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Before 2000
Capita Set for Extortion Contract
Capita, a support services firm, has announced that it is the BBC’s "preferred supplier" for the contract to enforce the TV licence. The contract would run for 10 years and be worth £500M.
Capita will take over responsibility from the Post Office in July if the contract is confirmed. In its press release the company claims both that its enforcement operations will increase revenue and that licence payers will benefit. It refers ominously to "extensive opportunities for innovative use of new technologies."
In addition to its infringement the International Declaration on Human Rights and the British Human Rights Act the use of a communications licensing system costs as much as £132M a year to operate. The first 1.2M of licence fees are use to pay for the collection.`
Bar On Republican Legislators To Continue
Republicans elected to Parliament will be given offices and allowed to use other facilities under new government proposals. They will continue to be banned from proposing legislation, taking part in debates or voting, however.
All legislators are required to swear an oath of loyalty to queen Liz Windsor and her family before they may represent their constituents in Parliament. English and Welsh MPs with republican beliefs have sworn false oaths in the past to avoid the ban. Irish republicans have refused to bend to feudal requirements and have been banned.
Free Speech Attack Defeated
The government has dropped legislation that would have made incitement to religious hatred a crime. Paradoxically, the victory for free speech was not a victory for democracy as the Home Secretary David Blunkett backed down only because of opposition from the illegitimate legislators in the House of Lords.
The special protection for followers of religions had been included in anti-terrorist legislation as a sop for Muslim critics. Blunkett withdrew it to ensure that the bulk of his proposals would become law. The new law would have been doubly dangerous as it would have left unclear what would constitute incitement. The Attorney-General would have had the power to pick and choose who to prosecute.
Royal Racism Allegations
An allegation by a former personal secretary to Charlie Windsor (a.k.a. the Prince of Wales) that she was forced from her job has not been upheld by an employment tribunal in Bristol, near Mr. Windsor’s Highgrove Estate.
Elizabeth Burgess, the complainant, told the tribunal that one of Windsor’s valets had said "What the hell would you know? You are just a fucking nigger typist." Ms Burgess, who had worked at the estate for ten years, said that "they wanted a white face at Highgrove and I was not that face." She believed that her complaint about the valet were not acted on because Windsor "adored" him. The royal estate was dominated by "the old school tie" and disrespect for black people was common, she said.
The tribunal ruled that allegations related to events five years ago could not be taken into account.
Last year another employment tribunal found that an employee of Windsor’s charity The Prince’s Trust had been unfairly dismissed. Trust managers made an "unreserved apology" to Darren Beckford who had worked for them for twelve months. Mr. Beckford had alleged that he was picked upon and shunned by other employees because he is black.
Church Demands More Legislators
The Church of England has demanded that it be allowed to appoint 10 more legislators than proposed in the latest House of Lords reform. The Church Commissioners say that the sixteen unelected clerics proposed by the government will not permit them "to offer an effective parliamentary service."
The Church of England, to which only a minority of the population is affiliated, is the only religious organisation entitled to unelected legislators.
No Democracy For Second Chamber
Almost two years after receiving a Royal Commission report called A House for the Future, and almost three years after the setting up of that commission, the government has announced its proposals for the "final" stage of reform of the second legislative chamber, the House of Lords.
There would be 600 members of the chamber if the government’s proposals were implemented, composed of the following:
16 Church of England clerics, appointed by their church, not elected by the people.
12 judges, appointed by a government minister.
332 appointed by the political parties.
120 appointed by a government commission as "independent" members. The composition of this unelected cabal would reflect the racial and "cultural" makeup of the country. Thirty percent would be women.
120, a minority of 20%, elected by the people of Britain.
The major parties would be able to appoint new legislators following general elections to the House of Commons, in order to ensure that the balance in the Lords reflected the new balance in the Commons.
The only good news for democrats was that the remaining 92 hereditary legislators would lose their seats. However, non-hereditary legislators-for-life are to be allowed to stay in the bastard chamber for another 10 year. Other legislators would serve for a fixed term, instead of the current life terms. The government has not decided whether it wants 5, 10 or 15 year terms.
The legislators would no longer be known as Lords. However, the chamber would continue to be called the House of Lords, with the legislators known as Members of the House of Lords! To put it another way, Lords would not be members of the House of Lords. And members of the House of Lords would not be Lords!
These legislators would lose the right to veto secondary legislation. They would still be able to delay such regulations as well as delay Bills that have been passed by the democratic chamber.
There has been little support for the government’s proposals. 155 Labour MPs signed a motion calling for wholly or substantially elected second chamber. Newspapers reported Tory MPs as characterising the proposals as an “insult to democracy.” Senior Conservatives were said to be considering aligning themselves with Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs in support of a “more democratic” chamber, despite their party’s past defence of hereditary legislators. Tories accuse the Prime Minister of wanting a second chamber composed of “cronies.”
