The Queen is dead. Long live the Republic.

[Starchild]

The Commons can, in theory, do anything that it has the power to enforce. This is, after all, the body that once created entire nations by fiat.

[Tattila the Hun]

Huh? Lords? Don't tell me, there's still a nobility, which wields power in GB?

You should have taken cue from the French on that, long ago...

[Starchild]

Originally posted by Tattila the Hun
Huh? Lords? Don't tell me, there's still a nobility, which wields power in GB?

You should have taken cue from the French on that, long ago...

Its just called the Lords these days. The herditary peers were removed ten years ago. People who sit in the Lords are appointed by the government now.

[Nugog]

Originally posted by Victor Galis
Well, this raises the question, if not all the Commonwealth countries abolished the monarchy, where would the monarch move to.

They could move to Ngaruawahia...........

[Maquiladora]

Originally posted by TheStinger

Rotherham

God I hope not

[Straybow]

My statistical analysis of geneology indicates that I am 1,732,812th in line for the English throne by way of the line of Anglian Kings of Northumbria.

Now I just have to figure out how to make 1,732,811 people die in convenient accidents.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
I presume the Canadians would go along with whomever Commons picked. "Subservient I began, subservient I remain"

Your trolling needs a lot of work.

[germanos]

Damn, I was hoping this was about the house of Orange

[C0ckney]

Originally posted by Starchild
Its just called the Lords these days. The herditary peers were removed ten years ago. People who sit in the Lords are appointed by the government now.

there are still some hereditary peers (79 IIRC), who were allowed to remain while the government decided what it wanted to do with the house of lords.

it used to be that you had to be a descendent of some long dead king's bastard son to get in the lords, but these days all you need is a substantial donation to the labour party to get your seat on the ermine. that's progress for you.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Tattila the Hun
Huh? Lords? Don't tell me, there's still a nobility, which wields power in GB?

No, not really. Not if you mean an hereditary nobility. There are lots of 'elected' peers.

There are C. of E. bishops sitting in the House of Lords, which is a travesty though.

You should have taken cue from the French on that, long ago...

Yeah, get rid of the Bourbons. Great idea.

Then have a bloody revolution, dictatorship, a tyrannical emperor, another monarch, costly wars, the same tyrant once more, deposition, another monarch, get rid of him, another monarch, get rid of him, another monarch, another republic, a President who becomes an emperor, a disastrous war, another revolution this time in the capital and then a rightist regime, then more republics, and eventually a president-soldier who thinks he's a cross between God and the Universal Spider, a President who thinks he gave birth to the Almanach de Gotha... et cetera.

I think after the Glorious Revolution, Great Britain had much the better deal.

...but these days all you need is a substantial donation to the labour party to get your seat on the ermine. that's progress for you.

History not your strong point ?

First, Lady Thatcher and the right hon. Member for Huntingdon appointed far more Conservative life peers than life peers of any other party. Indeed, until 1989 more than twice as many Conservative as Labour peers were created and almost twice as many were created up to 1996. Secondly, although numbers decrease in all parties over time through ill-health and death, Lady Thatcher in particular absolutely refused to create Labour life peers to make up the numbers, as previous Prime Ministers from any party had done.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199899/cmhansrd/vo991110/debtext/91110-21.htm

David Lloyd George created nearly a hundred new peers; Thatcher 204 (four new hereditary peerages) John Major 172. One of whom was Denis Thatcher...

Mr Major defended his recommendation for Margaret Thatcher's husband Denis's hereditary baronetcy, which has since passed to their son Mark who now lives in South Africa.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3731677.stm

Mmm, progress indeed.

[C0ckney]

ah yes david lloyd geroge, he sold honours openly and raised about £150 million at today's prices. when it was eventually exposed it caused an outcry and eventually led to the conviction of his bagman maundy gregory in 1933.

he was convicted under the honours (prevention of abuses) act 1925 (which overlaps with the PPER act 2000). which is the law that several key labour party figures are being investigated for breaching, and related offences of perverting the course of justice. it has also led to a sitting prime minister being interviewed by police for the first time in british history, he must be very proud.

current events not your strong point?

well here's a little timetable of the cash for honours probe from the bbc. to help with your education.

16 MARCH
Labour's elected treasurer, Jack Dromey, says he did not know wealthy businessmen had lent money to the party and promises to investigate. He says it is wrong for Downing Street to think it can run the Labour Party.

17 MARCH
Labour confirms it was secretly lent £14m ahead of the 2005 election. The party, and the businessmen involved, deny any wrongdoing as loans to political parties made on commercial terms did not have to be disclosed.

21 MARCH
Scotland Yard says it is examining complaints that Labour has broken 1925 laws about selling honours.

24 MARCH
It emerges that Labour's former general secretary, Matt Carter, wrote to wealthy businessmen telling them their loans would not have to be declared.

10 JULY
The BBC learns that Lord Levy told curry tycoon Sir Gulam Noon he need not disclose his £250,000 loan to Labour on his nomination form for the House of Lords.

12 JULY
Lord Levy is arrested and bailed by police in connection to the "cash-for- peerages" probe. Lord Levy says he has done nothing wrong and says the arrest powers were used "totally unnecessarily".

29 SEPTEMBER
Senior Downing Street adviser Ruth Turner is questioned by police as part of the ongoing probe.

14 DECEMBER, 2006
Tony Blair is interviewed by police investigating the cash for honours allegations. His spokesman says he was not interviewed under caution, which means he is being treated as a witness rather than a suspect. It is thought to be the first time a serving prime minister has been questioned by police conducting a criminal investigation.

30 JANUARY
Labour's chief fundraiser Lord Levy is re-arrested and questioned for several hours on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He is released on bail and his spokesman says he denies any allegation of wrongdoing.

20 FEBRUARY, 2007
Ruth Turner is interviewed by police for about two hours, while answering bail following her arrest in January, on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and of honours allegations.

20 APRIL, 2007
The Metropolitan Police hand over their cash-for-honours file to the Crown Prosecution Service. It is 216 pages long and has 6,300 supporting documents. The CPS says it will now review it to see whether any individuals should be charged with any offences.

[LordShiva]

Lords

[Ecthy]

hiva

[LordShiva]

[Dr Strangelove]

Re: The Queen is dead. Long live the Republic.

Originally posted by Ecthy
I think the former is more likely, with Wales sticking to England which becomes a unitarian republic. Commonwealth countries would obviously turn into republics on their own rather than chosing new monarchs.

So you're saying that if the Brits got rid of the monarchy they'd also have to do away with the Church of England and replace it with a Unitarian church? I'm not sure that I follow your reasoning.