Anti-monarchist campaigners will assemble in London on the day of Prince Harry's wedding. And two-thirds of Brits are indifferent to the event.
Kensington’s Labour MP Emma Dent Coad and SNP MP Tommy Sheppard will be attending a republican convention in London this weekend, coinciding with the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Republicans from other European nations still ruled by monarchs will come together at the event, including campaigners from Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and The Netherlands.
Dent Coad told Left Foot Forward she was attending the event as a “long time and proud republican”, adding:
“For too long, people who demand an elected head of state have been chastised. It is worrying that people are scared to admit to being a republican in 2018 for fear of recrimination.”
The longstanding Jeremy Corbyn supporter also highlighted that while Queen Elizabeth II’s court is estimated to cost the taxpayer £345million annually, the poorest in our society are not being fed and homed.
And it’s possible that Dent Coad and Sheppard’s republicanism is getting a bigger hearing than usual, after a poll revealed today that two thirds of Brits do not care much about Saturday’s royal wedding. The survey, commissioned by the anti-monarchist pressure group Republic together with YouGov, found that 66% of the British population are simply not interested in the celebrations, and 60% have planned to have a normal weekend.
Republic CEO, Graham Smith said:
“The International Republican Convention will be an opportunity to showcase the positive case for renewed democracy and an end to monarchies everywhere.”
“I’m delighted we’ll have members of parliament, activists and academics all speaking on Saturday – all with the same clear message: monarchy doesn’t work.”
The £32million wedding of Harry and Meghan will reportedly be more low key than previous royal affairs. And based on the road closure applications, royal wedding themed street-parties too have seen a drop of around 90% since Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.
Smith also said:
“After seven years of major PR events the public remain largely unimpressed. This wedding isn’t a national celebration, it’s a royal parade that’ll cost the taxpayers dear.
“The royals think the patronising soap opera will sustain them, yet all the evidence is that people are turning off their brand. Most people just don’t care anymore.”
He added that with dwindling numbers of Britons supporting the monarchy, a new constitution was in order.
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