City Hall

[afleitch]

I'd go for XV or SV. However I'd plump or XV. Either way I have a feeling I may have to fight against social housing developments in the newly required S wards

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The ward post will be edited very soon which should make choosing easier for people. Some errors will be corrected also (needs to remind self that the '50's were not the '60's or '70's).

[afleitch]

With Al's discretion here are a few 'usable' names for parts of Chamberlain

Going North to South

Norton
Three Oaks
Queenstanding
Ardington
Gravel Hill
Perryoak
Handford
Hundred End
Edgeborne
Wolseley
Sparkwood
Yardhall
Widebridge

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Most of those names I do like, yes.

[Bacon King]

I would like to play but I'm not sure about how I want my character to be. Could you make me a character, almighty GM? Make him interesting, if you do

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What do you recommend for me, Al?

I'm tempted to take X.

That depends how much you want your character to be a Moderate tool. Of course, right now maybe not later, he'll always need Moderate support but in a ward like X the Moderates could get rid of him very easily whenever they feel like it. In a more marginal ward like XIV it wouldn't really be worth their while to try that sort of game.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I would like to play but I'm not sure about how I want my character to be. Could you make me a character, almighty GM? Make him interesting, if you do

I'll be posting details of some of the more important NPC's soon. You can choose whichever of those thee likes the look of the most

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Ward names... this will be updated and so on...

I: South House
II:
III: St Jude's
IV:
V: Rotting Wood
VI: Short Forest
VII: Bear Pit
VIII: Henchard
IX:
X: Calthorpe
XI: Nettlefold
XII: Cadbury
XIIPINK: Knowles End
XIII: Austin
XIV:
XV: Arrow Hill Park
XVI:
XVII: Sarehole
XVIII:
XIX: Hattersley
XX: Bexwick
XXI: Little Moor
XXII: Sparkwood
XXIII:
XXIV:
XXV: Acton's Green
XXVI:
XXVIBIG:
XXVII: Hacker
XXVIII:
XXIX: Sanker
XXX:
XXXI:
XXXII:
XXXIII:
XXXIV:
XXXV: Handsford
XXXVI:
SI: Slutton Three Oaks
SII: Slutton Hazey
SIII: Slutton Old Hut
SIV: Muddihull East
SV: Muddihull South
BI: Priory
BII: Langsalop
BIII: Fauldswick Central
BIV: Fauldswick North
BV: Western Broom South
BVI: Loathley Moor
BVII: Western Broom North & Big Barr

[Bacon King]

I would like to play but I'm not sure about how I want my character to be. Could you make me a character, almighty GM? Make him interesting, if you do

I'll be posting details of some of the more important NPC's soon. You can choose whichever of those thee likes the look of the most

awesome.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Some important (or soon-to-be-perhaps) NPC's...

Name: Bernard Martin Atkinson
Age: 59
Party: Municipal Moderate
Address: Nettlefold
Place of Birth: Chamberlain
Occupation: Industrialist
Brief Biography: Member of Chamberlain City Council 1954-present, Unsuccesful candidate 1955 General Election (Chamberlain Short Forest), Owner of the Atkinson Tyre Co.

Name: Albert William Lewis
Age: 69
Party: Municipal Socialist
Address: Fauldswick Central
Place of Birth: Fauldswick
Occupation: Sheet metal worker (retired), Trade Union Official (retired)
Brief Biography: G&TWU Regional Officier 1937-1955, Member of Fauldswick Borough Council 1932-present, Socialist Whip 1946-1952, Chairman of the Planning Committee 1952-1955, Leader of the Council 1955-present
Other: Methodist, Member of the General & Transport Workers Union

Name: Sir Nigel Horace Godwin
Age: 64
Party: Municipal Moderate
Address: Slutton Three Oaks
Place of Birth: Handsford, Chamberlain
Occupation: Soliciter
Brief Biography: Member Slutton Chillfold Borough Council 1938-present, Chairman of the Public Works Committee 1943-1950, Leader of the Council 1950-present
Other: Anglican (strong), Mason, knighted in 1956

Name: John Bertrand Reeve
Age: 42
Party: Municipal Socialist
Address: Rotting Wood
Place of Birth: Cadbury, Chamberlain
Occupation: Mechanic
Brief Biography: Member of Chamberlain City Council 1954-present, unsuccesful candidate 1951 General Election (Slutton Chillfold), 1955 General Election (Chamberlain Handsford), unsuccesful candidate for Leader of the Socialist Group (1956)
Other: Member of the G&T

