On borrowed time - the royals

Bridgeit

Any one who thinks that this country will somehow become a fair society - If only we didn’t have a RF, is sadly deluded, not to mention (as I have many times already) that so very many employees would loose their jobs.

It's not a good enough reason to hold on to a system that is wrong.

The Times and hereditary peers

@thesundaytimes

The aristocratic 'jobs for the boys’ system that gave the elite an automatic role in running the country has been running on borrowed time for 20 years.

Is it time for reform?

thetimes.co.uk/article/is-it-time-to-end-the-farce-of-hereditary-peers-in-the-house-of-lords-k62q30zq6?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=Lords&utm_medium=branded_social&utm_term=Lords&utm_content=Lords…

The 85 hereditary peers are allowed to vote on laws because they have inherited ancient titles.

The amount of land they own between them is equivalent to nearly half the size of Greater London

P Charles treats the Duchy of Cornwall as his own private property, although it belongs to the state. Giving Charles an annual income of more than £20m the Duchy's land is five times the size of Bristol and twice the size of Edinburgh.

Our head of state and her son are allowed to vet and veto laws because they have inherited ancient titles.

The hereditary lords should be gone, along with all the other lords. We need and deserve a fully elected upper house.

Yet it makes no sense to get upset about hereditary peers while supporting the hereditary monarchy.

We need to #abolishthemonarchy

We welcome the Sunday Times reporting on the House of Lords. This is one big brick in the shambolic structure that holds up the monarchy.

There's a reason the House of Lords hasn't been transformed; if it were more legitimate it would pose a greater threat to the Commons. Here's my piece from 2016:

amp.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/06/who-needs-house-of-lords-meet-peers-rattling-the-commons?__twitter_impression=true

I still have the LP
(Yes, Trumpton had crossed my mind when I posted it! but, as ton means town I reckoned a town wouldn't be big enough for King Don.)

I can Miss! Barney McGrew Cuthbert Dibble and Grub! Can I h@ve my gold ⭐️ please?

agree

I can adaunas! ? Childhood indoctrination.

How many people, on hearing, “Pugh, Pugh. . .” can still finish the list, *Elegran?”

Just because it is there, and I like the music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBI9iBerg3w

vegansrock

I’m sure there are those who would like the Trump family to be monarchs of the USA. ?

?
King Don of Trumpland

Alegrias1

Is a wee jaunt to Greece appropriate just now?

www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a35886831/prince-charles-camilla-royal-tour-greece-2021/

I doubt that they want to go but that is what the Royal Family does.
Their duty.

Any one who thinks that this country will somehow become a fair society - If only we didn’t have a RF, is sadly deluded, not to mention (as I have many times already) that so very many employees would loose their jobs.

Not at all appropriate to go to Greece or any where abroad.

Probably inappropriate, but it must be tempting to leave the country at the moment, with all the inlaw angst.

Is a wee jaunt to Greece appropriate just now?

www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a35886831/prince-charles-camilla-royal-tour-greece-2021/

Whatever solution we arrive at, power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is no perfect answer, but the heads of state of many republics do not give much hope.

I’m sure there are those who would like the Trump family to be monarchs of the USA. ?

Quis custodiet custodies ipsos? Who is watching the nightwatchmen?

If the president has power to over-ride the lawmakers, the law interpreters and the law enforcers, then who has power to over-ride the president if he/she over-steps his/her authority?

US, I hear someone say - but our will is applied via our elected representatives chosen in a general election, or by electing someone else to replace the erring president, or via a special referendum. all these are time-consuming and expensive blunt instruments. By the time they came into action, for example, a prorogation to avoid having open discussion on a controversial Bill would have happened unopposed, the Bill would have become law and a complete change in national trade would have taken place.

Thanks. I thought it was us, and I feel like that every time we have an election.

US. Just like we pay for the unelected HoS and her assorted hangers on.

I'd like to see a cost/benefit analysis.

I’m not going to quote your detailed post Elegran as it would be easy enough to go back to read.
I agree, but good luck with finding someone like that and getting enough people to vote and agree that the vote was fair if their candidate didn’t win.
Can someone more knowledgeable remind me who pays for all the election arrangements?

This will be an accountable HoS

Because an elected head of state's neutrality is prescribed by law, they can be genuinely independent of government, acting as an impartial referee of the political system and an extra check on the power of government.

The hereditary monarchy is not held to account. That's why they do/have interfered in politics.

Aside from these formal functions, a president represents their country on the world stage and takes a leading role at times of national celebration, uncertainty or tragedy. In carrying out these parts of the job, an elected head of state knows they will be held to account for their words and actions, providing a strong incentive to be unifying and inclusive.

A president would be at the top of the pile of this abuse of power.

Mohammed Suharto, Marcos, Mobulu Sese Seko, Sani Abacha, Duvalier, Fujimori, Lazarenko, Alemn, Estrada, Putin,

Tip of the iceberg!

Utopia. Shangri-La.

The person elected to be President, with the power to over-ride what our elected representatives in Parliament decide, "chosen by us to referee the political process and champion the interests of the British people" will still need to be incorruptible and steadfastly non-partisan, with no bias toward his/her own popularity, power base, or chances of being re-elected.

They will need strong ethical views, but no political ones regarding which party is most likely to act in accordance with those views. They will need the memory of an elephant.

They will need to be recruited from those who have no ambition to take on the power that the position will give them, but nevertheless have the knowledge, experience and personality to carry it out without making enemies and the private fortune to rule out any temptation to follow policies which increase their own bank balance diectly or indirectly, or to accept favours from those they may have to discipline in the future.

Good luck finding a suitable candidate who is well-enough known to the public for them to vote for them, but isn't a show-biz celeb.

But this government is breaking the law in many ways And the courts haven't been able to do anything The Good Law Project tried with some success but government refused to reveal lots more secretive billions out to tender to friends of Tories.

A president would be able to stop this abuse of power

Republic want

When Britain becomes a republic we will at last make sure that our nation's democratic values go right to the top. We will change the political culture and our relationship with those in power. Ordinary citizens will be able to take part in the process of choosing our head of state and even put themselves forward for the job.
Becoming a republic will put a stop to the royals' routine abuses of public money and their daily interference in our country's politics. In a republic the Windsor family will be equal citizens too, with the same rights to take part in the political process as the rest of us, but no special access or privileged status.
A move to a republic will give us the chance to re-balance power between government, parliament and the people. By getting rid of the Crown we can put limits on what our government can do without the support of parliament - and put limits on what parliament can do without the clear support of the people.
A republic will give us an effective head of state, someone chosen by us to referee the political process and champion the interests of the British people.
A democratic Britain will also give a huge boost to 'brand Britain'. Our nation's image abroad will be of the modern, confident and forward looking country we really are. As VisitBritain says in their guide to promoting Britain, we can avoid the cliché-ridden imagery of the past and promote our heritage as a living part of a dynamic, positive and modern nation.

The only point of the Queen is to wave, shake hands and to shore up the pretence that the monarch has any power. If she did overstep the mark she would soon be got rid of. This current monarch has toed the line with decorum, but the hereditary principle is no guarantee that the next one will be the same.