Mercia- UDI 1995

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Historical divergence


In this version of the world, the counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell became disgruntled and declared UDI from the UK in 1996.

There were 11 major turning points trough out their history which don't go as in our realty.

''
 * 1) A large mass of Carboniferous and Upper Carboniferous era trees grew in a valley, which was later to be home to Worcester several billion years later. They died, rotted and became anthracite coal.
 * 2) Josiah Steven Ball opened a minor coal mine in 1820 by the then town of Worcester.
 * 3) Worcester became rather politically left wing after about 1900 and saw its population grow by about 15%-20% more than it our time line.
 * 4) The Hereford bull that was led down past (our world’s) Whitehall on 6 April 1972, as part of a protest, in which a petition handed in at 10 Downing Street calling for the preservation of Herefordshire, died of a heart attack as the petition was handed over (in their world).
 * 5) Josiah's pit was closed in the run up to the 1984-85 miners’ strike (which ran pretty much was the same as in our reality).
 * 6) The station master at Hagley station was sacked on May 7th 1985, for officially complaning about the BR 3 letter station code reading "HAG". His counterpart at Sandwell and Dudley then resigned in disgust at both the sacking of the Hagley station master and Sandwell and Dudley's BR 3 letter station code reading "SAD"!
 * 7) A local worker tried to challenge the 1989 closure of the Dudley Freightliner Terminal, which was a major local employer, in the high court.
 * 8) The dreaded Poll Tax was tried out in Worcestershire, The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Herefordshire (not Scotland) in 1989 due to concerns of a voter backlash, a year before the rest of the UK.
 * 9) A statue dedicated to the local Composer Sir Edward Elgar was destroyed in the 1990 Worcester Poll Tax Riot, 6 weeks after the notorious London Poll Tax Riot of our reality.
 * 10) The 1994-1996 Neil Hammitlon v. Mohamed Al-Fayed's cash for questions' scandal had also (wrongly) embroiled (in their reality) the Militant Labour MP for Worcester Josiah Colliery District after he had been falsely accused, by (in their reality) the right wing Conservative MP for Worcester Newfields, of taking cash for questions on behalf of the Ford Motor Company.
 * 11) Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Dudley councils symbolically declared UDI on August 1st, 1996, with Sandwell council joining in a day later. It was planed as a bit of a PR stunt, aimed at highlighting their plight, ''but it accidently became so much more!...

Independence to 1997
See-Alternate History of the Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire

After much acrimony and debate Hereford and Worcester council voted on declaring a symbolic week long declaration of UDI starting on August 1st, 1996. They knew the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley agreed with them and would soon join in and that the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell was sure to follow. The Hereford Times and Dudley News had been independently promoting such a protest for the last year or so. Once it was declared the people partied in the streets and Hagley’s BR Station Code was unofficially changed by the rebels from HAG to HGY!

The next day Sandwell joined the rebellion with a unanimous council vote. That night the Croatian ambassador offered his support, shortly followed by his Albanian counterpart. President Franjo Tuđman of Croatia recognized the Federal Republic by a presidential decree on the 3rd of August, which was supported by a parliamentary vote 2 days later.

The 'rebel president', Worcester councillor Pieter Smith, told the ambassadors that it was only a week symbolic PR stunt, but niether the Croats or Albanians believed them (they thought the Federal Republic was being bullied by the UK in to folding up). The UK’s government in Whitehall did not believe the 'rebels' either and the Home sectary (interior minister) had outlawed the 'Federal Republic' within 3 days, oredering in the police with army back up if need be. The rebels had got a lot more than they had bargined for as the UDI seamed to become more real life than PR stunt with every passing hour, especialy after what would later be called "The Tipton incident" the on August 8th

1997
The borders were fully secured by January 1st, 1997, after the rebel victory at The battle of Dymock, and a long siege of the entire nation then issued.

None the less June 6th, 1997 would witness the small border incursion known as The battle of Swan Village.

UN Security Council Resolutions on Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire

By the 10th of September, 1997, the UN Sectary General was deeply disturbed by the situation in the UK after receiving the Croatian, Albanian, Irish and Pilipino investigator’s reports on the detraining situation in the UK. He welcomed a American lead resolution on sending UN peace keepers to the UK in an effort to reconcile the UK’s and rebel government’s differences. The implement a UN/UK/Rebel agreement to hold a free and fair referendum on self-determination for the people of Hereford and Worcestershire. Fundamental differences between the UK and the Hereford and Worcestershire Separatist Front had yet to be resolved. The Netherlands, Monaco, Croatia, Albania and Algeria all chose to officially recognise the rebel Hereford and Worcestershire regime the year before.

