Why Britain Needs to Ditch the Monarchy

[Your Old Comrade]

With the coronation of King Charles approaching, it’s fitting to scrutinise, not only him personally, but the monarchy as an idea. To talk about everything from the ways in which the royals fund their luxurious lifestyles to how they exert political influence, Aaron Bastani is joined by Graham Smith, CEO of Republic - a pressure group driven by a single issue: to abolish the monarchy.

[~Elizabeth~]

Did not watch the video. I'm an American and I like the British monarchy. I say keep it as is.

You are a Dutchman. Why do you care if there is a British monarchy or not?

[Your Old Comrade]

Did not watch the video. I'm an American and I like the British monarchy. I say keep it as is.

You are a Dutchman. Why do you care if there is a British monarchy or not?

It's a very American response from your part. European countries are so closely linked together that a debate in one country, always leads to one in another country. My own. And, yes, that debate has just begun as well as our King scores extremely low on his own approval rating.

Jongeren van 16 tot 34 jaar beoordelen Willem-Alexander en Máxima met gemiddeld een iets lager cijfer dan ouderen van 55 jaar en ouder. De oudere generatie geeft hen respectievelijk een 6,7 en een 7,3 de jongere generatie een 6,4 en een 7.

Van de ondervraagden wil 50 procent dat Nederland een monarchie blijft en 26 procent wil dat Nederland een republiek wordt. Op Koningsdag was dat 55 procent om 24 procent.

And in Belgium too:

Daling populariteit
Filip en Mathilde door Liesbeth DriessenHet Belgische koningshuis is in Vlaanderen niet erg populair. Slechts 40 tot 45 procent van de Vlamingen is een uitgesproken voorstander van het koningshuis. Onder koning Boudewijn was nog zestig procent van de Vlamingen royalist. Onder zijn opvolgers verdween een groot deel van de aanhang. Het Instituut voor Sociaal en Politiek Opinieonderzoek (ISPO) zag ook een daling in de populariteit in Wallonië, maar daar is nog altijd een meerderheid voor de monarchie te vinden.
Vertrouwd beeld
Er werden verschillende zaken gemeten. Ook in Wallonië is een teruglopend vertrouwen in de monarchie bespeurbaar. In 2003 was 70 procent van de Walen voorstander van de monarchie. In 2014 kon het koningshuis in Wallonië rekenen op een aanhang van 66 procent.
De onderzoekers keken naar het percentage voorstanders en onderzocht bovendien het vertrouwen dat de Belgen hebben in koning Filip. In Vlaanderen heeft 28 procent van de bevolking veel vertrouwen in koning Filip. In Wallonië is 37 procent uitgesproken voorstander van de monarchie.

I remember reading that in Spain too, the popularity of the monarchy is under severe pressure.

[~Elizabeth~]

This makes me think of France and Russia. They were better when their royals were alive.

[Your Old Comrade]

This makes me think of France and Russia. They were better when their royals were alive.

Read up on them first before you make such statements. Much of the population was literally starving to death and in France, the rage had been building for at least 150 years before it happened. Maybe even longer, taking the 1356/1358 troubles in Paris and the Jacquerie into account.

[Tooting Carmen]

Monarchy is an outdated institution based on superstitious, feudalistic and irrational notions of the 'divine' right to rule. Nonetheless, should the United Kingdom become the United Republic, the presidential system should not become like the US and France where he/she has too many powers, but more like Germany and Italy (which I know have flaws of their own, but that's another matter) i.e. a nominal role.

[Your Old Comrade]

Monarchy is an outdated institution based on superstitious, feudalistic and irrational notions of the 'divine' right to rule. Nonetheless, should the United Kingdom become the United Republic, the presidential system should not become like the US and France where he/she has too many powers, but more like Germany and Italy (which I know have flaws of there own, but that's another matter) i.e. a nominal role.

Switzerland. Personally, for my own country, I favour adopting parts of the Swiss system.

[Your Old Comrade]

This makes me think of France and Russia. They were better when their royals were alive.

Just so I can make a comparison that you will understand: until the age of parliamentarism, just about every monarch was a Ceaucescu with a crown on his head and that includes your beloved Louis XVI and Marie "Let them eat cake!" Antoinette and Nicholas II of Russia, and those came with their own cackle of gangsters called aristocrats and the Church (the Church often being ran by the same damn aristocrats!) that lived large and rent free by starving out the population. And thus the last these gangsters met the slippery ends they rightfully deserved.

[Tooting Carmen]

Just so I can make a comparison that you will understand: until the age of parliamentarism, just about every monarch was a Ceaucescu with a crown on his head and that includes your beloved Louis XVI and Marie "Let them eat cake!" Antoinette and Nicholas II of Russia, and those came with their own cackle of gangsters called aristocrats and the Church (the Church often being ran by the same damn aristocrats!) that lived large and rent free by starving out the population. And thus the last these gangsters met the slippery ends they rightfully deserved.

Very true, and we should certainly not romanticise the periods before the French and Russian Revolutions. All the same, there is always the issue of "be careful what you wish for" during times of massive upheavel, as well as "the pigs turning into the humans" of course.

[♥ Lily ♥]

We need to have a referendum on abolishing the monarchy and there are campaigns for this.

There's also campaigns in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand too.