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The royal family

Abolishing the Royal Family

286 replies

FeelthewrathofthesuperRad · 09/03/2021 07:40

Anyone else in favour of it?

I’m not entirely sure what their purpose is either.

OP posts:
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PurpleDaisies · 09/03/2021 22:35

@MuddyWalks

They bring in a large amount of money. We would all have to pay more taxes if we abolished them.

I’m not at all convinced that’s true.
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Doingtheboxerbeat · 09/03/2021 22:38

Slightly off topic but is there anyone Danish, Norwegian or Swedish etc on here, what do you think about your monarchs? These countries are often touted as the most democratic and enlightened in the world 🤔.

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SirChing · 09/03/2021 22:41

@Brahumbug

There is no evidence that the royal family bring in money from tourism, instead they cost the country a huge amount of money. We need a ceremonial president such as Ireland has. I would have it so that no former or current politicians can go for the role. Another problem with the monarchy are the powers of royal prerogative. The prime minister uses these on behalf of the queen and they can't be questioned by parliament, fundamentally undermining democratic accountability, not to mention the queen reviewing proposed legislation and having it changed to protect her and Prince Charles's interests.

Yes!

And the racism, protection of paedophile sympathisers etc means I now really resent the taxpayer funding them.
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TuesdayinSeptember · 09/03/2021 23:11

@MuddyWalks

They bring in a large amount of money. We would all have to pay more taxes if we abolished them.

Could you provide a source for that?
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YogaLite · 09/03/2021 23:11

It makes me laugh how they close the ranks and go quiet to wait it out when something unpalatable happens.

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ekidmxcl · 09/03/2021 23:24

I think that in times where we are highly respectful of other cultures, it is quite bizarre that we are ready to set fire to our own culture. I'm no royalist, I'm fairly ambivalent about the issue. But they are part of British heritage and culture.

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mellicauli · 09/03/2021 23:26

We are lucky to live in a stable, prosperous country. Now we've probably thrown the prosperous away with Covid then Brexit, why not throw away the constitutional stability too.

The foundations of this country is so sound you don't even know you don't even know they are there. Don't mess with it. so you can replace one lot of dysfunctional people with another.

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PurpleDaisies · 10/03/2021 07:44

Don't mess with it. so you can replace one lot of dysfunctional people with another.

It wouldn’t be that. Other countries manage to elect a representative (not a family) that can be replaced if they’re rubbish. Ireland has a good system.

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HurryUpSunshine · 10/03/2021 08:10

Yep. Get rid.

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HurryUpSunshine · 10/03/2021 08:10

And cancel Brexit too please whilst you are at it!

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Silurian · 10/03/2021 08:28

@HurryUpSunshine

And cancel Brexit too please whilst you are at it!

I’ve actually been wondering whether it’s Brexit that is contributing to some posters’ almost superstitious default of ‘No, don’t mess with the RF, it will cause ‘instability’ and more specifically their fears of an elected HoS being a Boris Johnson, Trump or Putin-type figure — do people simply not trust the voting population to choose a competent person to be a politically-neutral ceremonial representative of the people?

Did Brexit relate a fear of new things being ‘worse’, however they’re spun, and create a culture of distrust in your fellow-voters. ie. you don’t trust other people’s voting choices?
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Brahumbug · 10/03/2021 09:34

I think it loathsome the way the royal family have announced an inquiry into the allegations of bullying by Meghan but no investigation into the allegations against Andrew.

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Ellmau · 10/03/2021 10:10

I think it loathsome the way the royal family have announced an inquiry into the allegations of bullying by Meghan but no investigation into the allegations against Andrew.

What employer starts an independent investigation into criminal offences while these are actively being investigated by police?

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Aworldofmyown · 10/03/2021 10:11

No.

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BiBabbles · 10/03/2021 10:37

While I definitely think things like the protections Andrew is getting and the special exceptions Charles gets as a landlord among others need to be dealt with, I've no strong feelings one way or another on abolishment.