1998-2006
See-Alternate History of the Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire

A 15 strong Gurkha presidenial guard named the '25th Gurkha Rifles' (in honer of the former WW 2 colonial unit) was fomulated from the small number of Gurkhas living in the breakaway state on July 1st, 1998.

The Gloucestershire Corridor was arranged for in mid 1999 as a humanitarian link to the outside world. The disliked and rather effective blockade would last for another year. Due to the heavy shortages caused and the international controversy relating to it, the total blockade was lifted in 2000 and replaced with an arms, trade and banking embargo, which ended in 2004. This was mostly due to pressure from the Netherlands, Monaco, Croatia, Albania and Algeria; all of which had politically recognised Hereford and Worcestershire in 1996.

The 2001 UK’s foot and mouth outbreak also hit Herefordshire and Knighton in Powys badly, as in reality.

In an attempt to reconcile their differences, the UK began diplomatic negotiations with Hereford and Worcestershire in the summer of 2003.

There was a new era of glasnost and cross border co-operation between the UK and the federation beginning in 2005. This included the removal of the customs check points at Tewkesbury and Ashchurch Railway Station, the B4080 B-road, the A491, A456, A449 A-roads and the M5 motorway.

As time passed, military expenditure fell, student exchanges took place and hostilities decline.

2007
See- The 2007 Pan-Federation Flood Disaster

The 2007 United Kingdom floods of July 2007 flooded many areas in and around Ludlow, Sandwell, Ledbury, Tewkesbury, Ashchurch, Bredon, Evesham and Upton-upon-Severn were (as in reality) the most severe in the towns' recorded history. The area around Tewkesbury is a floodplain frequently affected by varying amounts of flooding.

The federal fire and rescue services had been overwhelmed after 2 days. The townsfolk gratefully collected the supposedly 'unofficial' UK humanitarian aid that both the British citizens and government had willingly offered them in Federation's hour of need. The Irish air force also airdropped food, fuel and pumps in to the citizens of Tewkesbury and Ashcurch. This hastened the pace of peace talks between both governments.

See-Alternate History of the Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire

The 2007 restoration of Smethwick Galton Bridge railway station and the re-building of the former Galton Bridge was one of was one of the first of the many Anglo-Federal Reconstruction and Reconciliation Programs.

The détente survived the floods and lead to the de facto economic and transportation assimilation of the nation in late 2007.

2008-Today
See-Alternate History of the Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire

The credit crunch went pretty much as in reality, but the Federal Republic’s ailing currency did pick up due to the lack of major banks, corporate failure and state debt (most of the overseas aid was given by allies free of charge).

As of June 2011, Ivan Barbalić and ex-Albanian president Sali Berisha have been negotiation the official separation of Hereford and Worcestershire from the UK. The UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron had hinted to (according to the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper) Ivan Barbalić that formal recognition would occur in the March of 2012. This was amened when the UK, Turkmenistan and several other nations politicaly reconised the UK on January 1st, 2012. The rebel's president, Pieter Richard Smith, is planning not to stand for re-election in 2013 due to ill health.

Federal Stats




Stats

 * name = The Federal Republic of Greater Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
 * name_short = Hereford and Worcester.
 * Timeline = Worcestershire- UDI 1996
 * otl = The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, Longbridge, Edgebaston, Northfield, King's Norton, Dymock, Tewkesbury, Knighton (Powys), Chuchstoke (Powys), Southern Shropshire, Hay-on-Wye (Welsh: Y Gelli Gandryll), and the south western part of the former Seisdon Rural District.
 * motto =
 * Anthem =
 * capital = Worcester (population 111,250)
 * city_largest = Sandwell united urban zone (population 289,100)
 * city_other = Dudley (196,919), Redditch (79,216), Hereford (55,850), Stourbridge (55,618), Kidderminster (55,348), Halesowen (55,273), Bromsgrove (39,644) and Malvern Spa Town (28,749).
 * area =
 * population = est. 1, 465,950 (2010).
 * regime = A semi-presidential nationalist republic
 * language =English plus some Punjabi (in Dudley), (Kashmiri) in Lye, Urdu (in Tipton) and Welsh (in Hay-on-Wye and Kingstown).
 * currency = Mercian Pound
 * religion = Church of England, Secular Humanism and Sikhism (in Dudley)
 * HoStitle = President
 * HoSname = Pieter Richard Smith

Government and politics
See- Politics in the Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Constituent federal districts

