Union of Britain

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Revision as of 19:57, 15 October 2007

The British Isles. The Union of Britain is in pink, with Ireland in green.

Union Of Britain is a Socialist state in West Europe. It is located on the larger of the British Isles.

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Politics

The Union of Britain is a "decentralised" state ruled by directly elected regional councils under the jurisdiction of a national "Congress of Trade Unions" (CTU). Major industrial concerns are nationalised and run by their respective Trade Unions with supervision from the Congress, but certain economic freedoms are afforded to local businesses such as pubs, bakeries, groceries, distribution and co-operative farms. Having seen the difficulties apparent in France's attempts at 100% nationalisation and collectivisation, the current British ethos is not one of an entirely state directed economy - instead the CTU prefers to allow low levels of economic freedom backed up by strong workers' rights, welfare support and a democratisation of the workplace in the form of co-operatives (both the Private and Public company are banned as forms of business organisation).

The chairman of the CTU is the nominal head of state, but the government is generally seen by British citizens as a collective entity - decisions are made by voting for a simple majority and all Unions are committed to respecting the majority ruling. Representatives are elected to the CTU by direct elections standing as nominally "independent" candidates, though in practice most coalesce in groups around certain ideals (political parties are banned as formal organisations). There are four major groups in British politics and several minor players as follows (from "Right" to "Left"):

"Monarchists" - A small number of remaining reactionaries who long for the return of the monarchy and the re-institution of the Germanic constitutional system or return of the old British system in it's entirity.

"New Liberals" - A fringe group of anti-revolutionaries who advocate a return to Parliamentary government and capitalist economics, albeit with a strong place for the mixed economy and welfare state - they may or may not advocate the return of Monarchy, but largely stick to a constitutional route of achieving their goals.

"New Charists" - a small group of religiously motivated socialists who hark back to the days of Chartism, and advocate a form of Parliamentary government organised on a constituency basis, and are firmly committed to pacifism. They have very limited support.

"Radical-Liberals" - Once the fringe of the Liberal party, Radicalism was given much currency during the British revolution as the democratic and moderate face of the new order. Radical-Liberals ar ea diverse group, who generally believe in expanding the power of elected institutions outside the control of Trade Unions and allowing a greater level of economic freedom. Some view the Radical-Liberals with suspicion for their economic policies, believed by some as a potential "backdoor to Capitalism". The party is also at the forefront of the Women's movement. The heads of the Radical-Liberal movement are Niclas y Glais and Annie Kenney.

"Democratic Socialists" - During the revolution Labour Party movement was hit by a crisis - they had always advocated a constitutional route to socialism, but with direct action taking place around them they could clearly hold to this ideal no longer. The Democratic Socialists were responsible for the compromise of 1926 which saw the establishment of Council-government being outside the control of Trade Unions, and as such represent the status-quo opinion. On matters of foreign policy they advocate friendship towards other revolutionary states, but not neccessarily anything more. The Democratic Socialist movement is headed by Philip Snowden and Arthur Horner.

"Guild Socialists" - Emerging as a powerful force during the war and the subsequent termoil, Guild Socialism emerged as a half-way house between full Syndicalism and Democratic Socialism, and are largely responsible for the emergence of the decentralised co-operative as the main way of economic organisation. They believe in giving more power to Trade Unions at the expense of local councils, but are not in favour of strengthening the CTU at the expense of regionalism, and are still firmly committed to the principals of isolationsism and pacifism. The main advocate of this position is G.D.H. Cole.

"State Socialists" - Often labelled "Authoritarian" by their rivals, the State Socialists believe that the CTU should be given expanded power and control over both government and economic concerns, advocating the nationalisation and collectivisation of all business concerns in Britain. State socialists take much of their ideals from the Menshiviks in Georgia and admire the Russian revolutionary martyrs such as Trotsky and Bukharin - a hardline few go so far as to support what is widely considered un-democratic doctrine such as Leninism. State Socialists are opposed to decentralisation and advocate a strong central government to direct the construction of socialism. The foremost State Socialist is Oswald Mosley.

"Syndicalists" - on the Left of mainstream British politics, they follow the ideals of British syndicalist Tom Mann and advocate giving more power to the local Trade Unions at the expense of Council-based governments. In the international arena they are also the most outspoken, pushing for alliance treaties with France and an interventionist shift towards helping worker's movements across the globe. They tend to be at loggerheads with the State Socialists, as they represent opposite ends of the "Authoritarian-Libertarian" political axis. The Syndicalist movement is lead by Tom Mann.

"Anarchists" - a fringe group tied in part to all the strands of British socialism except the State kind. They believe firmly in decentralisation and de-regulation, believing that people's principal right is that of self-determination. They support to some extent economic liberalisation at the local level, and object to any increase of intrusion into people's lives.

History

After the defeat of France the United Kingdom’s war with Germany dragged on inconclusively for two years. In 1921 the stalemate was finally broken when Lloyd-George agreed to General Ludendorf's proposal for a "Peace with Honour". Under the terms of this treaty it was agreed that Britain would acknowledge Germany's gains from the war, whilst Germany would respect the Imperial possessions of the remaining Entente powers of Britain, Japan and Portugal. However, while Britain's overseas territories remained largely ordered and intact, the faith and support of the people in the Home Islands did not. In 1925, disaster struck: a minor labour dispute in the coalfields of South Wales quickly escalated after troops were sent in to restore order. Following the French example a General Strike was called by the TUC, and when the ‘government of national security’ sent orders for military action to quell the unrest many troops deserted to the side of the strikers, which was accompanied by a major naval mutiny. After six weeks of rioting, looting and pamphleteering on a massive scale the Royal Family were evacuated to Canada, followed by most of the country's leading politicians and large property owners. Following the ejection of the ‘Establishment’ a provisional government of revolutionary groups dissolved both Houses of Parliament, and declared that political authority in the new ‘Union of Britain’ would pass to a new Congress of Trade Unions. The British people are currently secure on their island, content to build socialism in political and economic isolation, protected by the strong Republican Air Force and Navy, and with each county protected by its own popular militia who act both as a reserve military and the new police constabularies.

Following the revolution, 1926 saw the formative Congresses of Socialist Britain, with advocates of various positions coming together to hammer out the framework of the new state. What resulted was a compromise between the factions that enshrined the principals of decentralisation, co-operativism and isolationism. This resulted in the establishment of locally elected councils as the main organ of government (supervised by the national direction of the CTU), a dominant public sector, and a diplomatic stance that emphasised self-defence and national self-reliance above all else.