What if Malta had joined the United Kingdom

[rivers10]

I recently saw a little Youtube video that brought to light this often overlooked episode in recent British Political History. Having looked into this more it turns out (to my astonishment) that there was a very real possibility that Malta (which was then a British colony) would join the UK proper as the fifth constituent nation. A brief bit of context, Maltese nationalism had taken a bit of a hit (for various reasons) and the people of Malta had in response elected a government on a platform of integration into the UK. Malta later held a referendum in 1956 in which 77% of Maltese citizens voted to integrate with the UK. This was welcomed by the then UK government (primarily for Malta's strategic value as a military base) and talks with the Maltese administration and the British government commenced in earnest. Polling even showed that an overwhelming majority of the British people supported the move. Malta was to have three members of Parliament (probably 5 today) regional autonomy similar to NI but control over foreign policy, defence and the economy would be transferred from the Colonial Office to the relevant Whitehall Departments with the aim of tax and legal equalisation by 1960. 

So what happened? Why don't we live in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Malta? Suez is what happened after which Malta's strategic military value to the British was much diminished and international focus loomed large over British Foreign Policy particularly within the Mediterranean. So the British gov (now led by MacMillan) just sort of lost interest in the idea and the whole thing just fell by the wayside. This in turn led to a resurgence in Nationalist Politics in Malta with them achieving Independence in 1964.

So back to the question of what if? How would British Politics have been effected by throwing Malta into the mix? Would it anchor us closer to Europe and perhaps even swayed the vote in an EU referendum which it would now be able to participate in? Or would the nearby presence of North Africa make Britain a frontline for the refugee crisis (as Malta has already become) and hardened anti immigration attitudes further? How would the Maltese MP's behave and who would even win such seats? Would they have their own parallel political system like in NI with totally different parties to the RUK or would we see a Labour MP for Valletta South East and a Tory MP for Mosta and Paceville?

How would it effect the economy, local government, the holiday choices of British tourists or even our global standing? It seems so much could have changed from the admission of this one small country to the UK that so nearly happened. Or maybe little would change? There is sovereign British territory in the Med already after all (Gibraltar) perhaps the affairs of this tiny island would be of no concern the British people and we just carried on as normal?

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts 

[greenchristian]

I expect that Malta would have had relatively little impact on domestic politics, and would probably have remained as detached from mainstream UK politics as Northern Ireland has been. Should the Brexit referendum have happened, it would almost certainly have been heavily Remain.

[mboy]

Great thread!

Seems to me that Malta would be no more significant than Gibraltar.

[finsobruce]

Jun 19, 2020 16:51:05 GMT rivers10 said:

I recently saw a little Youtube video that brought to light this often overlooked episode in recent British Political History. Having looked into this more it turns out (to my astonishment) that there was a very real possibility that Malta (which was then a British colony) would join the UK proper as the fifth constituent nation. A brief bit of context, Maltese nationalism had taken a bit of a hit (for various reasons) and the people of Malta had in response elected a government on a platform of integration into the UK. Malta later held a referendum in 1956 in which 77% of Maltese citizens voted to integrate with the UK. This was welcomed by the then UK government (primarily for Malta's strategic value as a military base) and talks with the Maltese administration and the British government commenced in earnest. Polling even showed that an overwhelming majority of the British people supported the move. Malta was to have three members of Parliament (probably 5 today) regional autonomy similar to NI but control over foreign policy, defence and the economy would be transferred from the Colonial Office to the relevant Whitehall Departments with the aim of tax and legal equalisation by 1960. 

So what happened? Why don't we live in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Malta? Suez is what happened after which Malta's strategic military value to the British was much diminished and international focus loomed large over British Foreign Policy particularly within the Mediterranean. So the British gov (now led by MacMillan) just sort of lost interest in the idea and the whole thing just fell by the wayside. This in turn led to a resurgence in Nationalist Politics in Malta with them achieving Independence in 1964.