 * The Independent county of Worcestershire (August 1st, 1996)
 * The Independent county of Herefordshire (August 1st, 1996)
 * The Metropolitan Republic of Dudley (August 1st, 1996)
 * The Metropolitan Republic of Sandwell (August 2nd, 1996)
 * Seisdon Sovereign Rural District (August 3rd, 1996)
 * The City state of Edgebaston, Longbridge, Northfield and King's Norton (August 5th, 1996)
 * The Freetown of Hay-on-Wye (September 1st, 1996)
 * The Freetown of Tewkesbury (December 1st, 1996)
 * Ludlow Sovereign Rural District (December 5th, 1996)

The The Stourbridge and Pedmore question of 2002-03 was a political debacle that lead to the popular division of Dudley in to it's 4 semi-autonomous provinces. At one Point Sedgley had planned to cescied from Dudley and amalgamate it's self in to Seisdon (they were both (as in fact) part of Staffordshire until 1974).

National politics
The Federal President is elected every 4 years. The Federal General Assembly is elected every 4 years and uses the former (in thier reality) Westminster constancies, split in two new constancies, were ever possible. County councillors are elected every 5 years. National political sentiment is generally of a right wing, conservative nature in the countryside and a left wing, socialist stance in urban places. There is a wide spread, but mild nationalist tinge to the polatics of the republic. The goverment is, by nessesity of it's small size, in a perminant state of coialition polatics.

Voting system
The elections use the first past the post system and are open to nationals over the age of 17.

Foreign relations
Relations were tense, but stable and mutualy respectfull with the UK, Ireland and the EU before the period of D é tente of 2006-2010. Things have inproved greatly since.

22 countries have given De jure recognition to Hereford and Worcestershire, 15 countries have given De facto recognition to Hereford and Worcestershire. and 1 countries is negotiating moving De facto to De jure recognition to Hereford and Worcestershire.

See- Terrorists vs. Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire

Religion
58% adhere to the Church of England Christianity, 25% are Secular Humanist non-beavers, 6% follow Sikhism (mostly in Dudley and Lye), 5% believe in Roman Catholic Christianity, 3% are in Hindus (mostly in Dudley), 2% are followers of Islam (primarily in Tipton and Lye) and 1% are deists. Small numbers of Jews, Rastafarians and Buddhists also occur in Dudley and Stourbridge. The 3 Mongolians living in Dymock also worship Ot, who is the Mongolian goddess of marriage.

Literacy and Life expectancy
Literacy in English is 99.5% for both genders.

Literacy in Urdu, Kashmiri and Punjabi speakers is at 98.2% for men and 89.4% for women.

75% of Knighton, Chuchstoke, Hey-on Wye are bi-lingual in English and Welsh.

Life expectancy is 77 for men and 78 for women of all races.

The infant mortality rate stands at 9.12 deaths per 1,000 live births for all races.

There has been various attempts to rejuvenate both Rowley Regis, Lye, Old Hill and Cradely Health over the years. Worcester, Seisdon, Tewkesbury, Sedgely, Alvechurch and Bromsgrove are the most wealthy places in The Federation.

Over view
See- Economics in the Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire

The economy relies on 5 sources- retail, growing tourism, agriculture, mining and the limited and sporadic output from both the Longbridge car plant and Wednesbury light industrial estate.

Trade

 * The leading market for their goods is the Netherlands, Algeria, Croatia and the C.A.R.


 * Most of their imports are from Venezuela, Algeria, Croatia and the Netherlands.

The détente survived that floods and lead to the de facto economic and transportation assimilation of the nation in 2007. The Mercian Pound was pegged to the £ between 2008 and 2010, but then broke its fiscal linkage and thus was re-floated during the European Economic Crisis of 2010-2012.

Energy
The principal power sources are small oil fired power station near Hereford and 7 wind turbines near Leominster and Worcester. Most people do not have a reliable supply and domestic power cuts are common place due to power shortages.

Defence
The lightly armed forces consist of 24,000 recruits and 25,000 reservists. Most equipment consists of remaining former British army supplies augmented with some smuggled in Dutch, Croatian, Albanian and on occasion Bosnian Serb weaponry. Most of it is safely stored in the hidden and mostly subterranean Hay-on-Wye Hill Army Depot, 5km west of Hay-on-Wye.

The army possesses 12 OERLIKON GDF-005 35/90 35 mm Anti-aircraft artillery pieces, 12 M109A5 - 155/39 mm self-propelled howitzers as the M109A5(+96) variant, several dozen Milan and Tow 2 - anti-tank missile launchers, 20 Mk 19 40 mm grenade launchers, 14 .303 in Vickers machine guns, 9 or 10 M113 armored personnel carriers (7 are reportedly operational and 2 or 3 others are in storage) and 6 or 7 Leopard 2 A4 Main Battle Tanks.

