Sunday 7 November 2021

The Monarchy Unhitched

Peter Hitchens must know that a change of dynasty is not going to happen. It is either this monarchy, or no monarchy. And what views did he expect West London toffs to hold? I have been saying for decades that the people who were kept sweet by the existence of the monarchy would eventually work out that it did nothing for them.

On balance, I would not abolish the monarchy. It would no more be President Hitchens than President Corbyn. It would be a choice between the next Bullingdon Club member in line and someone who had casually given a trifling £50,000 to the most recently successful candidate for the Leadership of the Labour Party. No one else would even make it onto the ballot paper, and I would not want either of those as my Head of State. Nor would I want to abolish the Royal Prerogative. Rather, I want it to be exercised by a Prime Minister who aspired to strengthen families and communities through economic equality and international peace.

But the monarchy, and with it the exercise of the Royal Prerogative by persons who most certainly did not share those aspirations, does not depend on the support of people like me. It depends on the support of people who, as long as the monarchy and especially the present Queen were simply there, were prepared to overlook the fact that hardly anything that they really wanted ever happened, while all sorts of things that they did not want did happen, no matter who was in government. In this column is anything go by, then we have just witnessed the end of all of that.

2 comments:

  1. Yep, we need one of ours exercising the Royal Prerogative as Prime Minister.

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