Republicans to call for monarchy referendum when Queen dies | UK news | The Guardian
Britain’s republican movement has revealed it plans to mount a campaign for a referendum on the future of the monarchy when the Queen dies.
Republic has been nervous of appearing callous over the Queen’s mortality, because it sees the popularity of the Queen as crucial to public support for the institution.
But on the eve of the Queen’s 90th birthday, Republic’s chief executive, Graham Smith, suggested that, when it happens, the Queen’s death will mark a turning point in public attitudes.
“The Queen’s birthday reminds us that support for the monarchy is bound up with support for the Queen,” he said.
The Queen’s death will not mark a turning point in public attitudes and as I've said several times before:
I actually thinks the British Monarchy is the safest Monarchy in the world, along with the Japanese.
Republicanism in the UK remains among the lowest in the world, with figures rarely exceeding 20% in support of a British republic, some polls have it as low 13%, and consistent 70% support for the Monarchy. Some polls have the support for the monarchy as high as 82%, others at around 70 to 76%, another poll has the support for the monarchy from 66 to 70%.
To abolish the British monarchy will be very difficult.
1: Most polls must show a majority for a republic, this is very very unlikely.
2: Majority in the house of commons for a referendum, this is not going to happen.
3: Majority in the referendum for a republic, this is not going to happen.
4: Changing the country's name, changing the pound, remove the royal name from all state institutions. These are just some of the things that must be changed.
5: All of this is going to cost so much money that even many Republicans will start doubting it, and the vast majority of the population will never vote to replace a constitutional monarchy with a divisive politician or a celebrity etc.
The only thing that can destroy the British Monarchy in the coming years is some very, very, very serious scandals or if the Queen had done something so crazy as to abdicate, because that would have been disastrous for the British monarchy and this is why:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...ession-to-the-throne-5254-10.html#post1851254
Smith said there were plenty of reasons for the European republican movement to be optimistic even if opinion polls showed that only about 20% of the UK population backed the idea. “We are going to get to that point where there are no monarchies left in Europe and that’s a dream I want to make happen in my lifetime,” he told delegates.
“Some people think we’ve got the toughest job [in Europe] – the monarchy that is least likely to fall – but I think that we’ve shown over the last few years that there’s is a lot of reason for optimism.”
Graham Smith was born in 1974, so I have to disappoint him because it's not going to happen in his lifetime.
And there will not be a domino effect if the Spanish monarchy falls. It will not have anything to say for the UK, Denmark or Norway. If we were to held referendums in these Countries? The monarchies will likely win with 70 to 80%, and the politicians know this very well.
I'm not too familiar with how things are in the Netherlands, but I doubt that an abolition of the Spanish monarchy would have anything to say for their attitude to the monarchy.
And I don't think the Swedish/Belgian monarchies will be affected either.
Graham Smith know this very well, but it is his job to say something else.