So back to the question of what if? How would British Politics have been effected by throwing Malta into the mix? Would it anchor us closer to Europe and perhaps even swayed the vote in an EU referendum which it would now be able to participate in? Or would the nearby presence of North Africa make Britain a frontline for the refugee crisis (as Malta has already become) and hardened anti immigration attitudes further? How would the Maltese MP's behave and who would even win such seats? Would they have their own parallel political system like in NI with totally different parties to the RUK or would we see a Labour MP for Valletta South East and a Tory MP for Mosta and Paceville?

How would it effect the economy, local government, the holiday choices of British tourists or even our global standing? It seems so much could have changed from the admission of this one small country to the UK that so nearly happened. Or maybe little would change? There is sovereign British territory in the Med already after all (Gibraltar) perhaps the affairs of this tiny island would be of no concern the British people and we just carried on as normal?

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts 

Gerald Strickland, Conservative MP for Lancaster (1924-28) was also Prime Minister of Malta (1927-32). He had been Chief Secretary (1889-1902) before going off to various governorships in the Carribean and Australia.

[🏴‍☠️ Neath West 🏴‍☠️]

Jun 19, 2020 17:15:36 GMT greenchristian said:

I expect that Malta would have had relatively little impact on domestic politics, and would probably have remained as detached from mainstream UK politics as Northern Ireland has been. Should the Brexit referendum have happened, it would almost certainly have been heavily Remain.

It would be Northern Ireland but back-to-front, in that the Maltese Labour Party would be Labour's equivalent of the Ulster Unionists. Maltese separatism was/is principally a right-wing cause – conservative Roman Catholicism, anti-Freemasonry, and opposition to paying taxes to London. The result would at least for a while be that Labour would win, with the right divided between Conservatives/Constitutionalists (like Lord Strickland) and separatists. In the real world, the separatists ended up sidelining the Constitutionalists, and that would be the complete mirror image of the Northern Ireland situation in our alternate universe.

[rivers10]

Jun 19, 2020 17:25:28 GMT finsobruce said:

Jun 19, 2020 16:51:05 GMT rivers10 said:

I recently saw a little Youtube video that brought to light this often overlooked episode in recent British Political History. Having looked into this more it turns out (to my astonishment) that there was a very real possibility that Malta (which was then a British colony) would join the UK proper as the fifth constituent nation. A brief bit of context, Maltese nationalism had taken a bit of a hit (for various reasons) and the people of Malta had in response elected a government on a platform of integration into the UK. Malta later held a referendum in 1956 in which 77% of Maltese citizens voted to integrate with the UK. This was welcomed by the then UK government (primarily for Malta's strategic value as a military base) and talks with the Maltese administration and the British government commenced in earnest. Polling even showed that an overwhelming majority of the British people supported the move. Malta was to have three members of Parliament (probably 5 today) regional autonomy similar to NI but control over foreign policy, defence and the economy would be transferred from the Colonial Office to the relevant Whitehall Departments with the aim of tax and legal equalisation by 1960. 

So what happened? Why don't we live in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Malta? Suez is what happened after which Malta's strategic military value to the British was much diminished and international focus loomed large over British Foreign Policy particularly within the Mediterranean. So the British gov (now led by MacMillan) just sort of lost interest in the idea and the whole thing just fell by the wayside. This in turn led to a resurgence in Nationalist Politics in Malta with them achieving Independence in 1964.

So back to the question of what if? How would British Politics have been effected by throwing Malta into the mix? Would it anchor us closer to Europe and perhaps even swayed the vote in an EU referendum which it would now be able to participate in? Or would the nearby presence of North Africa make Britain a frontline for the refugee crisis (as Malta has already become) and hardened anti immigration attitudes further? How would the Maltese MP's behave and who would even win such seats? Would they have their own parallel political system like in NI with totally different parties to the RUK or would we see a Labour MP for Valletta South East and a Tory MP for Mosta and Paceville?

