In 1931, the general elections of the Republic of Great Britain are inconclusive. Neither the previously ruling Labour, nor the pro-Soviet Democratic-Leninists are able to form a majority government, as the third and fourth largest parties (the pro-American Social Liberals and the pro-German British Union of Fascists) are not willing to collaborate. The British Parliament is brought to a halt; Oswald Mosley's BUF steps up with the support of key British Army and Navy figures, most importantly Winston Churchill, overriding parliament in favour of a working government. Fearing a fascist takeover like Mussolinni's or Hitler's, the D-Ls declare the British government to be null, void and illegitimate. The Social Liberals and Labourites would follow soon after, beginning four years of political violence known as the Downy Days.
When the 1935 elections roll around, results are once more inconclusive. The BUF and the Democratic-Leninists agree to form an unlikely coalition, to bring them legitimacy. In response, so do Labour and the Social-Liberals, alongside many of Britain's minor parties; by a small margin, and thanks to a recount in Wales, the latter is victorious. Britain's dire economic and political situation is turned around by the ruling "Liberal-Socialist Coalition", repealing the few authoritarian acts that the BUF was able to pass through, and conducting investigations into their members and collaborators. It is this government which foresees a great war in Europe is approaching, and begins an armaments program disguised as a jobs and public works one.