United Kingdom (In Frederick's Fields)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain is a nation located in Western Europe, especially the isle of Great Britain and smaller islands around it, including Angelsey, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight and the Orkney, Shetland and Hebrides islands. The United Kingdom is an archipelago-nation, not bordering any other state.

Politically, the UK (as it is often abbreviated) is a federal parliamentary monarchy, composed of four main government bodies; the central Parliament itself, housed in London, as well as parliaments for the three devolved regions of England (in Oxford), Scotland (in Edinburgh) and Wales (in Cardiff), which are less powerful and subservient to the central government. The head of parliamentary power is the Prime Minister, whose powers devolve from the King or Queen (currently Victoria II), who officially obtains her powers from "God and the Will of the People of Britain and her Empire".

Great Britain is a member of the, a federal body that officially acts as a united nations in several terms of policy with other extremely autonomous states such as , , and the. However, the Federation grants ample devolved powers to its members, which are so autonomous that they can often do external treaties. As the head of the Federation, Britain is often granted powers even wider than those of the majority of the nations.

The capital of Britain is London, one of the largest cities in the world with nearly 15 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area (and even more by some estimates, as some nations consider the whole of England, spanning some 57 million inhabitants, as mostly a single megalopolis).

History
for history before the 1880s, see 

The Shine and Dusk of the Gladstonian Era
The Liberal Party of the United Kingdom achieved a victory against the conservatives in the 1880 General Election, gaining 110 seats to lead a comfortable majority of 25 seats over the 327 threshold. The Liberal Party's senior leaders, including Lord Hartington, the leader in the House of Commons, resigned their office in favour of, who would return for a new presidency. While Gladstone thought of resigning in the 50th anniversary of his entrance into politics in 1882, he decided against the idea, and continued to hold the parliamentary majority until he was voted out of office in 1886.

The deposing of a pro-Western khedive in Egypt led to Gladstone's involvement in the Scramble for Africa. He authorised a bombardment of Alexandria, where anti-Christian riots had occurred previously, in 1882, leading to the invasion of the Khedivate, as it was perceived as a threat to British interest in Egypt.

Gladstone also mildly relaxed certain legislation against Irish landowners; he granted them fair taxing and other rights in 1883, and expanded franchise throughout the United Kingdom in the 1884 act. However, much of these large expansions, which proved the greatest legacy of Gladstone, were eventually outshadowed by the dawn of the Mahdist War in Sudan, where several colonial generals were besieged and murdered. While Gladstone was still held in high esteem by many, he was forced to call a general election in 1885, which resulted in a positive but reduced Liberal majority of 13, and eventually once again in 1886, which led to the rise of Lord Salisbury as the Prime Minister of the 1890s.

Salisbury was himself a reactionary, famously having once said "Whatever happens will be for the worse, and therefore it is on our interest that as little should happen as possible". However, Salisbury spoke out on behalf of the poor, stating laissez-faire should be enforced on both sides of the table and that the poor conditions of the working class resulted in low productivity and loyalty to the State, and should thus be improved. He rose to full power after achieving a coallition with a large part of the Liberals, which opposed Irish Home Rule. He was involved in several scandals, including his bad portraying by the press, which called him "deep in the confines of State Socialism", and the fact that he complained about a black man having ran for constituency in Britain, claiming only those who had been born in Britain could ever represent it. However, his government was remarkably successful. In the foreign office, he hugely increased military spending, especially for the Navy; and was approached by Emperor Frederick of Germany, which allowed for closer relations between the two nations. He decided to "kill Home Rule with kindness", helping develop the conditions of the Irish populace and having it grow as quickly as that of Britain, which had not been achieved since the Great Famine; allowing for thousands of Irish farmers to own land; relaxing restriction on the Irish language; and all in all improving the rights of the Irish. This led to an increase in popularity of Unionists in Ireland, however, it broke apart his coallition with the Liberals and deeply divided the Conservative opinion. He was forced out of power a full nine years after he seized it for the first time, in 1895.

