Oh, so he would still have been in the Commons in TBS. I thought he'd always been a peer.

He will likely never be a peer now, will he? New creations are generally done on the recommendation of one's Party leader, and plotting against said leader doesn't endear oneself.

Will he be summoned to the Lords? Probably not anytime soon. Will he become Salisbury? So long as he doesn't predecease his father, and so long as the monarchy doesn't cause it to be extinquished altogether, yes, he can still be Salisbury. TR 15:38, July 27, 2011 (UTC)

Oh, he was a hereditary peer. I keep losing track. Turtle Fan 16:03, July 27, 2011 (UTC)

Which raises the question, was he born Gascoyne-Cecil, and Cranborne was the name of his viscount title? And if so, was he not created Viscount Cranborne till 1941? If yes and yes, I'm afraid we've got another inconsistency.

He was born Gascoyne-Cecil, but he was called Viscount Cranborne until 1947, when his father died, and he became Marquess Salisbury. The two titles are linked, going all the way back to our friend Hunchback Bob. The heir apparent is Viscount Cranmborne, until the incumbent Marquess of Salisbury dies.

He is descended from those Cecils, then. That means we have three. Not sure if we want to do anything about it, but they have been a very prominent family in English history. Turtle Fan 16:03, July 27, 2011 (UTC)

In other words-no, no inconsistency; he was properly Viscount Cranborne until 1947, when he became Marquess of Salisbury.

And getting back to the party leader thing, I wonder if it's significant that all the MPs Walsh has met are Conservatives. You'd think Opposition MPs would be involved in something like this, wouldn't you? Turtle Fan 15:08, July 27, 2011 (UTC)

Ideally, yes. HT did describe those scenes in somewhat sketchy terms. Maybe there were Labour MPs that we didn't get the names of? Alternatively, few things will set off a person's radar off like your enemies in the party meeting with members of the Opposition, so maybe the Conservatives are trying to sort themselves out first?. TR 15:38, July 27, 2011 (UTC)

Walsh being a Conservative, maybe he remembered his own MPs more. Though you're right about the Tories doing it in-house. I assume the Government is still a National Government, since that's what was elected in 1935. (Which reminds me, there was no general election in this book even though they're overdue for one. There wasn't in OTL either but it seems a lot more ominous now, doesn't it?) Chamberlain had had the support of something like a third of the Liberals and eight Labour MPs, though the latter had been formally expelled from their party as punishment. A reference on one of the radio broadcasts suggests suggested both groups had bolted, though the Conservatives apparently had a majority without their NG partners. Maybe Wilson will assume these guys intend to set up a rival Conservative Party, as there had been rival Liberal Parties since the Lloyd George days. That would still draw unwanted attention. Turtle Fan 16:03, July 27, 2011 (UTC)