I mean, the reforms to the House of Lords to shift from hereditary to life peers has had benefits, and there are benefits to having people particularly those exceptional in their field helping to make laws not needing to be tied to political whims (though I think that needs to be reformed further so it feels less like it's an MP's retirement reward - a cap on that as there is on hereditary would be good). Any solution will have pros and cons, but there will hopefully be changes coming.

I do think the Brexit situation may make it so more people would want a far more clear plan than 'we'll just do what these other countries do'. That was common rhetoric on both sides, though more loudly Leave, on how problems would be dealt with and that's proven to be far too vague and these things are far complex that just getting rid and copy-pasta another country's system.

Its just a social construct that we've all chosen to believe in. It's not real and its being shown to be toxic and unhealthy.

Social constructs are real. Just because humans make it and give it meaning and weave it into how our societies function doesn't make something fake. Plenty of social animals have social constructs, even if they aren't as complex as ours, that define social structures and changing them has real impact.

The Royal Family objectively exists and is woven into how British society currently functions.Whether it should continue in its current form is debatable, but we can't just not believe it and make it disappear. Alterations will have real impacts, for better and for worse, just as they have impact now (even in their "apolitical" silence on issues) without changing. It's which impacts people find worth it enough to maintain or change.

I'm so tired of "it's just a social construct" as if something being a social construct makes it meaningless fiction and we can just pretend never existed or change to suit us with no thought - society is full of social construct that we all rely on, language is socially constructed, there is no "just", no matter how toxic or unhealthy something is when it has a population-level socially derived meaning that's part of how society functions.

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KoshkaKills · 10/03/2021 10:56

Why do we need a Head of State that is separate to, say, a Prime Minister? HoS in USA is the President, couldn't we just have whoever gets elected as PM from the party elected be the HoS? Why do we need a politically neutral one?

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SpringisSpinning · 10/03/2021 12:41

I love for the historical point of view I dont think they should be totally got rid of but defiantly, without a doubt reduced down, no money from us except for immediate royals and even then reduced - much turned over the to the nation...royals able to mix freely without need for security etc.

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SpringisSpinning · 10/03/2021 12:45

Andrew is the total rot here at the heart of it. Total and utter rot....he's immoral, stupid, rotten....sly...devious...and he thinks he was making the UK amazing contacts....from being hosted by these men?

harry has apparently been stripped of many titles but andrew - has kept his?

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CrunchyBiscs · 10/03/2021 14:14

Innocent until proven guilty whether you like it or not.

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BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 10/03/2021 14:16

As a tourist attraction - great.

As an institution and large employer - their ethics are questionable.

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BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 10/03/2021 14:18

@CrunchyBiscs

Innocent until proven guilty whether you like it or not.

Yep.....sure...then why isn't he working with them to prove his innocence?

"Not proven guilty" doesn't actually mean "innocent".
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CathyorClaire · 10/03/2021 21:23

@CrunchyBiscs

Innocent until proven guilty whether you like it or not.

There is literally nothing preventing him offering some form of informal help to enquiries right now.

Why do you think he hired a shit-hot extradition expert?

Do you think he'll ever stand trial?
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StillGoingToWork · 10/03/2021 21:39

I am in favour of a constitutional monarchy, but the current bunch and the people who manage their affairs need a rocket up the bum. Huge reform is needed. They need to be more connected with modern society. They have so many silly rules. They never learn from their history. I think the Queen is in a rut and Charles won't entertain huge change...maybe William might. If they were more down to earth, and were more accesible, they would all relax a bit and not be so removed from the rest of us.

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StillGoingToWork · 10/03/2021 21:41

The Queen obvs has a huge hand in preventing her favourite son from facing justice. No-one's seen Andrew for ages, does she have him locked up somewhere?

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OldRailer · 10/03/2021 21:43

I would but don't like the thought of the head of state being the likes of Tony Blair or David Cameron.
I'm on the fence.

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