How would it effect the economy, local government, the holiday choices of British tourists or even our global standing? It seems so much could have changed from the admission of this one small country to the UK that so nearly happened. Or maybe little would change? There is sovereign British territory in the Med already after all (Gibraltar) perhaps the affairs of this tiny island would be of no concern the British people and we just carried on as normal?

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts 

Gerald Strickland, Conservative MP for Lancaster (1924-28) was also Prime Minister of Malta (1927-32). He had been Chief Secretary (1889-1902) before going off to various governorships in the Carribean and Australia.

I'm noticing an overlap there, he was PM of Malta while still a member of the British Parliament? And this was before the advent of large scale commercial flight? Must have been quite the workload...

[mboy]

100 years ago, many MPs rarely visited their constituency.

[rivers10]

Jun 19, 2020 17:15:36 GMT greenchristian said:

I expect that Malta would have had relatively little impact on domestic politics, and would probably have remained as detached from mainstream UK politics as Northern Ireland has been. Should the Brexit referendum have happened, it would almost certainly have been heavily Remain.

See I initially thought that but the more I think about it the more I think perhaps not. Surely the ensuing 50 years or so would have seen Malta become "Britain's sunshine island" (or some other nonsensical PR name) and seen a huge influx of elderly retired British OAP's, largely those who now live in Spain in our timeline. Such a group (unlike their modern counterparts who acknowledge they live in an EU country) would surely be much more alike their mainland equivalents and vote leave en masse, outvoting the locals?

[rivers10]

Jun 19, 2020 17:33:53 GMT 🏴‍☠️ Neath West 🏴‍☠️ said:

Jun 19, 2020 17:15:36 GMT greenchristian said:

I expect that Malta would have had relatively little impact on domestic politics, and would probably have remained as detached from mainstream UK politics as Northern Ireland has been. Should the Brexit referendum have happened, it would almost certainly have been heavily Remain.

It would be Northern Ireland but back-to-front, in that the Maltese Labour Party would be Labour's equivalent of the Ulster Unionists. Maltese separatism was/is principally a right-wing cause – conservative Roman Catholicism, anti-Freemasonry, and opposition to paying taxes to London. The result would at least for a while be that Labour would win, with the right divided between Conservatives/Constitutionalists (like Lord Strickland) and separatists. In the real world, the separatists ended up sidelining the Constitutionalists, and that would be the complete mirror image of the Northern Ireland situation in our alternate universe.

This is a very important point to note, indeed it was a Maltese Labour PM who suggested and held the integration referendum. 

[Deleted]

Jun 19, 2020 17:40:39 GMT rivers10 said:

Jun 19, 2020 17:15:36 GMT greenchristian said:

I expect that Malta would have had relatively little impact on domestic politics, and would probably have remained as detached from mainstream UK politics as Northern Ireland has been. Should the Brexit referendum have happened, it would almost certainly have been heavily Remain.

See I initially thought that but the more I think about it the more I think perhaps not. Surely the ensuing 50 years or so would have seen Malta become "Britain's sunshine island" (or some other nonsensical PR name) and seen a huge influx of elderly retired British OAP's, largely those who now live in Spain in our timeline. Such a group (unlike their modern counterparts who acknowledge they live in an EU country) would surely be much more alike their mainland equivalents and vote leave en masse, outvoting the locals?

Though another way of looking at it is that Malta is effectively a city the size of Edinburgh, has relatively limited space for development, and doesn't actually have that many beaches. It's possible that the kind of mainland British people who would want to move to Malta in this scenario would be quite different from those who currently live on the Costas.

[🏴‍☠️ Neath West 🏴‍☠️]

I suppose the moment where this comes into its own is on 28 March 1979, where Callaghan defeats the motion of no confidence, but infuriates the IMF by promising Malta more subsidies for their pet projects, whatever those may be.

