clement Attlee have introduced many popular reforms including the NHS and began nationalisation of various industries in an attempt to move the British economy into a mixed economy.

#### 1950 General Election

The 1950 British general election on 23 February 1950 saw Clement Attlee holding on to his seat as Prime Minister. However, the Labour Party have lost many seats to the Conservatives, led by Winston Churchill, who opposed Attlee's decision to continue rationing food as the World War ended 5 years ago. Labour won the election by a small margin forcing him to call an election just a year later.

#### 1951 General Election

The 1951 general election was held on 23 February 1951, just a few months after the previous election where Labour remained as the governing party but with a slim majority. Labour hoped to win more seats campaigning for similar promises as the 1950 election. However, many of it's members are old and several members of cabinet were lost due to their old age. Conservative meanwhile, though still led by Churchill, is much more younger. The lost of the old guards in Labour have led to divisions within the party resulting in Labour unable to win future elections for thirteen years. In the end, Conservative Winston Churchill won the election.

### Conservative Government (1951 - 1964)

The Conservative Party have managed to win every election from 1951 up until 1964 when they lost to Labour candidate, Harold Wilson. From 1951 to 1955, Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister. Followed by Athony Eden from 1955 to 1957, Harold MacMillan from 1957 to 1963 and Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1964.

#### Death of King George VI (1952)

King George VI of the United Kingdom died on 6 February 1952 after suffering from multiple illnesses including lung cancer, arteriosclerosis and Buerger's disease since 1945 and finally coronary thrombosis while he was at Sandringham House in his final days. After his death was found by the estate's valet, the news spread to the new Queen Elizabeth II who was in Kenya, part of her Commonwealth tour. The new Queen left immediately back to England. King George's funeral was held 9 days later and barried at the St. George Chapel at WIndsor Castle. The new Queen, Elizabeth II had little time for mourning as his carnation was held on 2 June 1952.

#### 1953 Iranian coup d'etat (1953)

On 19 August 1953, the United States and United Kingdom launched a coup against the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh to solidify the monarchial control of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1951, Mosaddegh sought to audit the documents of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, a British petroleum company, to limit the company's control over Iranian oil reserves. The AIOC refused to co-operate resulting in the Iranian Parliament nationalising the Iranian oil industry and the expulsion of foreign company representative from the country. The British began an International boycott of Iranian oil in order to economically pressure Iran into giving in to the British. The British then mobilised troops and occupied the British built Abadan Oil Refinery. Prime Minister Attlee opted to leave Abadan but tightened the international boycott and used Iranian agents to undermine Mosaddegh's government. The newly elected Winston Churchill and US President Eisenhower have decided to launch a CIA/MI6 coup and oust the government of Mosaddegh.

#### Suez Crisis (1956)

Following the end of the Second World War, two old allies, Britain and France, prevailed against their German enemy but destroyed much of their economy. However, the two still wanted to maintain their empire initially at the end of the war.

In 1955, Gamal Abdel Nasser rose to power to become the leader of the newly independent nation of Egypt. He sought to remove British influence in the country and nationalise the Suez Canal, a vital canal between the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and cut travel time by sea between Europe and Asia by a lot. However, Britain wanted to retain it's control over the Suez Canal.

In 1956, the Arab-Israeli War was ongoing. France and Britain called for a ceasefire between Israel and Egypt but both rejected the proposal. Britain and France subsequently invaded the Suez Canal Zone and blockade the canal while Israel swiftly took over Sinai Peninsula. This led to international backlash with both the Soviet Union and the United States to back down from Egypt. President Eisenhower threatened to end the badly needed economic aid to Britain and they pulled out of Egypt and this was followed by France. The Suez Crisis ended with Britain and France losing it's global influence as empires beginning the decolonisation of their colonies across the globe and British Prime Minister, Athony Eden's resignation in 1957.

