Queen Elizabeth II is now Britain's longest serving monarch. I am somebody who generally feels that the Queen has given exemplary service to the nation, and that the monarchy does provide a kind of stability that is appreciated by Prime Ministers of different parties.
I am though also someone who considers that powers held by the monarch need to be drastically reduced. I firmly believe that the Royal Family should not be able to have any influence whatsoever on any policy area in which they have a vested interest, with hunting perhaps as a prime example.
One common perception that the monarch cannot vote, is not quite true. It is just that they choose not to, in recognition that whichever party leader can command the support of the House of Commons, will form a government. Going forward, I feel it would be desirable that the monarch should have their right to vote removed, to reinforce that permanent neutrality.
Whenever I see Prince Charles on the TV news speak out on any issue, I quite frankly start to breathe quite loudly. As the heir to the throne, he does at times flirt with reckless judgement by opening his mouth. Sure, he can have whatever views he wants on whatever issue, just as long as they are kept private.
Her Majesty has enjoyed strong relationships with Labour and Conservative Prime Ministers alike. I have no doubt that she would have been seen at times as a valuable source of advice by all Prime Ministers who served her, in private. This is the road Prince Charles must now embark upon, as succession approaches.
On balance, I am pretty sure that I would prefer the UK to remain as a monarchy, and not go down the road of becoming a republic. That said, as someone who is passionate on issues such as a fairer voting system for the House of Commons, and a reform of the House of Lords, I have to say that I have recently felt the need to question my long term support for the monarchy.
Is the hereditary principle right? Chuka Umunna, the senior Labour politician went on record this week to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, and her service to the nation. He added that he does not generally support the hereditary principle, but that the future of the monarchy did not register once for him whilst campaigning in May's general election.
Should the British Monarchy ever be engulfed in a succession of scandals, and if Prince Charles does not heed my warning, then it could be a cocktail which would see me switch to favour a move towards Britain becoming a republic.
I do hope the monarchy does continue to evolve towards being effectively just a figurehead. The reason I say this is that to preserve our democracy there are constitutional issues of greater importance, such as fair voting for the House of Commons and House of Lords reform.
After all, when one considers other European countries who retain monarchies effectively as figureheads, such as the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands, are we talking about nations who get labelled as being non-democratic? I think not.
I am though also someone who considers that powers held by the monarch need to be drastically reduced. I firmly believe that the Royal Family should not be able to have any influence whatsoever on any policy area in which they have a vested interest, with hunting perhaps as a prime example.
One common perception that the monarch cannot vote, is not quite true. It is just that they choose not to, in recognition that whichever party leader can command the support of the House of Commons, will form a government. Going forward, I feel it would be desirable that the monarch should have their right to vote removed, to reinforce that permanent neutrality.
Whenever I see Prince Charles on the TV news speak out on any issue, I quite frankly start to breathe quite loudly. As the heir to the throne, he does at times flirt with reckless judgement by opening his mouth. Sure, he can have whatever views he wants on whatever issue, just as long as they are kept private.
Her Majesty has enjoyed strong relationships with Labour and Conservative Prime Ministers alike. I have no doubt that she would have been seen at times as a valuable source of advice by all Prime Ministers who served her, in private. This is the road Prince Charles must now embark upon, as succession approaches.
On balance, I am pretty sure that I would prefer the UK to remain as a monarchy, and not go down the road of becoming a republic. That said, as someone who is passionate on issues such as a fairer voting system for the House of Commons, and a reform of the House of Lords, I have to say that I have recently felt the need to question my long term support for the monarchy.
Is the hereditary principle right? Chuka Umunna, the senior Labour politician went on record this week to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, and her service to the nation. He added that he does not generally support the hereditary principle, but that the future of the monarchy did not register once for him whilst campaigning in May's general election.
Should the British Monarchy ever be engulfed in a succession of scandals, and if Prince Charles does not heed my warning, then it could be a cocktail which would see me switch to favour a move towards Britain becoming a republic.
I do hope the monarchy does continue to evolve towards being effectively just a figurehead. The reason I say this is that to preserve our democracy there are constitutional issues of greater importance, such as fair voting for the House of Commons and House of Lords reform.
After all, when one considers other European countries who retain monarchies effectively as figureheads, such as the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands, are we talking about nations who get labelled as being non-democratic? I think not.
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