Republican Rebuttal Article to Mark Wallace

I  kindly thank Mark Wallace for his apparent interest in the UK republican cause.  He must be a very talented columnist to report on the UK Republic Convention in such depth despite him not attending it.  As someone who has been involved with the campaign for some time as a member and a supporter, I thought I should enlighten him on the people involved in the campaign who he mocks from afar.

     Judging from the tone of his earlier article Mark Wallace would likely say that Monarchists love their country's history and we republicans hate our country and it's history.  I would say to Mark that it is a dishonest and terrible smear to say that republicans hate their country.  On the contrary we love our country so much that we take it upon ourselves to make our countrymen face hard truths.  The truth is that monarchy stands in complete contradiction to the principle of democracy.  The harder truth for monarchists to face is that no one is setting up new monarchies, for reasons that are self evident.

     The people I have met in the UK Republic campaign are some of the most hard working, honest and fun people I have met.  Some of them I consider to be my close friends.  Mark Wallace cites republicans, whom he has not met, as being merely "moaners".  But what really defines republicans is their hope and determination.  Their determination that one day that all of our children, could one  day be considered potentially worthy to become Head of State.

     Mark is wrong to say that the Queen does not hold any power.  She meets with the Prime Minister in private meetings in which minutes are not kept.  She confirms incoming governments and can dissolve parliament.  Due to the royal exemption from Freedom of Information laws and the Royal Veto, the monarchy can lobby for it's private interests by stealth.  Restrictions on Parliamentary speech means that representatives can be suspended from debate for citing corruption allegations against individual Royals, or for even not calling them by their title.  The fact that this all happens within a so called "modern" democracy shows that the monarchy's apparent efforts to modernise are actually no more than PR shape shifting.

     I would like to conclude by answering Mark's last charge about we republicans being "miserable".  I concede that it is difficult to keep up one's spirits when your views are met by verbal abuse, media bias and even threats of violence.  We republicans want a happier Britain which knows the difference between having respect for our history and being obsessed by it.  We want a happier Britain where their palaces become our palaces and are open all year round for us and the world to see.  We want to see a toxic culture of deference replaced by one of mutual respect.  But most importantly we want to see a Britain in which the ballot, not birth, determines who is our Head of State.   Monarchists tend to assert that the Monarchy is a part of our culture.  If this is the case, then our culture is in deep trouble.  Our culture needs to stand for more than a system that is contrary to the values of a free and open society.  These are not hateful ambitions, they are hopeful ones.  I do hope this satisfies Mr Wallace's curiosity.