I'd see them all dethroned tomorrow, and some of the money wasted on them being spent on important stuff. Even if we ended up skint I'd still get rid of them all out of principle. But I was thinking (as a result of an argument on another site), how would it effect our relationships with the rest of the world and any trade we did with outsiders? Would we be in a better/worse position to do business, would tourism suffer or would there be any other unforseen effects?
I doubt tourism would suffer that much. Russia and France both did away with their monarchies, and the old royal palaces still bring the tourists in....
Tourism is an age old argument for keeping them. My view is, that in a "democracy" to have a monachy is just ridiculous. No-one should have more wealth or power just because of something historical. I think it's time for them to leave... They serve no worthwhile purpose other than to perpetuate the class system that I despise so much in the UK. IMO Love Clairexxx
I'd like to see the monarchy's constitutional powers handed over to the House of Lords - which should then be replaced with a democratic 2nd chamber elected via PR.
I don't buy the tourism argument as people still visit the ancient buildings of France ... and they've been a republic for over 130 years
Indeed... A lot is made of the charity works they do, but LOTS of people do charity work! Let them get a job and add legitimately to our economy, and if they still have I love for Charity work let them do it from the heart, not because that's what they are told to do by PR people.
Many of the charities they support are questionable anyway ... The WWF and The RSPCA for instance.. To me charity is like a "heartstring tax" that gets people to dip into their pockets when the system fails us yet again. If money was spent wisely there would be no need for charity.
I agree, charities only need to exsist because our governments fail us. Mostly because they forget that they are a voice for the people NOT a voice to be listened to.
I was thinking about the royal tours though ... they are usually funded by the host country ... do they bring any business our way that we would otherwise miss out on?
Actually, do we know the figures?... you know, how much they make us v how much they cost? It would be interesting to see Love Clairexxx
Absolutely no idea ... it was an argument in another thread on another forum and the only argument I didn't know the answer to
Apparently they cost us each about 20p a year. That was the argument a conservative gave me when I suggested to him that we should probably follow Russia's lead and have them all shot. This makes the figure somewhat suspect, but still, I'd rather put it towards a pint than give it to those leeches....
I'd love to know how much they actually do cost us a year wouldnt you?.. It's amazing we cant get that info... our taxes are being eaten up and we have no accountabilty for it! Crazy Love Clairexxx *edit* I;d like to know if that was true.... *ponders*
This anti-monarchy site gives some of the figures for how much it costs us: http://www.republic.org.uk/resources/infosheets/mythsheet.htm It doesn't say how much business they bring in from overseas trips though.