While Gladstonian Liberalism was now on its death throes after Salisbury's comprehensive reforms, Gladstone once again rose to power in 1895, leading an extremely divided Parliament whence all four parties were split into two main camps; the Liberals were split into the Gladstonian and Imperial factions, which would eventually morph into the Gladstonian and Keynesian Parties; the Conservatives were divided between Salisburytes and New Tories, in regards to protectionism and Irish Home Rule. This prevented much legislation from occurring in this age, but Gladstone was able to join the two factions of Liberalism and some moderate Salisburytes in passing the Irish Home Rule Act of 1896, which was vetoed by the House of Lords. This led to the falling apart of both Gladstone's government and his health. While he hanged on to the Prime Ministership, almost no new legislation was passed in his period. He died in 1898, considered by many to be Britain's best ever Prime Minister.

The New Century
The Liberals struggled for leadership after his death, hoping to maintain parliamentary permanence. However, they decided to maintain united and elect a joint ruler, fearing Conservative resurgence under Lord Salisbury now that the strongest Liberal figure was dead. They chose Archibald Primrose, due almost entirely because of implicit support by HH Asquith and the dislike of Queen Victoria for most other Liberal figures. Aided by division within the Tories and mild parliamentary moderation, he passed through several legislations, including expanding the Navy to an even larger level; continuing the "kill Home Rule with kindness" ideals of the Salisburytes; continuing British interest in the Scramble for Africa, especially regarding Marchand's in 1897-1898, the Katanga Incident which severely desprestiged Belgium, as well as the German-organised Tangiers Crisis in 1901 also characterised the Primrose ministry. Primrose's downfall also came from Africa, in regards to the infamous with Portugal, in which a large area of Southern Africa composed of today's territories of Matêbia, Pintonia and parts of Moçambique. This granting away of territory some factions of the British Parliament considered theirs costed them much of their support, especially one of their foremost private funders, Cecil Rhodes and his diamond corporation. Public support also turned against Peel once news of the awful treatment of Boers in the War in South Africa reached public ears. This led to the calling of the 1901 "Khakhi Election" or "Centennial election", in which the Conservatives resulted victorious.

However, the Conservatives were in no shape to seize power just yet. Salisbury had resigned not two weeks before the election because of ill health, and a leadership struggle was occurring. As a measure to achieve a temporary solution in order to take power after the election, the Conservatives elected Arthur Balfour as an interim ruler. Balfour, however remained Prime Minister for four years before losing the election. He was mostly considered a weak and divisive personality, and his government did little outside of motions already put in advance. He did sign the Treaty of with the German Empire in 1903, which granted much of Namaqualand to the British in exchange for Walvis Bay; he terminated the  of the two Boer colonies to the Cape Colony in 1904, although he allowed autonomy to the states of  and  in the centre of the nation; he also finalised the annexation of much of East Africa, and the development of the Uganda-Jewish Programme. However, his government was defeated when it agreed to sell Heligoland back to the Germans, which was seen as a less-than-wise strategic move. However, as the two nations were allied as the two, no major uproar against the Germans was caused; it was more of a constant decline in prestige that resulted in the collapse of the Conservative government.

The Great Budgets
The Liberals returned to power in 1905, with a majority of 65 seats in Parliament. Balfour's government received a sound beating in polls, with Balfour himself losing his seat in Parliament. This allowed a fresh Liberal government led by Imperial politician to establish dominance over Parliament. Asquith, holding the unquestioned majority over Parliament, authorised several "people's budgets", which expressed the wish to redistribute the wealth from the nation's rich to its poor. Introduced by and, the budgets increased taxes on the wealthy, in order to spend to several policies attempted at the poor.

