My next four postings contain consecutive sections of a paper that is presented to the Cambridge Apostles, a Marxist leaning secret society based in Trinity College. These segments are taken from Addlestone, the first novel in the series The Addlestone Chronicles.
In each, I attempt to draw parallels with the ideas contained in the essay and Trump’s successful plan to steal the 2024 US election.
The paper was written and delivered by James Harcourt-Heath. Set in 1935, he is a final year Maths student at King’s College, Cambridge and a recent recruit to the British Secret Services department MI5. The context is that Anthony Blunt, the leader of the Apostles, has asked him to present a discussion paper to the society that offers a practical approach for Britain to restrict voting to ensure a Conservative Party victory in the next General Election:
James begins, “I’m certain that all present would accept my initial premise: Universal suffrage is essential for a robust democracy. Obviously, this doesn’t mean every man, woman, or child present in the UK on Election Day is granted the right to vote. As of seven years ago, a British citizen must have reached the age of twenty-one to be placed on the Electoral Register. Prior to 1928, the voting age for women was thirty. Current rules also require women to be property owners in order to qualify for the privilege to vote. Clearly, it’s a well-established precedent, in both civil and common law, voters must be both mature and conversant with the issues of the day.
Voters should also have an interest in and commitment to British society. Those deemed otherwise, must obviously be denied the vote. I’d not only exclude minors but also the mentally impaired and criminally insane. Recidivist miscreants and convicted felons, whether in prison or released having served their custodial sentences, have correctly lost their franchise under current electoral rules. I now propose we extend these restrictions to cover those committing lesser crimes such as public drunkenness, vagrancy, or obstructing the police in the execution of their lawful duties. Additionally, I’d apply it to members of the press should they publish stories containing anti-government propaganda. Such fake news incites the general public to stage unlawful assemblies.
Next, I’d like to propose what I regard as an immutable principle. Voting should be restricted to those who understand and actively embrace our British psyche. On this basis, we should withdraw the franchise from first generation immigrants even if they’ve become naturalised citizens. If earlier generations fail to adopt our way of life, they too must be excluded. It would be a simple matter to discover how successfully foreigners have assimilated. We could require that they pass an English proficiency examination before being placed on the Electoral Register.
It is interesting to note in passing, a literacy test is currently employed in many American southern states. It has been particularly effective in disenfranchising the uneducated racial minorities and poor whites. Our test should contain questions about British law, customs, and history. Adjusting the pass level, the difficulty of the questions, or even the
intricacy of the wording could limit the amount of, shall I say, foreignness and ignorance that is allowed to influence our electoral outcomes.”
Voter suppression has been a tactic of the Republican Party since Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980. Various tactics were implemented at that time that have now been refined by MAGA politicians working with the Heritage Project to implement Project 2025. In that clearly Fascist manifesto, it outlines the many ways they can undermine voting rights and democracy. James’s paper provides a prescient account of the plans contained in Project 2025.Therein the plan is to criminalize the voting process itself, allow online misinformation and disinformation relating to elections, allow Federal access to state voter lists, and finally restrict or remove President Biden’s executive order ‘Promoting Access to Voting’.
Look out for my next posting. In that I shall continue to present James’s ideas on voter suppression.
As always, I encourage readers who are interested in this topic and others relating to the rise of Fascism and the build-up to WWII to visit my Website, https://addlestonechronicles.com and my blog on Substack: https://substack.com/@douglasakuehn
There you can search for my name, DouglasAKuehn or Douglas’s substack and scroll down until you find my name. On these sites you can follow my writings and offer comments on my efforts at historical fiction as well as on my posted blogs. Subscriptions to both are free.
Having subscribed to my substack site, you will receive my latest blogs directly into your email inbox.
All four novels in the Addlestone Chronicles series are available in paperback and Kindle formats as well as audiobooks.
The featured photo is of Anthony Blunt, the leader of the Cambridge Apostles. He was an art-historian and Russian spy who, in 1956 was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his services to the arts. This was removed by the process of degradation when it emerged he had been spying for the Soviet Union since the early 1930s when he was an undergraduate attending Trinity College, Cambridge.