#### Malayan Emergency (1948 - 1960)

The Malayan Emergency began when an attack three Europeans in a plantation raid in June 1948 was carried. Those responsible retreated to the Malayan jungles where Chin Peng formed the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), the military wing of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), led by Chin Peng which intended to overthrow the colonial government. The rebels established jungle bases where they were able to launch attacks on tin mine and rubber plantation in an attempt to make colonial rule too expensive to maintain and they wish to replicate the communist revolution in China. They found little success and when the Federation of Malaya was granted independence in 1957, the main goal was already acheived and the MNLA quickly lost control over their territory. Three year after Malaya's independence, Malaya Emergency ended with amnesty having been granted and most communists left the country. The MNLA leader, Chin Peng, have fled to China but would return to reignite the MNLA revolution again later in 1967.

### Labour Government (1964 - 1970)

From 1964 to 1989, the British government was headed by Prime Minister Harold Wilson

### Conservative Government (1970 - 1979)

From 1970 to 1989, the British government was headed by Prime Minister Edward Health

### Labour Government (1979 -1989)

From 1979 to 1989, the British government was headed by Prime Minister James Callagham

#### Christmas Day Agreement (1984)

On 25 December 1984, the governments of Ireland and Great Britain managed to reached a deal known as the Christmas Day Agreement on solving the Northern Ireland conflict after 4 years of negotiations. The British government agreed to establish joint soverignty over Northern Ireland, a potential solution for the Troubles according to the New Ireland Forum, and established the State of Ulster. The decision was controversial and opposed by the Conservative and Unionist parties in the government though the Unionists eventually agreed to it. Callagham and the Labour Party faced widespread criticism over the decision eventually causing Labour's defeat in the 1989 election.

### Conservative Government (1989 - 1991)

From 1989 to 1991, the British government was headed by Prime Minister Micheal Heseltine and it only lasted seventeen months. He was tasked with solving the economic crisis from the previous Labour government. However, the Conservative Party was only able to in a slim majority of five seats. They soon lost more due to two defections, and losing a seat in a by-election. Heseltine decided to call for a snap election in 1991 hoping that it would allow the Conservative to win more seats and start his economic reforms.

#### 1991 election

The 1991 snap election was held on 19 September 1991, only seventeen months after the previous election in 1989. The Conservative wished to win more seats in order to begin Prime Minister Heseltine's economic plans. The Conservative focused their campaign on economic recovery, rebranding the economic recovery package promised in the 1989 election. The Labour Party was led by Tony Benn and campaigned on a radical programme of nationalising vital sectors of the economy. The programme was criticised as "Bolshevik" resulting in defection from the Labour Party, many of whom joined the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Democratic Party. The Social Democrats presented themselves as the heir of the Keynesian legacy of both the Labour and Liberal Party wanting lower taxation and increase social spending to recover from the crisis. Despite the effort of all three parties, no party managed to gain a majority but the Social Democrats won a clear plurality in the election and formed a coalition with the Conservative.

### Social Democratic Government (1991 - )

Since the 1991 election, the British government was headed by Prime Minister David Owen and the Social Democratic Party, dominating British politics. The SDP had a coalition with the Conservative from 1991 up till 1993 when David Owen won a clear majority. But in 1998, it was reduced back to a slim majority.

## Politics

### Political Parties

* The Social Democratic Party (Liberal) is the current ruling party of the United Kingdom led by David Owen and have dominated British politics since 1991 winning landslide victories after landslide victories.
* The Labour Party (New Democrats) is a left wing political party which wants nationalisation and demilitarisation of Britain to establish a British Welfare State. It is currently led by Tony Benn.
* The Conservative Party (National Conservative) is a right wing, anti-communist, pro-capitalist party in the UK led by Owen Paterson.
* The Liberal Democratic Party (Centrist) is a center right party formed in 1988 as a fusion of the previous SDP and the Liberal Party. Currently led by Nick Clegg.
* The Independent Labour Party (Moderate Socialist) is a left wing party wanting to remove the monarchy and restructuring the NHS. Currently led by Jeremy Corbyn.
* The British National Party (Nationalist) is a right wing and nationalist political party in the UK led by Nick Griffin.
* The Communist Party of Britain (Communism) is a Marxist-Leninist and pro-Soviet party led by Robert Griffiths but it remains as a fringe party.