The 2 army 'regiments' were named after the former 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot and 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot in the UK's army. A 15 strong Gurkha presidenial guard named the '25th Gurkha Rifles' (in honer of the former WW 2 colonial unit) was formed on July 1st, 1998.

The National Navy has only 2 ex-UK police Fast Response Targa 31 boats.

The tinny National Airforce poseses 7 aircraft- 1 Hispano HA-200 "Saeta" (Arrow) trainer, 1 Denel AH-2 Rooivalk attack helicopter, 2 CH-47 Chinook helicopters and 3 Hawker Siddeley Harrier 'jump-jets'.

The elite airborne Wyvern Corps consist of 160 men, 2 CH-47 Chinook helicopters, 2 BO-105 helicopters, 2 ex-Albanian Shenyang J-6C fighters, 6 UH-1H "Huey" helicopters, 2 206 Kiowa helicopters, 2 Sea King helicopters. Training was given to volunteers by 5 renegade SAS members, who are now the Wyvern Corps’ leaders.

The National Air force and the elite airborne Wyvern Corps operate from the commandeered RAF Hereford.

RAF Madley is under joint UK/Hereford and Worcester control. This was done in exchange for the UK giving the rebels access to the sea via The Gloucestershire Corridor.

The defence and homeland security minister is the Federal Conservative MP for Halesowen, Steve Wells.

The joint cheif staffs is Marshal Philip Martston and his deputy is General Tammy Ajuwe.

National Parks


The local beauty spot and national park is situated in the sub-urban Wyre Forest. The Lickey Hills Country Park, The Clent Hills and Lower Bittell Reservoir are also protected areas. The River Wye at and around Hey on Wye was also decreed to be a national park and local beauty spot in 2002.

Clent Hill are popular for hillwalking and picnicking during the warmer weather. The hill lands are important for the survival wildlife including Fallow Deer and Common Buzzard, plus visiting Ring Ouzel and Common Crossbill.

The closed, but still water filled Wednesbury Old Canal was declared to be a Urban Park and nature reserve in 2010.

Green issues
The high nitrate, ammonia and lead levels in the River Stour are the leading rural environmental concern. The heavy air pollution that is primary created by motor vehicles is of most concern in the urban Wednesbury and Dudley Port districts. These issues were being addressed as of 2010, but not much has happened since due to the global economic crisis.

Droitwich Spa (AKA- Droitwich) is situated on massive deposits of salt that has been extracted there since at least Roman times. The naturally occurring Droitwich brine contains 2½ lbs. of salt per gallon (roughly 10 times stronger than sea water and similar to that of the Dead Sea). Resent small scale salt mining has caused a sharp rise in the salinity of the local River Salwarpe since 2004.

The federal republic has said it will co-operate with and help in force the CITES treaty (AkA-the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention).

The present housing, environmentalism and employment minister is the Labour MP for West Bromwich south, Rebekah Lease.

The present minister for home-help, social harmony and flood aviation is the independent MP for Cherchstoke, Llewellyn Gwilym Rees.

Transport


The former RAF air base come civil airport, RAF Shobdon, continued as such after its repair in 2005. The former air field at the once mothballed RAF Pershore become the nations second light airport in 2010.

Many major roads and motorways cross the region including the B4080 B-road, the A38, A46, A438, A491, A456, A449 A-roads and the M5 motorway.

There is also a complex network of bus routes that are both interurban and local in nature. Astons Coaches, DRM Coaches, Diamond Bus provide an intermittent service on these routes since there are frequent legal procedures to go through at the Anglo-Federal border. The is a lightly used state run bus connections from Tewkesbury and Upton-upon-Severn to the Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station, since most people go to and from nearby Ashchurch only. Centro sponsors many of the bus services once their route leave the renegade state.

There are several major railway lines wich include the-
 * 1) Stourbridge Town Branch Line
 * 2) Welsh Marches Line
 * 3) Hereford-Dorridge Line
 * 4) Birmingham-Worcester via Kidderminster Line
 * 5) Cotswold Line

The railways are operated grudgingly by London Midland on behalf of both The Federal General Assembly and the UK's Centro organisation. Other trains are run in Herefordshire by Arriva Trains Wales. Services are provided by First Group and Chiltern railways have been withdrawn. Virgin Trains no longer stop at Sandwell and Dudley, and now only pass though it.

Malvern Link railway station was closed between May 5th 1997 and May 8th 1998 due to heavy damage caused by arsonists.