[Merseymike]

Jun 19, 2020 19:42:08 GMT 🏴‍☠️ Neath West 🏴‍☠️ said:

I suppose the moment where this comes into its own is on 28 March 1979, where Callaghan defeats the motion of no confidence, but infuriates the IMF by promising Malta more subsidies for their pet projects, whatever those may be.

How many Maltese seats would there be in the UK Parliament?

[rivers10]

Jun 19, 2020 19:53:20 GMT Merseymike said:

Jun 19, 2020 19:42:08 GMT 🏴‍☠️ Neath West 🏴‍☠️ said:

I suppose the moment where this comes into its own is on 28 March 1979, where Callaghan defeats the motion of no confidence, but infuriates the IMF by promising Malta more subsidies for their pet projects, whatever those may be.

How many Maltese seats would there be in the UK Parliament?

Initially when the integration was due to take place it was agreed Malta would have three MP's, with todays population it would have five, so assuming pretty even population growth etc then circa 1979 it would possibly have four? 

[rivers10]

Jun 19, 2020 19:42:08 GMT 🏴‍☠️ Neath West 🏴‍☠️ said:

I suppose the moment where this comes into its own is on 28 March 1979, where Callaghan defeats the motion of no confidence, but infuriates the IMF by promising Malta more subsidies for their pet projects, whatever those may be.

A bridge between mainland Malta and Gozo?

[myth11]

Italy would put a claim on Malta if it had joined the UK.

[pl]

The whole structure of the Maltese economy would likely have been very different.

The UK military presence would likely have remained stronger in Malta, which would have provided additional jobs (remember: a few jobs go a long way
The economy would likely have been far more integrated with the UK - certainly in terms of banking, retail etc
Malta may have become an early (albeit limited) offshoring centre for UK businesses
More UK emigration to Malta, especially as the tourism industry grows through 1970s and 1980s
Malta's legislative/regulatory environment which has been supportive of the growth of various industries at various times (eg pharma, gambling) would likely not have happened
Other industries would likely have grown up instead - it's anyone's guess what they would have been. Could it have had a stronger financial sector? A lot would have depended upon how much devolution was granted

If I have the time over weekend, I'll try and dig out the long term GDP by output, population and immigration time series. They should give a good steer on this.

I'd almost be certain that between accession to the UK and now, an SNP-style party would have developed. The politics would have become more akin to Scotland now than Northern Ireland.

[Pete Whitehead]

Jun 19, 2020 20:19:48 GMT rivers10 said:

Jun 19, 2020 19:53:20 GMT Merseymike said:

How many Maltese seats would there be in the UK Parliament?

Initially when the integration was due to take place it was agreed Malta would have three MP's, with todays population it would have five, so assuming pretty even population growth etc then circa 1979 it would possibly have four? 

At the last election Malta had 341,856 registered electors so assuming equal representation relative to the rest of the UK, there would have been five seats with an average electorate of 68,371

It might not tell us much about how these areas would vote if Malta was in the UK but interesting nonetheless



It would look something like this. South and North are undersized here and the other seats correspondingly oversized as there are 13 electoral districts in Malta all of roughly equal size

On the last election Valetta was still quite strong for the National party (53/46)
East is very strongly Labour (70/29) and South not much less so (63/36) while North and West are both virtually neck and neck (which means they are National leaning relative to Malta as a whole)

In our imaginary scenario for all we know, Malta East would have been part of the 'Red Wall' and Valetta voted for the Lib Dems

[timrollpickering]

Surely Gozo would be a special undersized constituency in its own right?

[Pete Whitehead]

Jun 19, 2020 23:03:42 GMT timrollpickering said:

Surely Gozo would be a special undersized constituency in its own right?

Maybe - I guess it would be on a par with Orkney & Shetland or the Western Isles. It would make life easier actually as then the other 12 electoral districts would divide neatly into the other four seats

[hullenedge]

Maybe (and this is a Lib Dem 'wet dream') we would have treated the islands as a five-member constituency elected by STV. Special circs like the old university seats.