While the 1906 People's Budget and the Eight Hours Act and Workman Conpensations Act were passed by the House of Lords, they opposed steep resistance to the 1907 People's Budget. This triggered a constitutional crisis between the House of Commons (spearheaded by members of the Liberal Party and the Labour Representation Social Democratic League) and the Conservative House of Lords. This crisis was characterised by vicious struggle of classes; this depressed the contemporary King,, so much that he allegedly presented his son as "the last King of England". Eventually, the problems reached such level that Edward VII threatened the House of Lords with flooding its composition with members in favour of Asquith's agenda. At their resistance, he proceeded to do so, creating 100 new Lords with Liberal sympathies, which voted in favour of the People's Budget. Increased pressure by the House of Commons led to the pass of the Parliament Act 1908, which heavily restricted the power of the Lords to stop legislature. This was the last time in British History in which the House of Lords proved to be an effective counterweight to democratic power.

Asquith continued to rule throughout 1908 and 1909, passing two further People's Budgets, before opposition turned against him as well. The left of the party thought his rulership had not been strong enough, as much of his legislature was actually introduced by David Lloyd George; as a Welshman and a son of the middle-class, he seemed a more attractive target for the liberalising reforms they seeked to be identified with. Furthermore, Lloyd George was more charismatic than Asquith, and seemed to have increased support by the Social Democrats, rapidly growing in Parliament; all of this resulted in a successful Leadership Struggle against Asquith, and the resurgence of Lloyd George as PM. The majority of Liberals in the House of Commons, which had shrunk in an election in 1909, grew after Lloyd George seized the power, and the 1912 elections led to a very large Liberal majority.

Lloyd George's first term, between 1911 and 1915, was far more similar to that of Asquith than that of the Unity Government. Lloyd George, however, did extremely important and revolutionary notions in terms of Empire. He finally granted Irish Home Rule for the first time in 1911, keeping three counties around the city of Belfast (which would later be granted to Ireland) whilst giving the remnant to the Kingdom of Ireland, granted dominionship. The declaration of the Kingdom of Ireland was the first to bring up the notion of Imperial Federation as a serious ideal; indeed, while it was only enacted under the subsequent government of Bonar Law, Lloyd George established much of the framework for this. Furthermore, Lloyd George continued with many changes to legislature. He promised woman's suffrage in the next election to all women aged over 35, and expanded the suffrage through the Peoples Representation Act 1914 to all males over 21. He also expanded social reform and economic redistribution. However, all of this was interrupted with the end of the, and the start of the.

The Great War
The Great War was a decisive moment in British history. Causing millions of casualties in five-year conflict between the two nations, it shaped British culture for decades to come. The British government was the leader, in opposition to ideas of much of the German one, in decisions of the opening of war theatres such as the, and , as well as helping German incursions into France proper, such as the  and the. The war was expected to be a short conflict, with white peace resulting after Christmas, or, otherwise, a swift crushing of French troops by the joint British and German war machines; however, the encirclement throughout the south of Germany, the loss of Gibraltar in 1916 and the incredible resistance of French troops to invasion led to a five-year struggle that killed millions of the British youth.

The war closened relations with Germany and Russia, and eventually led to the dominance of seas by the British, after the destruction of the French and German navies in several naval battles throughout the world. The war eventually ended with the which deposed the Boulangist régime. The is generally considered the start of the modern world, forgiving France of most war reparations and no territorial concessions outside of Africa. The only true enforcement was the obligation by the British to place the duc d'Orléans, Philippe, as. It also outlined the begin of the, which led to the beginning of European integration, as well as the end of pan-European wars.

The "post-war feeling" led to the huge majority of the Liberals in the 1920 election, which was agreed upon by all major parties (Liberals of both sides of the spectrum, Conservatives and the Social Democratic League) that would only last two years until reconstruction finished. This majority in theory would allow Lloyd George to continue his development of social justice. However, much of the term was spent in avoiding what seemed to be unavoidable economic recession. In the war, although the United States had stayed out of fighting, they had lent billions of dollars to most fighting parties, in both sides. This led to huge debt that was meant to be paid by the European Community to the United States at the latest in 1924 in their terms. This move was deeply unpopular in the United Kingdom, and Lloyd George hoped to put it off the longest time possible. However, public demand proved to be his undoing. He was forced to resign by members of his own party before the election in 1922, and the party was irrevocably split by this decision. With Asquithian and Lloydian Liberals competing against Gladstonians, the Liberals dropped to third-party status in the election, not to recover until 1930. The government was taken over by the Conservatives, led by Andrew Bonar Law.

