[Politics] If you could 'reset' Britain, which historic point would you go back to?

[um bongo molongo]

Around the middle of January when we all thought we were on for a top 10 finish. Unfurl a banner saying ‘don’t sell Dan Burn and for god’s sake buy someone who can hit a barn door’

 

[Chicken Run]

1997 for me.

Introduce PR and Lord’s reform and most of the constitutional nonsense we’ve endured for the last decade and a half just goes away.

Failing that 9 months before when Rupert Murdoch was born and tell his dad to just have a cold shower or use a sock that night. Should go a decent way to saving the world.

97 for me too…

I’d find Bozza and warn him that he’s about to create a very successful Brighton Fans internet football forum that for many years will be fun to run, but as a failsafe for the future not to allow people to use the forum to spout their political ramblings as it will create a nasty division amongst fans and create a lot of extra work for moderators.


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[DavidinSouthampton]

Either to 2010, to prevent Ed Miliband winning the Labour leadership, or to 2015 to prevent Corbyn winning it.

 

[Blue3]

1066 changed everything Angalo Saxon society was growing in stature across Europe for its legal systems, woman's equality, it’s standing army, education and art even prototype democracy all of which changed as a result of the Norman invasion the 4,000 Anglo-Saxon landowning elite was almost totally replaced by Norman barrons and bishops, 20 years after the invasion only 2 Saxon names appear as elite land owners.
the ruling apparatus was made much more centralised with power and wealth being held in much fewer hands.
the majority of Anglo-Saxon bishops were replaced with Norman ones and many dioceses' headquarters were relocated to urban centres.
Norman motte and bailey castles were introduced which reshaped warfare in England, reducing the necessity for and risk of large-scale field engagements.
the system of feudalism developed as William gave out lands in return for military service (either in person or a force of knights paid for by the landowner).
manorialism developed and spread further where labourers worked on their lord's estate for his benefit.
the north of England was devastated for a long time following William's harrying of 1069-70 CE.
Domesday Book, a detailed and systematic catalogue of the land and wealth in England was compiled in 1086-7 CE.
the contact and especially trade between England and Continental Europe greatly increased.
the two countries of France and England became historically intertwined, initially due to the crossover of land ownership, i.e. Norman nobles holding lands in both countries.
the syntax and vocabulary of the Anglo-Saxon Germanic language were significantly influenced by the French language.
The previous Saxon elites, bishops, solders left England some finding their way to Constantinople taking important roles in the Eastern Roman Empire While others fled to Scandinavia helping develop those societies.
Ultimately the king was now the supreme power he owned all the land and gave parcels to supporters to manage while Saxon kings were elected and could be deselected women could own land and inherit from their husbands and fathers, Saxon kings while from the elite landowners were chosen as the person to lead by a council.

Hypothetically nonsense I know as we are what we are but what could we have been

 

[vegster]

I'd go back to about 1976 and make sure I learned a trade and bought a house as soon as poss then upgraded and upgraded then cashed it all in and bought a place in Cornwall and retired early.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Euro 96 would be a good place to start and from there to replay the next 15 years on a loop.

Not to reset anything, just to relive the good times.

 

[Doonhamer7]

Now, go back in time and look at what you lose - human rights, fair trial, interweb, inside toilets, central heating, education for all, womens ability to vote, working mens right to vote, running water, no sewage on street, removal of cholera, typhoid & polio, no treatment for bacterial infection, Irish potato famine, Highland clearances, no electricity, famine / starvation based on bad weather, no education, life dominated by the church, witch hunts,

Anyway I’d go to Edinburgh in either 1513 to stop the absolution decimation of the leadership of Scottish society at Flodden or 1690 to tell everyone that a Colony in Panama would be a very stupid idea leading to bankruptcy and sell out to England.

Supposedly if you go back pre-1500 you probably wouldn’t be understood as the English spoken is so different

 

[Wozza]

Euro 96 would be a good place to start and from there to replay the next 15 years on a loop.

Not to reset anything, just to relive the good times.

If this was an exam, you'd get zero points for this answer.

 

[drew]

Yeah, again, I don't mean re-living your past.
Maybe it's better to ask: when did Britain start going wrong? (If you believe it has)

I guess example checkpoints would be 1979 General Election, or 2013 (?) when Cameron promised an EU referendum.

Some might pick dates before the rise or fall of the British Empire...

I'd suggest it was 2010 when, despite a global banking crisis which, apparently, was entirely the fault of Gordon Brown, Cameron failed to win a majority and that meant he had to appease those of the ERG ilk in his party and fend off losses to Farage and his cronies.

If I was going to turn back the clock it would be to 1998. Labour were in power and with the benefit of hindsight focus following 9/11 would just have been on Afghanistan!

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

The period when the Romans arrived.

The Celtic Britons actually repel the Romans and then a more united Celtic nation is created which takes in the the whole of the island and Ireland.

They then repel the Germanic tribes and the Normans.

The modern version of the island has Gaelic as the native language.

The world is potentially a lot different if this happens as the Celtic Tribes would have probably -been less likely to have gone down the path of the mass colonising that occurred.

There'd be no need to repel the normans if there were no anglo saxons and thus no Edward the Confessor and no succession issues.

It would be fascinating to see what would have happened if the Romans hadn't won though, the country it more or less created has had an enormous effect on the world. You could equally choose 1066, the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon or even the Spanish Armada.

 

[The Clamp]

The period when the Romans arrived.

The Celtic Britons actually repel the Romans and then a more united Celtic nation is created which takes in the the whole of the island and Ireland.

They then repel the Germanic tribes and the Normans.

The modern version of the island has Gaelic as the native language.

The world is potentially a lot different if this happens as the Celtic Tribes would have probably -been less likely to have gone down the path of the mass colonising that occurred.

