to want a British republic?

[StuckInTheMiddleWithYou]

I do not see the point in monarchy anymore.

Really, what are they for?

Diplomatic stuff can be done by trained diplomats.

French royal buildings get more tourism than ours.

So what is the point?

yes we should become a republic and i beleive we will one day, jsut not as soon as i would like

its pathetic that we celebrate people in such a way that have just been born or married into a family

and people would not stop coming to the uk in their millions if we became a republic as we have so much to offer. apart from america where ever i have travelled the royal family is seen as a joke because they are

I reckon we should give back the crown estates to the royal family, turn ourselves into a republic, and try and keep the country going without the income that the crown and the crown estates bring in. Unless people are advocating taking away all their property, which, btw is theft.

YANBU

I don't buy into the tourism thing either. Buckingham Palace was only opened to the public in 1993 which is not that long ago all things considered. It's so bloody expensive who can afford to go anyway.

Will and Kate are an embarassment. Photo's of Kate's clothes on a daily basis. Who. Fucking. Cares.

Get rid of them.

Versailles had 10 million visitors last year, according to the link above.

Thats the problem with Buckingham palace, one can't have tourists round all the time if one actually lives there. Better move them out to Bromley then!

Why would we give back the crown estates??

I agree, why should we give back their estates. They never actually bought it or pay for its upkeep.

The crown estates pay for their own upkeep - plus pay for the diplomatic service, all the embassies abroad, and much much more.

Nice to see people advocating theft. The family has owned most of this stuff/property for hundreds of years, and according to some that's a good enough reason to take it from them?

wow

Oh, and a query? Where would we be putting the british president? Do people honestly think a presidency would cost less to run than the monarchy? A president with his own plane, residences in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland? Cars, security etc etc etc? I definitely don't think so.

At least our monarchy gives the country the income from the crown estates (which is much, much more than £13 million) in exchange for the civil list.

So, president Brown would have rocked your boat then.

As would president Blair.

They turn me on.

I think Cherie would have been very discreet with the spending.....

Yabu.

The Crown Estate contributes millions to the state coffers and in return the queen gets a fraction back via the civil list. So making Britain into a republic would make us worse off. That is unless you are suggesting we seize their land too?

Oh and that's before you factor in the hundreds of millions they make each year via tourism. The royal wedding which we just had was estimated to have brought in over half a billion quid in tourism.

What have you done to help the govt this year?

YABU if you think that any money not spent on the royals would be spent on something useful. Ha ha ha ha ha.

But why would income stop from crown estate if we no longer had a monarchy? Are you telling me that the Queen/Prince Charles actually DO anything re management of crown estate? I think that if we stuffed the royal family and put them in comedy poses round Buckingham palace (we could dress them up for special occassions) then lots more visitors would go - Hell even I'd go to the Palace to see the Queen dressed up as an Easter bunny.

I think YABU, I love the Royal Family.

Gin the crown estates belong to the royal family, and they give the government the income from these, in exchange for the government running the armed forces, diplomatic services and many other things, and receive the civil list in return.

If we have a republic, why would we keep the income from the crown estates unless you are advocating that we strip them of their OWN property? Theft is theft is theft, no matter which way you put it.

i can't agree with the concept of the Royal Family so should be voting for a Republic but TBH I really don't care and don't overly mind the current system and don't know if the alternative would really be any better or worth implementing.

if you take away everything anyone didn;t earn then you are advocating an inheritance tax rate of 100%. Whcih of course you are quite entitled to advocate but doubt it would be popular generally.

There are many people with a great deal more inherited wealth than the royal family who do nothing for the country. Why not include them in your brave new world?