Name: Ernest "Ernie" Frederick Bailey
Age: 58
Party: Municipal Socialist
Address: Hacker
Place of Birth: St Jude, Chamberlain
Occupation: Toolmaker
Brief Biography: Member of Chamberlain City Council 1945-present, Chairman of the Housing Committee-1945-1947, Deputy Leader of the Socialist Group 1948-1954, Socialist Whip 1949-1954, Leader of the Socialist Group 1954-Present, Leader of Chamberlain City Council 1956-Present
Other: Anglican, Member of the G&T

Name: Edwin Raymond Knight
Age: 60
Party: Municipal Moderate
Address: Calthorpe
Place of Birth: Calthorpe, Chamberlain
Occupation: Soliciter
Brief Biography: Member of Chamberlain City Council 1937-Present (Sarehole 1937-1946, Bear Pit 1946-1951, South House 1951-Present), Deputy Leader of the Moderate Group 1947-1954, Chairman of the Housing Committee 1947-1951, Leader of the Moderate Group 1954-Present, Leader of Chamberlain City Council 1954-1956
Other:

Name: Thomas "Tom" Allan O'Neill
Age: 28
Party: Municipal Socialist
Address: Henchard, Chamberlain
Place of Birth: Acton's Green
Occupation: Journalist
Brief Biography: Member of Chamberlain City Council 1956-Present
Other: Roman Catholic, Member of the National Union of Reporters

[Filuwaúrdjan]

And the GM's Character...

Name: Iorwerth Alun Roberts
Age: 73
Party: Municipal Socialist
Address: Sanker
Place of Birth: Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan
Occupation: Miner (retired), Machinist (retired), Trade Union Official (retired)
Brief Biography: Moved to Chamberlain in 1923, active in Chamberlain ISP at this time. Left the ISP in 1932, elected as a Municipal Socialist to Chamberlain City Council for the Sanker ward in 1929. UEU Regional Organiser 1933-1949, President of the Chamberlain Trades Council 1938-1949, Member of the UEU National Executive 1934-1949, Socialist Whip 1936-1949, Chairman of the General Purposes Committee 1951-1954, Lord Mayor of Chamberlain 1955-1956.
Other: Baptist, JP, Member of the UEU, Member of the boards of various cultural amenities and societies in the City

[12th Doctor]

I'm still not at all clear on how this works, but I am interested in getting involved.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Parliamentary Constituencies within Chamberlain after the 1955 General Election:



Result was close in the light colours, not-at-all-close in the dark ones, and in between in the in between colours.

Part of the Muddihull constituency is outside the boundaries of the expanded Chamberlain. Note also that Chamberlain now includes about a third of a constituency with a population base outside the city (it's not been named).

While M.P's won't form a major part of the game, becoming one will obviously be a goal of some characters (and has been in the past).

[afleitch]

Cadbury

And my ward is in Sarehole...try saying that with a straight face on the streets of Glasgow!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Descriptions of the main political parties:

Municipal Socialists

An industrial city such as Chamberlain might be expected to prove strong territory for a Socialist party, but while the early growth of the Municipal Socialists in Chamberlain was solid (if not spectacular) the party struggled for decades to break out of its strongholds in the oldest working class districts in the city. Only after the Birmingham Machine collapsed in ignominy during the Second World War did the Socialists first become the largest party on the city council (in fact the swing in 1945 in Chamberlain, at both parliamentary and municipal level, was one of the most violent in the country) and Socialist control didn't last for long; in power the party pursued a housing policy (based on quality, not speed) that proved to be extremely unpopular and it was swept out in a landslide in the late '40's. Since then control of the council has swung between the Socialists and the Moderates and the party won a narrow majority in last years elections.
The Municipal Socialist group in Chamberlain is commonly thought of as being one of the most right-wing in the country and the leadership, which has strong links to local right-wing unions, has grown increasingly intolerant of left-wingers in recent years. Purges, deselections and allegations of systematic bullying are not uncommon, adding to the party's reputation as a bulwark of machine politics. Ironically, many of the group's leading figures were left-wing firebrands in the '20's and '30's.
Matters are more relaxed in Western Broom and Fauldswick; while the right dominated the Socialist groups on both councils, the left has never been persecuted in quite the way that it has in Chamberlain and a sizeable minority of councillors in both boroughs are known left-wingers. The Socialists in both boroughs are different from their Chamberlain comrades in other ways, not least in that they have controlled both since the end of the War and usually ran Fauldswick (though often without an absolute majority) in the Inter-War period.

