BLOG 207: Happy JUBES!!!

“Some attack the monarchy for being the cornerstone of the British class system, sustaining deference in society; these views are outweighed by the advantage of having a unifying monarch above the political battle.” George Jones, (Emeritus Professor of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science)

When I was working in Texas, I was out riding with a cowboy who was appalled that we in the UK have a monarchy. Obviously, being an American he had a rather skewed view (he didn’t realise that we were also a democracy and have an elected government ...) but nevertheless he was appalled that the UK was not a republic. It is one of my lingering memories of my time in Young County TX, savouring the view over Gooseneck Bend on the Brazos River on horseback ...while educating one of the natives about Blighty. Fact is... most of us like having a Queen.

Yesterday, the street parties began as the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s reign of 60 years truly kick off. I awoke this morning to the sound of bunting fluttering in the traditional June drizzle and looked out my window over a neighbourhood of red white and blue triangles hanging haphazardly from house to lamppost. We’re quite proud of what we have here... one thousand years of tradition and constancy, an incorruptible basis of commonwealth, an economical figurehead ,an uniting factor between the four countries that make the UK: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.  Yes... we will be celebrating the reign of our Queen this weekend... something my Texan friend would be most befuddled by.

A figurehead for a nation (head of state) should be someone who can never be corrupted.  Our Queen inherited a personal wealth of around 500 million quid... so basically she is too rich to be bullied or bribed.... something that elected officials can be. It helps immensely to the idea of fair play that the elected officials of this country have to submit their plans to her before they act.

She is a VERY experienced Politician having being ‘in office’ for 60 years. This is jolly useful as the monarchy is the basis of The British Commonwealth (80+ countries that belong to that club). Every 4 years all the member countries meet to have an intellectual exchange, which she chairs. This is a very positive thing as it ensures we as a nation have a global view point and not the tunnel vision that some republics display (which reveals their nations to be at best ignorant and at worst the perfect target for hostile attack). And of course as the name implies the Commonwealth has obvious financial advantages.

Let us never forget that the monarchy doesn’t actually cost much. In 2011 the figure was about 87p from each taxpayer annually! (The Prime Minster costs us a whole lot more!) The only folk on the civil list that get any moolah from the taxpayer are the queen and her hubby, (Oh and her old mum when she was alive). Prince Charles (the heir apparent) supports his lot though the agricultural rents and produce from the Duchy of Cornwall (and anything he gets through his mums personal wealth). In actual fact the figures for last year show that as a unit the Royal Family brought in many millions of pounds more than they cost us due to them being such a huge tourist attraction.

Funny enough, considering how few uniting factors there are between the constituent countries that make up the UK, having a monarchy is a key one. In polls across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales despite recent popularity of nationalist movements... no significant numbers show a call for a republic. The common thread being that monarchy prevents crisis by acting a spiritual reservoir for a peoples own sense of inspiration (monarch as the peoples servant rather than as the peoples tyrant). The prevailing view in the UK is that it is better to have a hereditary monarch as they are considered be a neutral representative of the whole nation, independent of any partisan causes.

The historical weight of the constancy of the Monarchy in the UK gives the nation something a mere republic will never have. An insitution that survives a thousand years is not to be sniffed at. The British monarchy has endured through some of histories biggest crisis; it has been more than proven to have weathered storms. A republic will never have that as by definition every head of state will be relatively new.

YES... this all sits rather uncomfortably with my position as a card carrying socialist. Obviously the monarchy is the very pinnacle of a class system. Titles, peerages, privileges of birth and no meritocracy in sight.

But you know what ... I am cool with it. I believe in our monarchy. They do more good than harm and I really do believe that the continued existence of a constitutional monarchy upholds, represents and expresses certain fundamental values and standards, which are very widely accepted and which in some cases are vital to the definition of what being British means. The idea that those standards are essentials to the head of our state, (who also heads up the law courts, armed forces etc etc) is basically... pretty groovy. I don’t resent paying 87p for that.

Unlike what I’ve had to fork out for bunting! ... flipping heck won’t see much change out of twenty quid!

Still... as the neighbourhood comes together to prepare for yet another street party to celebrate the reign of Queen Liz: union jacks draped over wallpaper pasting tables, assortment of chairs from everyone’s houses, paper plates soggy with strawberries and cream... I remember my parting comment to my Texan cowboy friend:

“What’s not to love about living in a constitutional monarchy eh?”

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