WI: Prime Minister Rosebery after 1906 General Election

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Thomas195
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WI: Prime Minister Rosebery after 1906 General Election

#1

Post by Thomas195 » 19 Feb 2017, 09:33

Assume that Lord Rosebery prevailed over the power struggle inside the Liberal Party with Harcourt and Campbell Bannerman and became their leader. Then, during the 1906 election, by championing free trade and National Efficiency, he still won a landslide victory and become PM again.

Would Britain fare better or worse, or still the same as IOTL with a Rosebery government?

Thomas195
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Posts: 22
Joined: 26 Sep 2016, 17:53
Location: N/A

Re: WI: Prime Minister Rosebery after 1906 General Election

#2

Post by Thomas195 » 20 Feb 2017, 19:40

In my opinion, I think it depends.
Scenario 1: he hold full power, unlike Campbell Bannerman IOTL.
If he was able to put a finger on British foreign and military policies, I think he would be very likely to mess up everything and piss off all European powers like in 1895.

Scenario 2: Grey take control of foreign policy and Haldane for military policies.
Well, things could actually be better. Rosebery supported social reforms, especially technical education reforms, for the sake of National Efficiency, like Haldane. There would be more Imperial Colleges to be founded than IOTL. Besides, there might be more state funding for housing and sanitation.

His government might be more willing to take action to improve industrial efficiency. For example, IOTL, in 1904, John Brunner demanded HCB to provide state support to improve transport and communication for businesses but the latter was not willing to do so. But under Rosebery, things might differ.


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