England: Justice and the US Supreme Court must relocate to London (which is only fitting since...
...US law is based on English common law), and, if the British people want the monarchy to continue in some form, the Queen of England is allowed to become the Queen of the State of England, which will require amending the US Constitution's Section 10 of Article 1. [The fall of the British Empire occurred because those in England could not accept the idea of giving equal representation to those in her colonies for fear of being outnumbered in the House of Commons. If Britain had given equal representation to the colonies, the British Empire would never have fallen. This challenge could very well be the first step to reuniting the old British Empire. And with England joining the US as a state, England would be the most populous state in the Union (as the US is now) and thus England would have a huge say in what the world’s only remaining superpower does and would also greatly influence who becomes President.
There is also a danger of England jumping on the statehood bandwagon too late. If it is seen following events as opposed to leading them, that will hurt its image within the United States and around the world. And if it doesn't join the US but the rest of the former British Empire does, what little international prestige it currently has will disappear. It won't even be a shadow of its former glory. It will be more of a discard of history. On the other hand, if England is the first to join the US, the US Supreme Court is moved to London, and the rest of the former British Empire then joins, England will once again become (part of) a world superpower and London will once again be a seat of global power. People might even call this the "Second British Empire" ... or at least those in England probably will.
As for
Scotland and
Wales, this could give them a chance to be independent sovereign nations, which many of them have long wished for. On the other hand, if they also want to join the US, it would probably be best that they join as separate states than as part of the State of England. This is especially true for Scotland as it has a very strong sense of self.
As for
Northern Ireland, maybe it and “regular”
Ireland have by now grown up enough to put aside their destructive religious dispute (constitutionally ensuring freedom of religion for all) and can become whole once again. Jack Decker, BTC's creator, had considered making Ireland one of these Statehood challenges, but doesn't feel that should be done until it is reunited with Northern Ireland. When that happens, Mr. Decker will then make Ireland one of the Statehood challenges.
As for the English monarchy, whether it survives to "reign" over the State of England will likely depend on how much it gets behind the statehood movement not only in England but in all of the former British colonies. If it is viewed as opposing the movement, it will get swept away by it. If it is able to be viewed as championing it, it will most likely continue on. But this decision might be completely out of monarchy's control. The British government controls the monarchy and so the final decision will likely be up to it. If the
British Prime Minister lets the monarch champion statehood, it will survive. If not, it won't. The prime reason why the British government might allow the monarchy to champion the movement would be because of pressure from the
English tourist industry. From that industry's perspective, the continuation of the monarchy will quite simply bring more tourists to the State of England. A likely sign that the monarchy is interested in surviving is if its princes and princesses start coming out for this challenge. They will most likely be trial balloons to see how the public responds to the monarchy getting involved. If they're received favorably (and the British government is willing), the monarchy might then take an active role in championing their country's statehood movement.
Then again, if the British monarchy is exceptionally skillful, they might just end up becoming the constitutional monarchy of the USA. Jack Decker, BTC's creator, wouldn't bet on this but that doesn't mean it is impossible. Possibly if the Queen of England becomes the Queen of the State of England (or whoever is the monarch at the time), s/he becomes very popular, and as more countries which were former colonies of the British Empire join the USA, there could be a groundswell movement within the former colonies which could result in amending the US Constitution's
Section 9 of Article 1 and thus enabling the Queen of the State of England becoming the Queen of the United States of America. What kind of constitutional monarchy it would be is impossible to say. Possibly it will become even more symbolic than it is currently in the UK or possibly the monarchy could find a meaningful useful niche at the federal level that the public would like it to hold. Possibly "Pardon of Last Resort" and/or the actual head of a national police force that polices all state police and/or branches of the federal police (as outlined in the
Police Corruption challenge). The latter would endear the monarchy to the American people as it would likely be viewed by them as helping keep in check government power, keeping the police honest, and righting wrongs done by government. At the very least, Jack Decker thinks it would be interesting to see the monarch family give this goal a shot, regardless if they succeed or not.]
First pro-statehood mega-concert in England to get:
1) At least fifteen of England’s Top 40 bands and fifteen of USA’s Top 40 bands to perform at it.
2) At least a million people to attend the concert inside and outside the concert stadium.
3) At least one royal prince or princess to speak at a concert and in favor of US statehood.
4) At least one English member of the House of Commons to speak at a concert and be in favor of US statehood.
5) At least 50 English members of the House of Commons to appear on stage at a concert and in favor of US statehood.
6) At least 100 English members of the House of Commons to appear on stage at a concert and in favor of US statehood.
7) Majority of the English membership of the House of Commons to appear on stage at a concert and in favor of US statehood.
8) The Prime Minister to speak at a concert and in favor of US statehood.
9) The Queen of England to speak at a concert and in favor of US statehood.
10) The US President, Governor of the State of England (former UK Prime Minister), and, if the monarchy continues to exist, the Queen of the State of England to appear together on stage at the concert after England becomes a US state. This is the last of the concert series.
First former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom or (former) Governor of the State of England to become:
11) US Senator
12) US President
First TV production company to produce a:
13) TV documentary about one of the above mega-concerts in England.
14) Reality TV show that follows a concert promoter and crew who are doing a never-ending series of the above mega-concerts in England.
First pro-statehood weekend mega-concert rally to be carried live by a:
15) Local radio station.
16) Local TV station.
17) National cable TV network.
18) National broadcast TV network.
19) US cable TV network.
20) US broadcast TV network.
First radio talk show host in England (not Scotland or Wales) to champion this challenge and:
21) Solo emcee a pro-Statehood weekend mega-concert rally in England.
22) Gets a sitting member of House of Lords (who is from England) to come onto the show and publicly state that s/he is in favor of England joining the USA as a state.
23) Gets a sitting member of House of Commons (who is from England) to come onto the show and publicly state that s/he is in favor of England joining the USA as a state.
24) Gets a member of the Royal family to come onto the show and publicly state that s/he is in favor of England joining the USA as a state.
25) Gets a sitting member of the US House to come onto the show and publicly state that s/he is in favor of England joining the USA as a state.
26) Gets a sitting member of the US Senate to come onto the show and publicly state that s/he is in favor of England joining the USA as a state.
27) Gets the UK Prime Minister to come onto the show and publicly state that s/he is in favor of England joining the USA as a state.
Discussion:
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