An alternative British future…
In the late 2020s and early 2030s, a new revolutionary progressive movement swept Britain after decades of ruling class decline. What followed was the greatest reversal of a nation’s fortunes the world had ever seen. By 2050, Britain had become the wealthiest and most advanced civilisation in the universe.
Britain previously had a system operating solely through nepotism, plutocracy and corruption, entrenched by historic institutions that bestow fake prestige and legitimacy and in which growth, wealth and development had stalled. It was the progressive revolutionary’s belief that a true meritocracy would restore progress, advancement, and excessive wealth to Britain.
The revolutionaries established the first-ever true meritocracy in Britain. Merit and talent become the most outstanding values for all and Britain’s entire structure now elevate this system as a way of life.
When the revolutionaries took power, they acted swiftly and decisively, they knew the established powers in Britain would not go quietly so they convened special courts to prosecute and jail enemies of Britain and enforced massive RAGE (Retire All Gov Employees) programmes across all aspects of the state. The media is brought to heel by regulation similar to that used in Singapore which discourages subversion and restricts the power of journalists, historic outlets such as The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times are banned, given that their institutional and historical clout represents the power of the old order.
Every state institution and function is scrapped and started new, only those necessary are established. The old constitutional order is dead.
Strict centralisation occurs, and with devolution abolished, Britain is entirely run by a group of powerful 25 revolutionaries in a single building in London. Each individual is akin to Lieutenant General Leslie Richard Groves Jr., the man who managed the Manhattan Project (the development of the Atomic Bomb), and who was in charge of constructing the Pentagon building. This organisational change ensures Britons know who is directly responsible for any mishaps or decisions, unlike the previous system in which politicians could duck behind ‘procedure’ or have their hands tied.
95% of universities are abolished, with companies forced to train and invest in their own systems and staff. The private and public sectors are only allowed to evaluate job applicants based on blind IQ tests, no aptitude/competency tests or silly online games. Nepotism is outlawed, and anyone engaging in it is jailed. Private tutoring is also outlawed and the new British education system abolishes the Department for Education and the National Curriculum, money the government would have previously spent on education is given to parents who can choose which school they wish to send their children to. Like with job applicants, school applicants would be based on blind IQ tests and the school leaving age would be 16. Private member’s clubs are abolished, as they serve only to entrench the old order and do not promote meritocracy. The aristocracy is dismantled with all titles abolished and their land and assets seized. With this action, the British Royal Family fled to America in 2030, fearing their reduced position in the new meritocracy. The Palace of Westminster is turned into a museum alongside the abolishment of the House of Lords, with a new parliament building built on the opposite bank of the Thames.
Crime is almost non-existent by 2050, Britain becomes the safest country on the planet, and those who commit crimes are given a three-strike rule, no matter the crime, if they are convicted for the third time, they are jailed for life. The death penalty is also brought back into use, an act celebrated by the public after they had suffered under decades of out-of-control crime. One of the first acts of the revolutionaries was to deport all foreign criminals immediately and strengthen the borders of the nation.
All visas previously issued were reevaluated which resulted in mass visa revocations and deportations after decades of high mass migration numbers. This action frees up housing and lowers stress on infrastructure and government spending whilst also benefitting British workers’ positions in the job market as they do not have to compete with foreign labour.
Almost all planning regulation is scrapped, freeing Britons from the shackles of expensive, limited, and outdated housing stock and allowing expansive skyscrapers, mansions blocks and self-builds to flourish in cities and towns. Housing costs now account for no more than 10% of an individual’s income freeing up spending to invest in stocks, hobbies, and entrepreneurship. True freedom becomes possible as people are no longer shackled to capital. The birth rate dramatically rises as people can afford to have more children and the revolutionaries encourage large families. A sea of skyscrapers descend all the way down the Thames, cities such as Liverpool and Edinburgh become major economic hubs, whilst Oxford and Cambridge become the valley of the future in which technology and science advance at an astonishing pace.
With this advancement in wealth, science and technology, Britain races ahead of the rest of the world. Its transport and infrastructure system consist of underground autonomous cargo delivery which connects to major cities and towns across Britain making it easier for cargo and goods to travel across the country. Mass Intercity Hyperloops replace high-speed rail and traditional rail networks meaning a journey from London to Edinburgh takes only 45 minutes. Nuclear fusion is finally realised by a team of Britons who work with Rolls Royce to create mass nuclear fusion reactors that create cheap and clean energy that powers 95% of Britain. Every aspect of Britain champions technology, ports are automated with unmanned cargo ships and automated cranes, and unmanned transport systems such as Hyperloops and planes. Advanced AI is now a fixture in every major industry helping to construct, build and create.
The embrace of technology and automation in the meritocracy on a scale no other nation could even comprehend makes Britain the wealthiest nation on earth.
Healthcare has also been revolutionised with the invention of British medical pods in the mid-2040s that enable an individual to lie down in the pod and be scanned for any illness, disease or ailment and be automatically cured or fixed. Not only does this remove the need for the massive and failed healthcare system established in 1945 under the name of the National Health Service, but it also means the British are the healthiest nation on earth.
By 2050, Britain’s economy is the largest in the world and its citizens the richest, thanks to the new meritocracy, millions of people with untapped potential flourish under the system. By leading the way with nuclear fusion, and becoming the definitive global centre for science and technology, Britain looks to the stars after the rocket industry had stalled due to Elon Musks’ arrest by the US Government in 2026. The British space industry rapidly develops and by 2045 Britain has built its own space station orbiting the Earth which can hold more than 10,000 people at once. Work has started in Scotland on a space elevator which will negate the need for rockets from the surface of the earth, transporting mass goods, supplies and people to the British Space Station, to then be sent off to the British Moon colony, and beyond.
Advanced artificial general intelligence robots are sent on mining missions to nearby asteroids, mining for minerals such as gold, palladium and other precious and rare-earth metals. This makes Britain by far the world’s dominant force for natural resources and as there is no risk to humans, the mines can operate at all times.
Research and innovation in Space also spur innovation in military technology, in 2035, a team at BAE Systems create the world’s first forcefield which can prevent solid matter from penetrating through. This forcefield is rapidly expedited and Britain becomes the first nation in the universe to protect its entire territory under this new forcefield technology. Britain is virtually invulnerable to attack.
Britains tax system was simplified, every single tax was abolished in 2035, but to ensure meritocracy remained for generations and to raise revenue for the government, a singular tax is taken once a citizen has passed, they cannot leave any assets or wealth to pass on, as to do so would begin to create a generational class and wealth system, not conducive to the true meritocracy. The citizens believe this is fair and support this measure as it attempts to give everyone a similar start in life, with the chance to build their own wealth through merit.
Towards the end of the 2040s, nations across the globe started to envy Britain and her success, their politicians distracting from their own failures and their citizens frustrated that one nation is so dominant. Britain had become the world’s only hyper-power but was effectively isolationist. Britain’s leaders would let their thoughts be known on global issues, but they would rarely intervene, they were far more focused on expanding their territory in space and increasing the wealth of their nation. Britain’s seat at the United Nations had been empty since 2036, as other nations started to express their disaffection with Britain’s isolation and success, relations started to become strained.
To be continued.