Municipal Moderates

The Moderates in general, and the Birmingham family in particular, dominated Chamberlain politics until 1945. It was a highly effective and utterly dominant political machine, always with a large (and often huge) majority on the council, always with a majority of M.P's, always with the craven support of the press and local employers, always with a surprisingly large minority of the working class vote (though the Irish have always been, for historical reasons, hostile to the Moderates), always touting its increasingly threadbare reformist record. It's zenith (and foundation) came during the reign (that word is quite accurate) of Joseph Birmingham during the late 19th century, and during the 20th century it provided the national Moderate party with two leaders, one of which, Neville Birmingham, was Prime Minister when war broke out in 1939. Birmingham's fall from grace (and then death) was a key factor in the astonishing collapse of the machine in 1945 and, despite picking itself off the floor quite quickly and regained control of the council in the late '40's, the party has never been able to return to its former glory.
The Moderates links to local business and private property developers are often regarded with suspicion by their political opponents, although no allegations of corruption have ever been proven.
Things have always been quite different in the suburban boroughs of Slutton Chillfold and Muddihull. Here, the Moderates never fell from power and have never had (nor ever felt the need for) reformist urges. The dominant ideology is of a placid, some might say complacent, suburban, bourgeois conservatism. Local opinion in both boroughs was totally against the merger with Chamberlain and while threats to run as independents have subsided, many suburban Moderate councillors remain bitter towards their Chamberlain colleugues.

Municipal Reform

Joseph Birmingham was once a member of the Reform Party. Then he left as a result of the titanic disputes over policy towards Ireland. It would be a cruel understatement to state that the party has never recovered from that hammer blow, although it managed to retain a sizeable group on the city council during the first decades of the 20th century. But even those days are gone, and what councillors the party has left (not many) are totally dependent on the support of the Moderates. Despite its liberal heritage, the party is sometimes regarded as being to the right of the Chamberlain moderates. It is now mostly supported by elements in the lower middle classes and it is in this class that all its remaining hopes seem to lie.

[Hash]

What about the Municipal Liberals, which is my party?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm still not at all clear on how this works, but I am interested in getting involved.

Sent you a PM with stuff in that should help

[Smid]

I'm also rather interested. I want to be a grumpy old Tory - perhaps a non-playing character.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What about the Municipal Liberals, which is my party?

That's Municipal Reform. But it would be entirely realistic for a councillor of that party to go by another name in his own ward (especially as party names aren't printed on ballots yet!)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm also rather interested. I want to be a grumpy old Tory - perhaps a non-playing character.

You can be as active (or not) as you like really.

Just fill this form in here:

Name:
Age:
Party:
Address:
Place of Birth:
Occupation:
Brief Biography:
Other:

Then this one:

Conflicts of Interest:
Past Scandals:
Sexuality:
Addictions:
Medical Conditions:
Bigotries:
Corrupt Activity:
Other Criminal Activity:
Other:

...and send that one to me (don't post it publically)

[Smid]

I'm also rather interested. I want to be a grumpy old Tory - perhaps a non-playing character.

You can be as active (or not) as you like really.

Just fill this form in here:

Name:
Age:
Party:
Address:
Place of Birth:
Occupation:
Brief Biography:
Other:

Then this one:

Conflicts of Interest:
Past Scandals:
Sexuality:
Addictions:
Medical Conditions:
Bigotries:
Corrupt Activity:
Other Criminal Activity:
Other:

...and send that one to me (don't post it publically)

Right-o, I'll give that some thought today.

[ilikeverin]

Brief question Al: perhaps I missed it, but when exactly is "present"?

Name: Henry Alexander Fox
Age: 31
Party: Municipal Moderates
Address: Calthorpe
Place of Birth: Calthorpe, Chamberlain
Occupation: Industrialist
Brief Biography: Third son of the wealthy Fox family, Henry wasn't being prepared to lead.  Then his brothers rather rudely died in the War.  Shortly thereafter, Henry inherited his father's extended industrial holdings (mostly in canning, where his ancestors got their start during the Crimean War).  Though at first a bit unsure of himself, he seems to have found himself a more stable footing among the elite.  He recently launched a political career, getting himself elected to the Chamberlain City Council, representing the XXXI district ((would this be a horrid place for his main factory to be?)).
Other: Methodist

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Brief question Al: perhaps I missed it, but when exactly is "present"?

1957

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Originally, yes. By this point, no. Quite realistic actually. Most of the workforce would likely live in XXX, XXVII and Hacker though.

[ilikeverin]

Alright.  Perhaps it was a small one back in the day that's grown to become his headquarters.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Alright.  Perhaps it was a small one back in the day that's grown to become his headquarters.

The small factories tended to be in the centre of the city (and were mostly destroyed by the bombing or demolished during the rebuilding afterwards). More likely would be the company moving out from the centre of the city to a larger site in the '30's in order to take advantage of the new estates (ie; public housing).