It’s genuinely an interesting idea. I quite like it. Although “The Celts” were not some combined, peacefully co-existing tribe living in harmony. There was no such thing as “Celts”, although it’s a useful term to use.
They were a large number of separate tribes across the British isles that lived a roughly similar lifestyle and had similar technology at about the same time, termed The Celts in 1700.

They did their fair share of fighting and conquering other tribes but I think I you’re right that they were less interested in colonising other countries.

It would have probably been a rather nice, spiritual existence and even with plenty of “creature comforts”. The ancient village of Chysauster in Cornwall (fascinating place) had high walled stone houses, drainage, tended gardens, food storage, and under-floor heating. And many other trappings previously thought exclusive to the Romans.

However, I fear that when the Norsemen came a viking, they would have been toast.

But yeah, I agree. I’d rather enjoy living among the Dumnonni. A simpler life.

 

[drew]

I'd go back to about 1976 and make sure I learned a trade and bought a house as soon as poss then upgraded and upgraded then cashed it all in and bought a place in Cornwall and retired early.

Have to say that's a good plan. Wish I'd learnt a trade rather than sat behind a desk for most of my working life.

 

[Lenny Rider]

Be a huge task, but I’d like to have seen the British manufacturing industry preserved and developed.

As a society we are an eclectic mix, but there was a large group of the population who forged lifelong careers in factories, this has now disappeared but we’ve still got a large group of school leavers who are not suited to further education but are made to attend meaningless college courses in order to tick the boxes and massage the youth unemployment figures.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

It’s genuinely an interesting idea. I quite like it. Although “The Celts” were not some combined, peacefully co-existing tribe living in harmony. There was no such thing as “Celts”, although it’s a useful term to use.
They were a large number of separate tribes across the British isles that lived a roughly similar lifestyle and had similar technology at about the same time, termed The Celts in 1700.

They did their fair share of fighting and conquering other tribes but I think I you’re right that they were less interested in colonising other countries.

It would have probably been a rather nice, spiritual existence and even with plenty of “creature comforts”. The ancient village of Chysauster in Cornwall (fascinating place) had high walled stone houses, drainage, tended gardens, food storage, and under-floor heating. And many other trappings previously thought exclusive to the Romans.

However, I fear that when the Norsemen came a viking, they would have been toast.

But yeah, I agree. I’d rather enjoy living among the Dumnonni. A simpler life.

The Battle of Clontarf in Ireland shows if tribes united they could defeat the Vikings.

If at some stage they found a leader like a Charlemagne the the Gaelic speaking tribes of Briton had a chance of being brought together. The potential of that succeeding was seen with Boudicca for a short time though she never had the full force of the island wide tribes behind her so was doomed to fail.

Boudicca also displays another feature of those Gaelic speaking cultures which is the place of women in those societies.

Ireland had it in their Brehon Laws and Boudicca's ability to take control of armies shows their was more of a shared power and responsibility in their cultures.

 

[The Clamp]

The Battle of Clontarf in Ireland shows if tribes united they could defeat the Vikings.

If at some stage they found a leader like a Charlemagne the the Gaelic speaking tribes of Briton had a chance of being brought together. The potential of that succeeding was seen with Boudicca for a short time though she never had the full force of the island wide tribes behind her so was doomed to fail.

Boudicca also displays another feature of those Gaelic speaking cultures which is the place of women in those societies.

Ireland had it in their Brehon Laws and Boudicca's ability to take control of armies shows their was more of a shared power and responsibility in their cultures.

Very good points. Interesting. Thank you!

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

There'd be no need to repel the normans if there were no anglo saxons and thus no Edward the Confessor and no succession issues.

It would be fascinating to see what would have happened if the Romans hadn't won though, the country it more or less created has had an enormous effect on the world. You could equally choose 1066, the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon or even the Spanish Armada.

I guess in that scenario because it's focused on Briton the Normans could still have come to be in Europe. It's what they do after they came to be that then might differ greatly in relation to their links to Briton.

If the Gaelic speaking tribes do create a nationwide power base then a place like the Iberian Peninsula may also see its Gaelic speaking area either continue to exist much longer into history due to a stronger trade route between Briton and the Iberian Peninsula because of similar cultures or you get greater migration from that area between the two areas.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

If this was an exam, you'd get zero points for this answer.

Is it a Captain Kirk answer to a Kobayashi Maru test scenario though ?

Lol

 

[drew]

Be a huge task, but I’d like to have seen the British manufacturing industry preserved and developed.

As a society we are an eclectic mix, but there was a large group of the population who forged lifelong careers in factories, this has now disappeared but we’ve still got a large group of school leavers who are not suited to further education but are made to attend meaningless college courses in order to tick the boxes and massage the youth unemployment figures.

Has our manufacturing base disappeared? We are the 9th on the list of global manufacturers.

Historically we have been a nation of traders only now we trade in financial services.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

You’re clueless

Too many clowns on here who know **** all about anything


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Sorry mate but you're completely off the facts here. The Germans knew that if they declared war on Russia, France would also decalre war as part of the Franco Russian alliance. They calculated that to win a war on two fronts they needed to quickly knock out the french before the large russian army could be mobilised. So they attacked France first believing that they could repeat the success of the Franco Prussian war and also that Great Britain wouldn't honour the Triple entente and would stay out of any continental war. Also of course like all the great powers they belived in their own superiority and the "need for great nations to fight wars".
But hey you stick with the " they invaded France to stop supplies to Russia " belief if thats what you makes you happy

 

[Sorrel]

1913 is not a bad choice for Britain, either. We could avoid the Great War maybe.

Re-running things, though, is likely to end up with the same result. It's not like re-running the 70s to now would have any path that meant we would currently had a large coal industry, for example.