Which way would you vote in a referendum on the monarchy?

[O11]

Now that the Queen is gone, if there were ever to be a referendum, would you vote to keep or abolish?

I would vote to abolish.

Abolish, no need for £100m a year of tax payers £ to shore up a billionaire family.

Keep

I also totally agree with the concept of duty bound monarchs providing a nation with a steadfast moral compass through turbulent times - but I think a hugely important point is that we feel that way because we had Elizabeth, who embodied this. The problem with a monarchy is we could easily have a totally horrible king, imagine say a trump style grandson, and there is nothing that can be done!!

Luckily Will’s and Kate are lovely and I imagine George will be fine too, but who knows if the next in line will be a party boy/sexist/racist/mad… you’re stuck with them no matter what.

It's ten days out of the last 70 years. It's not like this happens every year!

Abolish

Keep

There’s just this gleeful viciousness about the multiplicity of threads though: this one; the ‘republicans over here’ one; the ones moaning about the media coverage, date of the funeral, plus people getting really nasty (from all angles) on the long-running royal threads.

You’re enjoying yourself, but some people are upset. Why not give them a week to start feeling a bit better, and then go for it? That would be kind.

@wonderstuff

Did you complain as much when you got the extra June bank holiday? 10 days across 70 years of public service which may not be visible to many people but did to the millions who benefitted from the monarchy around the globe really isn't a big deal. I don't think people understand how much they fund and the opportunities they create for many under privileged people. Most organisations shut this long over xmas anyway...

Keep

Abolish.

I think the Queen did an amazing job, but many of the benefits she brought were associated with her longevity and experience in the role, which isn't likely to be repeated in future years unless the reigning monarch dies unexpectedly young.

It's anachronistic and frankly a bit embarrassing to have a hereditary system. Having said that, my vote would depend a bit on what we were going to put in place instead. I don't want an American style party political president - I would like the president to be an apolitical figure who has perhaps achieved something notable in life e.g. in the arts, in science, in community work etc. Someone like Sir David Attenborough, for example.

Ideally, I would elect them for life, ideally, so that we get the benefit of the experience that they build up over the years. So it wouldn't be hugely different from our current system but we would take out the hereditary element and elect people on merit instead.

Keep. Their value far outweighs their cost. And as we have seen, they do unite the nation.

www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/sep/18/david-attenborough-famine-population

The same David Attenborough who wanted countries to stop sending food to famine hit countries and thought humans were a plague on earth....and wanted population control.

The thing about the RF at least now is they are trained from birth to put public service above their individual needs. No one born outside of it in a normal family with all the freedom would want the responsibility. I mean, our male footballers choke with just the responsibility of winning single games.

Keep, but streamline, I don’t see other monarchies with so many irrelevant people.

Keep

Abolish. The RF is an unnecessary expense and an insult to people in our country who are struggling financially.

Keep!

Keep. They are like a real life soap opera and the tourists love them too.

Keep

Keep

Too right.
keep

Abolish

What's gleeful or vicious about asking how people would vote in a referendum? We've entered a new era now, we have a new monarch, it feels an apt moment to think about the future. I wanted to canvas how people feel, it's interesting.

I believe more have responded keep than abolish so far - I would imagine that all of these feel sadness about the Queen. Yet they are still able to think about a hypothetical referendum without it causing them distress.

Abolish

Abolish
Husband agrees

abolish