To ask you if there were to be a vote tomorrow on whether or not we should become a Republic country, how would you vote?

[LLDilema]

Very long thread title... but just interested to know, if tomorrow it was announced that we all have to vote on whether to keep or abolish the royal family, how would you vote? Yes to keep. No to lose.

Just out of interest HappyDays, what would you "hate" about living in a Republic? And please explain how countries like the USA manage to "bring in business" without a royal family

Happy I don't think it's envy. The rest of the world loves looking at pictures of the pretty babies and opulent bygone days, safe in the knowlegde they don't have to pay for it. If the rest of the world wanted a monarchy, they could have one. They don't.

No get rid. The tourists would still come. If I had to pick places to visit it would Hampton court palace because of Henry VIII and he's been gone for a really long time or Kensington palace because of Queen Victoria. I have no interest in seeing buckingham palace as I don't see what the queen has done of interest? Getting rid won't erase our history. I think the tide will change when Charles in on the throne, he isn't like able at all and will meddle too much.

Why is the alternative always president Blair?

Our Royal family is unique and bring in business and envy around the world.
Being unique isn't really a reason for keeping them. As for the world envying us having a royal family, I certainly don't think so. I think they probably get a bit of ridicule and see them as something as a strange old relic from bygone days. The world has moved on, having an unelected person as head of state, armed forces, Church of England etc purely because of the accident of birth probably baffles most people.
They should be consigned to the history books, the modern world has no place for them. Tourists would still flock to the country, and would quickly dispel the myth of them being good for tourism.

envy ? I honestly have never sensed envy of the UK royals when I'm abroad, France, Germany....They're curios but wouldn't want it for themselves.

Pmsl. Envy? This is propaganda they feed to the thickos one of those fallacies that are spewed out by either the blind believers or the establishment themselves. I've lived in a few countries, still have friends abroad. They're actually a joke amongst anybody with more than one brain cell.
And for the minute chance of actually seeing them, it's highly doubtful they bring in enough tourism to cover their costs.

I agree with you about fallaciesTigger. They also tried to make out the Cambridges wedding made the country a fortune. In actual fact they cost the economy £5 billion on their wedding day. But I think the "tourist" myth is the biggest of all.

I say keep them. I can see no good reason for throwing away our traditions. I don't think they cost that much, and I really can't think of a good apolitical President.

Get rid. Have to say that if we do have to have a monarch (and I really don't think that's a given tbh) then old Brenda has done more than a good job. Be interesting to see what happens to the royals' popularity once Charles gets to the throne though - and that's part of the problem, isn't it? I mean, it's pure luck of the draw, if you're going to go down the heredity route, which is no basis on which to give a head of state title on.

As for other countries envying us, from what I can gather their attitude to this is the same as their attitude to us insisting on clothing our children in school uniform - one of bemused fondness, much as a person might look on an incontinent auntie losing her shit about the neighbours on Xmas day after a nap.

As for other countries envying us

no one needs to take this claim seriously. it's entirely unfounded except for anecdote.

this is the same as their attitude to us insisting on clothing our children in school uniform

I absolutely love school uniforms because my children don't insist on getting overpriced brand names to go to school.

Meh. I've heard the arguments for it a million times and remain unconvinced. And as I say, the way that the rest of the world sees our insistence on it is much the same as their take on us having a monarchy - just another weird thing that those funny Brits do, no sense to it, but there you go.