Monarchy or Republic?

[Yorkie]

Of course or off course?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Good evening Mrs Pedantic, how are we today?

 

[Yorkie]

You were trying to point out that no tourist visits royal palaces... so I pointed out that they are not open to tourists anway.

Pedantic maybe but relevant to your discussion


Btw when does Hull uni start again?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I was only joking Yorkie.

I did not say that NO people visited royal destinations, just less then others in England. This is true. Obvioulsy people visit Buckingham Palace and do not go in. I was merely making the point that places like The Tower of London etc are not as big an attraction as people think. Also, places like Stonehenge attract as many visitors which shows that it is our history people are interested in which does not mean JUST the royals. These buildings would all still be there if we were a republic and more people could visit them and appreciate their full beauty because they could go inside..generating more income through tourism.

I have finished uni thank you but I would imagine that Hull start toward the end of September though to be honest its not something I have put much thought to.

 

[Yorkie]

. These buildings would all still be there if we were a republic and more people could visit them and appreciate their full beauty because they could go inside..generating more income through tourism.

So the general public would then have to pay for the upkeep of them?
Entrance fees to view aren't enough to keep these buildings going.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

So who pays for their upkeep now then? I would have thought it was our taxes that did it actually.

 

[Yorkie]

So who pays for their upkeep now then? I would have thought it was our taxes that did it actually.

Nope

Prince Charles doesn't receive a penny from the Civil List. He has his income from the Duchy of Cornwall and Lancaster.

The Queen and Prince Philip use some of the Civil List money but that also goes towards paying gardeners butlers etc so therefore keeping people in work.

HM pays out quite a bit of her own income to keep the palace up to scratch so to speak.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Who pays for the upkeep of the Palace of Versailles because that does not seem to look too shabby.

How about the old Tzar's palace's in Russia?

This is a crap argument against a republic.

How can people not see that to have a political system that flows from the top down, from someone who is born into the position of head of state is completely undemocratic?

 

[Beach Hut]

Who pays for the upkeep of the Palace of Versailles because that does not seem to look too shabby.

More than likely the thousands of people who pay to go in ?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

More than likely the thousands of people who pay to go in ?

Exactly my point. The thousands of people who would pay to go in to Buckingham Palace would contribute hugely to its upkeep.

 

[Yorkie]

The French are extremely proud of their beautiful buildings even to the point of surrendering to the Germans so that they didn't get bombed in the war.
Elegance is all.

The French government contribute towards the upkeep as well.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

So what would be stopping our government contributing?

 

[Yorkie]

So what would be stopping our government contributing?

The fact that people would moan that the NHS deserves money far more than some old out of date building that nobody uses anymore?

Does the government provide any money towards old buildings now? Royal or otherwise?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I think people would argue that the NHS deserves money more then the Royal family currently do.

Is this your only argument against Republicanism? Im not having a pop or anything, Im just interested.

 

[Yorkie]

I think people would argue that the NHS deserves money more then the Royal family currently do.

Is this your only argument against Republicanism? Im not having a pop or anything, Im just interested.

No. I thought the question was about tourism.

I really cannot be bothered to go into the reasons I prefer a monarchy as it is too long and involved but judging by the poll results I am not alone.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I have just finished reading a fascinating book about the subject. Obviously there are parts of American culture we should not even shake a stick at, but politically we could learn a lot from them. I am not talking about the presidential elections, more the local politics which make all public figures accountable and answerable to the public. This means that, rightly or wrongly, the local population can shape its own laws and policy. Obviously there are checks in place, mainly the constitution, so you could not have a law passed that meant all gays were stopped from getting jobs for instance, but the general public attitude is adopted through policy. I was linking it to Brighton because if this system was in operation here, Falmer would have been built already.

 

[beorhthelm]

Richie, you appear to have mis-understood how the US government works. Firstly, the local State level authority you speak of is due to Federal make up of the United States (the clue is in the name), and i believe you'll find a similar system in German. Secondly, the President is only subject to increased checks due to the make up of the Congress and the Senate, which are often have a different Democrat/Republican majority and even when they are the same party, and the same as that of the President, they usually harbour party factions that might oppose "their" President. A right wing dominated Senate and Congress combined with a right wing President could very well impose Poll Tax like legislation. Conversely, a President that has to deal with a Congress and Senate that both contain majorities for the opposing party are left virtually powerless to inact any legislation. An example would be Roosevelt who desperatly wanted to join the war against Germany/Japan but couldnt do so until Congress allowed him to declare war and provide the funding necessary.

No political system is perfect. Ours has an obvious unfairness concerning the head of state. But that head of state is independant and above parliament so could ultimatly reign in extremely unpopular legislation or disband a Government that has lost control of the country. This is a Good Thing. Also, the Monarch is somewhat like the Chairman of the Board in companies, they are only there at the behest of the rest of the board (parliament) but are responsible to the shareholders (popluation) .

The "cost" of the Monarch is completely irrelavant as a President would cost just the same. It the trappings of state that cost the money.

 

[swiss tony]

Nope

Prince Charles doesn't receive a penny from the Civil List. He has his income from the Duchy of Cornwall and Lancaster.

The Queen and Prince Philip use some of the Civil List money but that also goes towards paying gardeners butlers etc so therefore keeping people in work.

HM pays out quite a bit of her own income to keep the palace up to scratch so to speak.

Hang on a minute. Her "own" income. Which comes from where exactly? All the rents etc based on the fact that she is the biggest landowner in the country. If her royal privilege was stripped- this money would be passed to the state. No??

 

[Yorkie]

Hang on a minute. Her "own" income. Which comes from where exactly? All the rents etc based on the fact that she is the biggest landowner in the country. If her royal privilege was stripped- this money would be passed to the state. No??

No Sandringham is completely private. If the Queen was no longer the monarch, that estate would still be hers due to her family owining it.
That works in exactly the same way as your parents leaving you their home when they die. Should the government take that off you?

The Queen also has millions in investments (stock market etc) so it isn't all jewels and land.
The amount of art that is in the palaces would raise money and again are her personal property as the paintings were given as presents to her ancestors.

 

[alan partridge]

Going back to the NHS/French upkeep of buildings point and that people would complain in the UK about money being spent on old buildings. How come France has one of the best Health services in the world?

The idea that other countries are Jealous of us becaues of our Royal Family is a complete joke.