Until 1885 there had been a broad consesus between the Conservative and Liberal parties of keeping the Union with Ireland firmly intact. 1885 was the year Gladstone publically embraced Home Rule and the following year he unsuccessfully tried to pass the first Home Rule Bill, splitting the Liberals.
What if Gladstone had remained unconvinced by Home Rule, or been replaced as Liberal leader before he could make it a party platform (he was after all hardly young even 1885).
The alternative POD is Lord Rosebery, Gladstone's successor. A Liberal imperialist he pulled away from Home Rule and outright opposed it after leaving office, despite helping Gladstone try to push the second Home Rule Bill through the House of Lords. What if he had succeeded in breaking the alliance between the Irish Party while he was Liberal Leader?
In either case how would the Irish have reacted to a continuation of the pre-1885 Unionist consensus?
What if Gladstone had remained unconvinced by Home Rule, or been replaced as Liberal leader before he could make it a party platform (he was after all hardly young even 1885).
The alternative POD is Lord Rosebery, Gladstone's successor. A Liberal imperialist he pulled away from Home Rule and outright opposed it after leaving office, despite helping Gladstone try to push the second Home Rule Bill through the House of Lords. What if he had succeeded in breaking the alliance between the Irish Party while he was Liberal Leader?
In either case how would the Irish have reacted to a continuation of the pre-1885 Unionist consensus?