The Student Room Group

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Reply 20
In the middle ages the Italian city of Padua decided to install a ruler: they made their most distinguished citizen duke and ruler. the Fact that the poet Virgil- who got the job- had been dead for a thousand years was not thought to matter. More recently, north Korea appointed the late Kim Il-Sung as President-in-perpetuity. I suggest we follow their examples: if we are to have a republic a set of great dead Britons should take it in turn to be president. If we remain a monarchy then either keep the present queen, regardless of her state of health [or life] or appoint whichever dead monarch is thought most appropriate.
kellywood_5
I accidentaly voted for no but I think we should abolish them since they serve no real purpose and are just a waste of money.


Waste of money LOL

I can think of bigger wastes advocated both by Labour and the Conservatives...
NDGAARONDI
Waste of money LOL

I can think of bigger wastes advocated both by Labour and the Conservatives...


Yeah but you have to wonder just how much they keep from us.

Anyway, how about they stay but have things taken away from them? Like if all the residences that they don't really need were removed so people could look round them and admire them... How many places do they actually own? But I suppose they all have somebody living in at any time, even if they're only a minor Royal.

Yeah... we need a monarchy on the cheap. They have to show they're making a profit or at least breaking even, or they're gone!
Reply 23
yawn
There is no information on the 'total' costs of maintaining the royal family and all that it entails.

You can find bits and pieces of costs for various things like the upkeep of the accommodation provided for them and their flunkeys, the civil list costs, security and travel costs etc but no total - that is kept from the eyes of the royal 'subjects' presumably because the public would riot if they knew the true cost to the 'public purse'! :eek:

Who's to say it doesn't cost "billions" altogether? :frown:


I don't think the British public has a good riot in them.
Reply 24
NDGAARONDI
Waste of money LOL

I can think of bigger wastes advocated both by Labour and the Conservatives...


Exactly. The tuppence the Royal family cost me personally in taxes each year (or at least did when I paid taxes in the UK) I never found that objectionable when compared to how money is generally pissed up the wall by government anyway.
thefish_uk
Yeah but you have to wonder just how much they keep from us.


I wonder the same for various previous governments regarding the national interest excuse to withhold various expenditures. The cost of the royal family is said to cost only 60p per person each year. Why do people fuss over that when they waste more than that themselves direcetly I don't know.
Reply 26
NDGAARONDI
I wonder the same for various previous governments regarding the national interest excuse to withhold various expenditures. The cost of the royal family is said to cost only 60p per person each year. Why do people fuss over that when they waste more than that themselves direcetly I don't know.


Can't buy a pint of milk for that these days can you?
Howard
Can't buy a pint of milk for that these days can you?


Well, you could but the amount of people who fuss over something small like this when many of them smoke, binge drink, spend quite a lot on things that are not necessities etc.
As an American, my opinion isn't necessarily important in this, but I just find it kind of odd that some democratic nations keep a monarchy just for kicks. It kind of creeps me out.
Reply 29
psychic_satori
As an American, my opinion isn't necessarily important in this, but I just find it kind of odd that some democratic nations keep a monarchy just for kicks. It kind of creeps me out.


It's called heritage. It's as big a part of the constitutional makeup of our nation as the Whitehouse and the President is of yours; only very much more ancient.
Howard
It's called heritage.


Well, we do seem to focus too much on the monarchy. If we were truly consistent with our heritage we'd protect Stonehenge. People often forget our history before the Battle of Hastings, not even the battle a few days before is hardly mentioned in textbooks!

It's not exactly you get Celtic studies at GCSE level, history books concentrating on 'real' events of this island such as the Spanish Armarda, Romans etc.

Howard
It's as big a part of the constitutional makeup of our nation as the Whitehouse and the President is of yours


It is indeed. The Americans also tend to think of their Constitution as if it was 'heritage'.

Howard
only very much more ancient.


This tends to favour retaining the concerned heritage.
psychic_satori
As an American...but I just find it kind of odd that some democratic nations keep a monarchy just for kicks. It kind of creeps me out.


Whyt does it creep you out? Plenty of European countries do it.
Reply 32
NDGAARONDI
Well, we do seem to focus too much on the monarchy. If we were truly consistent with our heritage we'd protect Stonehenge. People often forget our history before the Battle of Hastings, not even the battle a few days before is hardly mentioned in textbooks!

It's not exactly you get Celtic studies at GCSE level, history books concentrating on 'real' events of this island such as the Spanish Armarda, Romans etc.


I though the Romans preceded 1066? :biggrin: Know what you mean though. Isn't Stonehenge protected though? I thought it was all roped off (never been personally)
Howard
I though the Romans preceded 1066? :biggrin:


To be honest, I spent weeks in secondary school when I was 12 years old learning about the Romans. It was all basic (okay I was only 12) but there were important omissions from known facts that we never learnt. The only useful thing I can remember is the crop cycle and water irrigation. Learnt more in one half-hour episode on BBC1 last year.

Howard
Isn't Stonehenge protected though? I thought it was all roped off (never been personally)


Unsure myself. If it's protected it isn't working.
The royal family does not spend taxpayers money, in fact they contribute to the economy. I have posted this before, and once I find the thread will post evidence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1411781.stm

Old article, but read it and you'll see in 2001 the monarchy gave net £90million to the exchequer.

The Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Peat, said the monarchy effectively costs taxpayers nothing, and is even in credit.

"People are inclined to talk about how much the Queen costs the taxpayer. In fact, the Queen doesn't cost the taxpayer anything," he said.

"The £48m reduction in Head of State expenditure together with the £42m increase in Crown Estate revenue mean that the net annual contribution made by the Queen to the Exchequer has increased by £90m during the last nine years.

All those that used the expense to the taxpayer as their justification for ousting the royal family, please reconsider.

EDIT:
I can see from nearly all of the replies to this thread this may come as a shock. :biggrin:
NDGAARONDI
I wonder the same for various previous governments regarding the national interest excuse to withhold various expenditures. The cost of the royal family is said to cost only 60p per person each year. Why do people fuss over that when they waste more than that themselves direcetly I don't know.


Yeh it might cost each person just a small amount, but added up its alot, which can as a whole be put to better use in anything such as schools, NHS, poverty, world development etc etc etc...that £10 million plus, can potentially benefit alot more people then just a handful.
john williams
Yeh it might cost each person just a small amount, but added up its alot, which can as a whole be put to better use in anything such as schools, NHS, poverty, world development etc etc etc...that £10 million plus, can potentially benefit alot more people then just a handful.


True. Did the Iraq War work out value for money?
Reply 38
john williams
Thats if you believe that people actually do come to visit the queen/Buckingham Palace, which i dont think so.

Yes, tourists from the U.S. and Canada *do* visit Britain to see the palace. I imagine many other countries do the same....especially the Japanese.

i dont believe we need one, as what importance do they actually serve? Plus they get money from the state when they already have million in the bank, plus waste money traveling in RAF Planes etc.
The monarchy is a tradition that should be kept intact. The Brits should be proud to have a royal family.
Douglas
The monarchy is a tradition that should be kept intact. The Brits should be proud to have a royal family.


If every monarchist country turned republic, ours will be the last one to do so.

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