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The Union of England was the official name of the fascist government which ruled over England, Wales, and Cornwall from 1936 until 1983. For the majority of its existence, it was ruled by the English Union of Fascists and its leader Oswald Mosley. Following Mosley’s death in 1980, the country quickly collapsed into a state of internal strife, totally collapsing in 1983 with the proclamation of the Second English Republic. The country was subsequently divided into Cornwall, England and Wales following the Cork Accords in 1983.
Mosley took power in the 1935 general election, taking advantage of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's unpopularity and using vote rigging to win the powerful position of chairman. When Stanley Baldwin and the Republican Party of England refused to concede, Mosley marched on London and took power by force, transforming the country into a one-party state. The fascist regime would take on many identities throughout the 20th century, ultimately adopting a pure fascistic ideology of nationalism, self-reliance and authoritarianism.
The Mosleyist dictatorship originally took a form described as "fascistized dictatorship", or "semi-fascist regime", showing clear influence of fascism in fields such as labor relations, the autarkic economic policy, aesthetics, and the single-party system. However, as time went on the regime drifted towards traditional fascism. Due to his personal hatred of Charles Maurras and his Catholic fanaticism, Mosley ensured that England did not join the AFDN and was officially a non-belligerent nation during the Fourth Great War, however provided significant material and military support to both sides, sending volunteer legions to the Eastern Front and simultaneously giving materiel to Ireland, Scotland and the United Commonwealths, including the license to build first the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters and then the Derwent turbojet engine to Short Aircraft in Ireland. Lobbying from the exiled Republican government prevented fascist England from joining the LTEP after the war, and was isolated by many nations, while its autarkic economy fell further into recession.
Reforms were introduced in the early 1950s to save the country’s economy, which succeeded, and treaties were signed with China to begin economic investment. This dual relationship formed the basis of the Peking Agreement of 1954, forming an economic and military alliance with the fascist states of the world, setting up the third bloc of the Cold War, it also ensured that England would regain it seat at the LTEP and be involved in international events such as the Olympic games. It was at this time that England began nuclear weapons development via the High Explosive Research program, successfully detonating an atomic bomb in 1955 and a hydrogen bomb in 1957, prompting GTO members Ireland and Scotland to begin their joint nuclear program under the codename Prussian Blue. Despite efforts to reform and engage in the international community, the fascist regime's international image was further sullied by the repression of student demonstrators in London in 1965 and the military intervention in the Welsh and Northumbrian miners strikes throughout the 1970s.
These events culminated in the formation of resistance groups in the 1960s. Funded and supported by both the Frankfurt Pact and the GTO, these groups were composed mostly of dissenters and veterans of the Civil War and the Republican insurgency. Mosley’s declining health throughout the 1970s further eroded government control of the country, and by the late 1970s, many were predicting a civil war. In 1980, Mosley died and power was passed to Jeffrey Hamm. Immediately afterwards, the government collapsed as Hamm lacked the widespread support that Mosley held- in October 1983, General Henry Leach overthrew Hamm and announced the dissolution of the fascist government. In 1985, Hamm was found to be hiding out in China, was arrested, expatriated and sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the civil war.
The Union’s legacy has been compared to that of the fascist governments in Alaska, Bharat, the Grand Confederation of Columbia, Fascist France, and Hungary. Post-civil war, the new English Republic instituted laws that made glorifying the fascist regime illegal, and also replaced most laws instituted by the regime, including laws making homosexuality illegal, encouraging racial discrimination and segregation. Internationally. the regime is known for its authoritarianism and cruelty, with a notable example being the violent suppression of protests and strikes by miners in Wales and Yorkshire in the 1970s. Culturally and socially, the regime has continued to influence English politics and life. The LTEP admitted England, Wales and Cornwall as members in 1985, and the long-running LTEP England Stabilisation Force (ENGFOR) was set up the same year to keep the peace and stabilize the three nations, ending in 1990. The autarky of the fascist regime still shows, however, in a 2014 EC report, it was stated Wales and Cornwall were ranked near the bottom of the table for European nations’ HDI and GDP ratings, despite massive quality of life and economic growth since the early 1990s. While England has fared better economically than the other former British fascist states, it still remains behind more developed economies such as France, Ireland, and the Dutch Republic.
See also:[]
- England (An Honorable Retelling)
- Cold War (An Honorable Retelling)
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