AH challenge: 1922 British election results

[bobbis14]

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it; is to create a result that looks something like below:

Total seats = 615

Conservative: 291 (Stanley Balwin)
Liberals: 165 (Churchill)
Labour: 97
National Liberal: 48
Independant Conservative: 6
Communist: 5
Others: 3

Conservatives 17 short of a majority

POD must be between 1916-1920

 

[Lord Douglas]

Hrm, it's challenging to have Churchill leading the 'wee free' Liberals rather than belonging to Lloyd George's Coalition or National Liberals. Simply put, I really cannot see Churchill siding with Asquith over Lloyd George and the Tories at the time of Asquith's resignation and later on the Maurice debate. I think the most plausible explaination - and here it's still a bit of a long-shot - is that the Lloyd George Liberals somehow seize control of the Liberal party machinery and therefore become the official Liberals.

 

[bobbis14]

Hrm, it's challenging to have Churchill leading the 'wee free' Liberals rather than belonging to Lloyd George's Coalition or National Liberals. Simply put, I really cannot see Churchill siding with Asquith over Lloyd George and the Tories at the time of Asquith's resignation and later on the Maurice debate. I think the most plausible explaination - and here it's still a bit of a long-shot - is that the Lloyd George Liberals somehow seize control of the Liberal party machinery and therefore become the official Liberals.

Would the official Liberals have any chance of long term success given that the splinter has lost alot of creditibility

 

[Lord Douglas]

TBH I think the best option for the Liberals by the 20s was Lloyd-George's Centre Party idea - a Conservative-Liberal alliance against Socialism. This was Churchill's preferred option as well and he spent much of the rest of his political life seeking it - even in 1951 when the Liberal Party had been reduced to an absolute rump Churchill tried to persuade them to join his government.

Of course then you have a whole host of problems with the Tory right, but it's worth remembering something like this happened in any case - look at the individual Liberal defections to the Conservatives through the 20s and the Liberal Nationals of the 30s.

 

[stevep]

Would the official Liberals have any chance of long term success given that the splinter has lost alot of creditibility

bobbis14

Given the POD could be as early as 1916 the split could be butterflied altogether. Would would significantly help the party staying a major factor.

Steve