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Post by mick745 on Oct 29, 2015 12:05:00 GMT
This has been touched upon in the Post apocalyptic politics and government, and sorry for the macabre thread and I do not wish to trivialise this event in any way, but I have recently been listening to The Downing Street Years on audio tape read by the author and was wondering what would have happened if the IRA had murdered Margaret Thatcher and/or a significant number of the Cabinet in the 1984 Brighton Bomb. Thatcherism was at its height during this period, with a 144 majority gained at the election the year before.
It is difficult to see which senior Conservative party member could have taken over, especially if other Cabinet members had been injured or killed. Would there have been an emergency leadership contest? Who would have emerged? How would the 1980s have been different? Would there have been a different result in 1987 and 1992? Would Labour have got to power quicker thus stuffing out Blairism/New Labour?
Discuss.
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Oct 29, 2015 12:12:45 GMT
I would have thought Geoffrey Howe would be the most likely interim PM had the Brighton bomb killed Mrs Thatcher.
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john07
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Post by john07 on Nov 15, 2015 16:36:04 GMT
What impact would that have had for the 1987 election?
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Richard Allen
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Post by Richard Allen on Nov 15, 2015 18:14:44 GMT
I would have thought Geoffrey Howe would be the most likely interim PM had the Brighton bomb killed Mrs Thatcher. Interim PM yes but in the event of Thatcher having been assassinated I have a hard time seeing her replacement not being someone from the Thatcherite wing of the party.
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The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Nov 16, 2015 12:15:47 GMT
The likelihood of course is that in such circumstances the government would have called a new GE as soon as practicable, and won a majority between big and huge.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2015 17:35:57 GMT
The likelihood of course is that in such circumstances the government would have called a new GE as soon as practicable, and won a majority between big and huge. There was certainly an opinion poll boost for the Conservatives between the bomb attack and the end of 1984, their lead averaging at around 9-10% in contrast to about 1% between the Portsmouth South by-election and the conference season. The party would probably have wanted an elected leader in place before any GE campaign, however.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2015 18:10:39 GMT
1984 would have been remembered as an disconcerting year for women leaders to put it mildly, including aspiring ones. Indira Gandhi was of course gunned down within a few weeks of the Brighton bomb.
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