Saturday 4 June 2022

Britain, a country awash with Royal Jubilee celebrations, is no country for old Republicans .... for now

Elizabeth Windsor, has now sat on the throne in Britain for seventy years. The woman, who had a poor education as a girl, has neither earned her position as Head of State through ability, nor as the result of the vote of the people, but purely through the accident of birth. And this in the Twenty-first century in a country which advertises itself as a mature 'democracy'.

Republicans in Britain take heart at the fact that although polls indicate the vast majority of people in The country support the monarchy and the Queen herself is hugely popular, there is not as much support for her eldest son and heir as King Charles and surveys suggest there is growing republican sentiment among younger Britons. They might well ask themselves : Who are these people dressed in strange archaic costumes ? What are these people for ? Why am I expected to lower my head, if I meet them, making myself shorter as a mark of deference and acknowledgment that they are 'higher' than me ?



A recent Reuters article was headlined :
It reported :

'According to the survey by YouGov, 41% of those aged 18 to 24 thought there should now be an elected head of state compared to 31% who wanted a king or queen. That was a reversal of sentiment from two years ago, when 46% preferred the monarchy to 26% who wanted it replaced'.

"While there is no possibility of an end to the monarchy while the Queen remains on the throne, there is concern for the royals about a declining support among younger Britons. The survey of 4,870 adults found 53% of those aged between 25-49 supported keeping the monarchy, down five percentage points from a similar poll in 2019, while support for an elected head was up 4 points'.

Republicans, no doubt receiving this as good news and not partying this weekend : 

Journalists :

Mark Seddon

Will Self

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Jackie Ashley

Emma Brockes

Alistair Campbell

Nick Cohen

Bill Emmott

Jonathan Freedland

Roy Greenslade

Johann Hari

Mick Hume

Owen Jones

Vicky Richardson

Chris McLaughlin

Alan Rusbridger

Ash Sarkar

Miranda Sawyer

Suzanne Moore,

Kevin Maguire

Amol Rajan 

Brian Reade

Vicky Richardson 

Gary Younge

Brendan O'Neill

Writers

Julie Burchill, 

Heather Brooke

Michael Collins

Beatrix Campbell

Simon Fanshawe

Anthony Holden

Tim Lott

Kenan Malik

Film Directors : 

Danny Boyle

Paul Greengrass

Mike Leigh

Ken Loach

Film Critic :

Mark Kermode

Playwrights :

David Hare

Patrick Jones

Julia Pascal

Novelists :

Martin Amis

Alasdair Gray

Philippa Gregory

Mark Haddon

Kathy Lette

Zadie Smith

Michael Rosen

Joan Smith

Jonathan Trigell

Poets :

Benjamin Zephaniah

Mike Jenkins

Comedians :

Frankie Boyle

Jo Brand

Russell Brand

Robin Ince

Eddie Izzard

Lloyd Langford

Mark Thomas

Actors :

Mark Gatiss

Josh O'Connor,

Daniel Radcliffe

Scientists :

Richard Dawkins

Edzard Ernst,

Cartoonist :

Steve Bell

Musicians

Morrissey

Ray Burns

Mark 'Barry' Greenway

Paul Simonon

Robert Smith

Johnny Marr

Paul Heaton

2 comments:

  1. I was very sure in 1977 when we suffered the silver jubilee - time to consign the monarchy to history. Now I am not so sure. Do we really want to be like the French? Arguably there's something nice and wholesome about sticking with an apolitical head of state and following a tradition that is many centuries old. Let's give King Charles III a chance followed by King William V and see how the land lies then. In the meantime how about turning Buckingham Palace into a temporary residence for asylum seekers from Syria and Afghanistan - maybe Ukraine too.

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    1. I think that there are 22 royal palaces. The Duchy of Lancaster, Cornwall and whole swathes of land bringing cash to the Windsors. Reclaim and re-allocate to the Afghans and Ukrainians and other immigrants in need of asylum. That would be the decent thing to do.

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