Palace refurb

I dont think anyone on here said "hang the rich bastards" I do think however theres a huge difference in people who have worked their way up the ladder and MADE their money and the royals who just hold out their hands and get what they want JUST because of WHO they are .The monarchy is an out of date our of touch concept in a modern world. When people are struggling and there are more homeless on the streets than ever before for this family to continue to be so privileged and pampered is obscene ...in my opinion .I however have always been a republican .Like I said before ,where a guillotine when you need one !1

What a sensible post lefthanded..... but it seems that a lot on this thread choose to ignore it in favour of the ' Hang the rich bastards' type of dialogue.

I still say the whole things should be sold off to the highest bidder and turned into a luxury hotel. That way all the tourists can have their fix and the money could be put to good use. Let's face it the queen only uses it occasionally and £300+ million pounds is an awful lot of money for the occasional night stay especially when "one" has so many other luxury residences that "one" can use.

I, too, cannot understand how the place came to be in such a bad state in the first place-whose job was it then?
I do think the monarchy/republican debate is a separate one from these costly repairs at a time when there are SO many folks struggling.
Is there no-one with a business brain who could get the place done up:-
opening the art gallery to all (for a reasonable charge so all could see our treasures), keeping State rooms for "best" (but also open for joe/Josephine public to see) for when we want to show off to visiting folks (hopefully to drum up trade!)
Cordon off a few rooms for Queen, DH to live in when they must
Suppose keep balcony for waving duties
The rest should be a luxury hotel-the tourists would love it.

I also understand the grounds are huge-unacceptable when so many folks are homeless. Build an estate of social housing-but not for immigrants! Locals first!

The only thing I would like to see Blair returning in is a Presidential Yurt!

If the monarchy were to be abolished I can just see the frantic OPs on Gransnet:

A Bad Day for the UK
Farage for President
Blair returns in Presidential Yacht

and all the horrified posts when they realise that a Trumplike person has become President and wants to increase the allowance for Head of State by about 500%?.

If the position of head of state were not hereditary, there would have to be a way of appointing one. The US way is not an ideal one.

It would be best if the appointment were achieved in a completely different way to the appointment of representative MPs, so as to avoid them being clones of the MPs and not completely independent. In several of the city-states of Ancient Greece, public officials were chosen by lot from those who put themselves forward. Well, it would definitely be different!

If anyone feels like examining and comparing various methods of choosing a head of state, read Methods of Choosing a Head of State by the Parliament of Australia.

At a time when some frail elderly people cannot get more than a fifteen minute visit from a carer queenie has footmen to hang around doors and walk her dogs.

This is so wrong and I wish this family would realise they are hurling thus country to abolishing the monarchy

And the Donald will visit Windsor not Buck house

A head of state should be completely separate from and independent of the political life of the country, and be a stable presence and continuity that stays in place over whatever changes in party policy and so on follow each other as different groups are voted into and out of power and change priorities backwards and forwards.

That was supposed to be the case with the US presidency, but because it is a position of power, it is also a position that people compete to get, canvassing for votes in exactly the same way as party politicians canvass for election, and leading to the presidential candidates being elected on party lines.

Our head of state currently has no public political opinions, no political powers, only enters the houses of Parliament when invited, and does not appoint anyone else to positions of power. Any other kind of head of state would need to have none of these powers either.

The financial arrangements were in place long before she acceded to the throne, any changes would have involved a lot of constitutional stuff - which she is not supposed to interfere with.

killing him, not her. Should have proofread.

Time to separate the image of the office from the perception of the holder of it, I'd say. I wouldn't object if the future monarchy were abolished, but as a person, our present monarch is NOT a grasping old bat.

She inherited the position when her father died, and took it on knowing well that the strain of becoming head of state out of duty when his brother buggared off had contributed to killing her at too early an age. She was an idealistic young woman, who vowed to spend her life in what she saw as the service of her country, and she has stuck to that vow, and to her marriage vows.

She is not to blame for the faults of her children and grandchildren - how many Gransnetters on here have posted about what their families have done?

Nanna58. Grasping old bat!!!. What a nasty and disgraceful thing to say about our Queen.

What a good idea Elegran

He might be inspired to make an offer for the place, to pull it down and build a state-of-the-art prestigious golf course there. He wouldn't mind throwing the tenants out onto the street. However, he would demand that all the bits of London that could be seen from the fairways, greens and clubhouse be knocked down and flattened, so as not to spoil the view.

daphnedill

In that case let's not fix the Palace- Trump meeting a sticky end there is an opportunity that shouldn't be missed!

But, jalima, isn't the Donald due to visit next year? I can see the headlines 'Trump killed in Buckingham Palace loo'.

Maybe it's all a cunning plan!

Who said she was appointed by God? I thought it was an accident of birth.

Let's not have the struggles of the rich man and the eye of a needle please, wd are speaking about the supreme governer of the Church of England , the same woman we are told was appointed by God and in a few weeks will be on telly telling us of the birth of the Christ Child snd wishing all a happy time, yuck

not all the old fossils want the refurb though, some old fossils on here say they don't!!

and if there is another referendum [sigh] I may take myself off to the rock festival instead.

I am trying to look at this dispassionately and with pragmatism. The thing I am most annoyed about is that it was allowed to get into such a state in the first place.

Forget the referendum, the repairs will go ahead anyway

If you want another referendum just remember NOT to hold it at the same time as a major rock festival because all us old fossils who can be bothered to vote will get the blame for allowing the refurb to go ahead.

Followed by the endless bickering about whether the winning majority was big enough, and how many lies had been told by both sides!

how much will a referendum cost?

The last one cost:
The estimated cost of conducting the EU referendum has been put at £142.4million. The budget goes toward activities such as running more than 41,000 polling stations, counting votes, organising postal voting and providing polling cards.

That's £142+ million that could be spent building houses elsewhere because the Palace renovations would have to go ahead, because demolishing it would cost just as much.

We now have to say to the world that 'Britain is open for business - but when you come for a State visit please mind the drips and mind how you flush the loo because the whole lot could come off the wall and kill you'.