The Midland Metro route was competed in 2003, 4 years later than in reality and passes through customs check points at Wednesfield, Swan Village and Dudley, Gunn’s Village.

Tourism and some light freight use the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, the Dudley No. 1 Canal and Stourbridge Canal. The touristic use of canal boats and canoes has become a major event since 2010.

Further railway and canal projects
There are several or were several railway and canal projects in the nation between 1999 and 2009. The most famous were-

See-Railway and canal projects the Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire


 * 1) The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal restoration project.
 * 2) The Dymock and Ledbury Town Halt light railway project.
 * 3) The Brettell Lane to Dudley Port and Pensnett railway project.

Supplies were once smuggled in via the The Gloucestershire Corridor.

The transport, energy and infrastructure minister is the South Wychavon and Throockmorton MP, (our time line's) Peter James Luff of the Federal Conservatives.

Health
The Hereford County Hospital, Dudley Guest Hospital and Russells Hall Hospital are the republic's leading hospitals.

The incumbent pensions, health and education minister is the independent MP for Seisdon, Billy Hinks.

Education
The University of Worcester was granted university status in May 2006 and is the federation's leading seat of learning.

Kates Hill Primary School and Pedmore Technology College are the leading schools in the nation.

As in reality, on 15th March 1999, Sedgley's Dormston Secondary School made national headlines when more than 40 girls at the school were either sent home or withdrawn from lessons as punishment for wearing inappropriately short skirts.

Since the improvements in relations with the UK several schools have exchanged students for a 2 week stint each year since 2005.
 * Hagley
 * Barnt Green
 * Bloxwich
 * Abbot's Salford
 * Ashchurch
 * Derby
 * Alcester
 * Coventry
 * Derby
 * Wolverhampton
 * Sedgley
 * Cardiff
 * Gornal Wood
 * Hereford

Media
The local radio stations are Wyvern FM which broadcasted on 97.6FM, Smooth Radio on 105.7 FM and Sunshine Radio 106.2 FM and 954 kHz Am are the 3 privately run national radio stations. The Federal Press Bureau took over the non-evacuated assets and studios of the defunct BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester which started rebroadcasting in the November of 1998 on its old frequency of 94.7FM.

The Worcester News, the Stourbridge, Stourbridge Chronicle, Express & Star, Dudley News, and the Black Country Bugle, and The Hereford Times are the 7 privately held national weekly newspapers.

The Federal Press Bureau also censor out most of the news that is even mildly critical of the president and the Federal General Assembly out of the national media.

10 overseas channels are avalible in the Federal Republic. The Channels are- the BBC, ITV, sky, RTE, Euronews, CNN, UKTV Gold, SC4, TCM Movies and Sangat TV.

The current Culture, media and sport minister is the Federal Labour MP for West Bromwich East, (OTL) Tom Watson.

Sports
See- Sport in the Federal Republic of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

The republic possesses several football, cricket and rugby teams. It also has a basketball team and plays host to the National Hunt horse race.

The legal system
Murderers, sex predators, rapists, child molesters, traitors and enemy spies are executed with the hangman’s rope. The last execution was of a murderer in 1998. It is due to be abolished, along with school caning in mid-2012. The right to remain silent upon arrest and the right to a layer have been upheld. The Double Jeopardy rule is under review. Both the UK's West Midlands Police and the Federal Police Force Sandwell Borough Division’sfought it out in a joint operation against the hoodlums during the West Midlands riots of August 2011.

A French tourist was jailed for 6 years in Hereford prison for ridiculing the federal presidenent on May 1st, 2009.

The 7,000 strong police force possesses 1 rigid-hulled inflatable (RHIB) boat, one Fast Response Targa 31 boat and 1 Eurocopter EC135.


 * The Federal Police Beauro's Chief Commissioner is Petros Antonas Tsalikidis
 * Sandwell Borough Division’s Under Commissioner is Ian David Hertford
 * Dudley Borough Division’s Under Commissioner is Pipa Ingles.
 * The Rural Borough (the rest of the nation) Division’s Under Commissioner is Julia Roberts
 * The drugs, vice, homicide and serious fraud unit’s Under Commissioner is Suzette Stevenson.

Co-operation with the UK is fairly close and an extradition treaty was signed by the UK and the Federal Republic on May 1st 2009.

The Minister for the courts, the justice system and prisons is the Federal Conservative for Dudley town, Micheál Pádraig Blaney.

The Minister for incumbent interior, vice and Policing is the Federal Conservative for Stourbridge Angela Lucie Benson.

Also see

 * 1) The Gloucestershire Corridor
 * 2) The evacuation of Coseley
 * 3) The Tipton incident