The Birth of the Imperial Federation
Andew Bonar Law brought a very pan-Imperial approach to foreign relations in the British Empire. After all, he was the one who finally passed the Imperial Parliament Act of 1923 and the Executive Act of 1923, which decreed the bases for the Imperial Federation. He also approved the Statute of Westminster, which made the dominions of Canada, Autralia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, the Union of South Africa and the Kingdom of Ireland equal in statute to the United Kingdom, and only subservient to the Imperial Parliament, which granted them very broad autonomy. This was the birth of the, as well as other less bound organisations such as the and the.

Bonar Law also was responsible for the collapse of the American Economy in 1924, as he refused to pay the European Community's debts in the terms outlined by the United States president James E Cox in negotiations in Toronto in the year. When he demanded the immediate restitution of debts, Bonar Law famously said,

""Your predecessor secured a loan of billions to my predecessor on nothing but his good word. Now you can accept repayment on our terms, back by my good word, or your advisors can explain what it would cost you when the largest empire in the world goes bankrupt.""

When Cox refused to negotiate on the expansion of the repayment of the debt, Britain declared official default towards the American economy, sending the American stock market into a nosedive. This led to the start of worldwide economic recession, but it hit hardest of all places the United States, where employment rose to nearly 45%. Eventually, this would lead to the collapse of the American government, and the and the rise of President De Leon to power.

With growth of international co-operation between Britain and both the colonies in the Imperial Federation and Europe because of trade improvements thanks to both the Imperial Federation and the Concert of Europe, Bonar Law's fall began. With his opposition to increased tariffs with international communities after the fall of industrial output of America and the start of a world recession. This prevented much of the fall of the economy in the United Kingdom that characterised the 1924-1929 period in much of the Western Hemisphere (and the globally recognised Period of International Recession and Depression between 1924 and 1932). However, this led to a "backbencher backstab" as some Tory backbenchers refused to vote in favour of the 1925 Budget, and launched a vote of no-confidence against him. While it failed because of Liberal, moderate Conservative and (split) Social Democratic support, it spelled the end of his government. With ailing health, he resigned from his Prime ministerial position (but not his parliamentary constitutency of Glasgow Central) in favour of Stanley Baldwin.

Baldwinian Boom and Bust
Stanley Baldwin rose to power supported as a moderate ruler to the right of Bonar Law by all the shapes of the Conservatives, who had a parliamentary majority after election in 1926. With the International Depression abating everywhere outside Europe, Baldwin agreed to rightist pressure and increased some tariffs that were reduced by the Liberal-supported Government of Bonar Law the year before. However, Baldwin's premiership, although a relatively rightist one, was marked by an extremely important event supported across the table (with the exception of only fifteen MPs from the Conservatives); the granting of universal suffrage to all females over 21, making age differences in voting requirements between the two sexes irrelevant.

Baldwin established several policies supporting internal British productivity, and helped for much of the economic growth representing this age. Industrial output grew rapidly throughout the Baldwin premiership, both because of emigrating Americans and inside industrial output. Not everyone went wealthier, but in generally it was a good time for the British economy.

The Baldwinian era, however, eventually began to fall apart after the Liberals finally banded together with the Social Democratic Labour Representation Party to field in a new candidate. 1928 saw International Depression return universally across the world, and Britain was hit quite harshly to this. Unemployment soared to 19% in 1928 and 21% in 1929, and some of the ground gained during Baldwin's premiership was once again lost in this period. As unemployment rose quickly and the government did little to bail out the population, the electorate soon began to be alienated by traditional economic schools. They turned to the daring new Prime Minister proposed by a united Left, John Maynard Keynes.