A opinion poll conducted the week after the report was published suggested 70 percent support for an elected Senate to replace the Lords.
The government is allowing 3 months for consultation on its proposals. The report, called, Completing the Reform is available from
www.lcd.gov.uk/constitution/holref/holreform.htm
Note.
The membership of the Lords peaked in 1999 with 1273 legislators. Of those 758 were hereditary legislators. The first stage of reform reduced the number to 614 in 2000, including 92 hereditary legislators.
Monarchist Returned In Australia
Australian republicans have suffered a setback with the re-election of monarchist John Howard’s coalition. However, the likely successor to Howard, Treasurer Peter Costello is a republican, making another referendum a possibility if 62 year old Howard retires before the end of his three year term.
Following the election the Australian Republican Movement issued this statement.
The re-election of the Howard government on Saturday does not mean that the republic issue is dead! Whilst Mr Howard remains Prime Minister the Coalition Parties are unlikely to revisit the issue formally, but we must remember that there are many republicans in the Liberal and National Parties. Two new Liberal MPs elected to the Parliament, Tony Smith and Greg Hunt, are both strong republicans. The Labor Party, of course remains committed to the goal of an
Australian Head of State as do the Greens and the Democrats.
We must also remember that Labor Premiers' Beattie and Gallop have
commented on democratising the office of Governor and we will continue to work
with them and other State political leaders to encourage similar strategies and
debates. We may also look at the possibility of the Senate looking at the issue of
the republic as part of its Committee work next year.
In short, our work continues as it has since Nov 1999. We all know that
Australia will become a republic - this is what the Australian people want and
we have to find a way to ensure that desire becomes a reality. This is the issue
that will not and cannot go away until we have a republic. The sad absence of an
Australian Head of State will continue to crop up every Australia Day, every
Queen's birthday holiday and on every major national occasion. The need for us
to have our own Head of State is greater now than ever.
The ARM's work and advocacy is not dependent on the election of any government - it is dependent on all of us continuing to be committed to our
goal.
Windsor Pressured To Apologise
A planned visit to Canada by queen Windsor next year, to mark a further 50 years of British feudalism, could be upset by calls for an apology to French speaking Acadians. A member of the Canadian parliament has proposed a motion calling for Windsor to express her regret for the action of British troops who deprived the Acadians of their land in New Brunswick and expelled them from the province in 1755. Several Acadian organisations and representative are reported to have supported the call.
Boos For Charlie
"They’ll scream at anything . . . . The only person they don’t scream for is your host the Prince of Wales. When Gerri Halliwell invites cheers for the heir to the throne, they boo."
The Independent on 100, 000 school-age kids at London’s Party In The Park, sponsored by the Capital FM radio station and Charlie Windsor’s charitable trust
Blair Bypasses Scrutiny Committee
According to press reports Prime Minister Blair had his political ally Sally Morgan made legislator-for-life without first submitting the proposal for consideration by the House of Lords Appointment Commission. The Commission was set up by Blair to counter criticism that legislators-for-life are appointed for corrupt or partisan reasons.
Barristers Protest Loss of Rugs
Press reports suggest that barristers are angry about a demand that they stop wearing 18th century wigs in civil law courts. Justice minister Derry Irvine has declared that the comical wigs and gowns are out of date and should be given up. He expects that judges will follow suit.
In criminal cases, however, Irvine wants barristers to continue their bizarre dress habits. He said that this would maintain "solemnity and anonymity."
This distinction between civil and criminal courts seems to amount more to another expression of Britain’s class system, however. The disrespectful practice of adopting an odd mode of dress works to put those who are not senior lawyers “in their place” in a semi-feudal legal system in which criminal courts are known as "Crown" courts and the prosecutors as "Crown" prosecutors.
The Law Society, which represents solicitors, who do not wear a uniform in court, has called for the strange head gear to be given up in criminal as well as civil courts.
Windsors Take Another £35M
The Windsor family has published its first ever set of annual accounts, showing how it spent the £35M it took from the pockets of the people last year. Michael Peat, the family’s finance chief, pointed defensively to a £3M reduction in the Windsors’ spending. However, his accounts included these items:
£37,000 for a train journey to Scotland for a church service.
£33,000 for a “prince” to travel the 110 miles from Salisbury to Birmingham.
£9,730 for one of the family’s “princesses” to travel to a rugby match
£6,602 for a flight to the opera
In all £5.5M was spent by the family on travel. Their 9-car train alone took £620,000 in tax pounds. Maintenance of the family’s scattered residences cost more, £15.3. Of this £2.6M went on improvements to the main London palace in Westminster. Gardening costs came to £448,000 and gentlemen at arms and yeomen were paid £83,000 in salaries.
Perhaps the most significant increase was that for public relations. £36,000 more than in the previous year was spent, a total of £550,000.
The publication of the accounts was presented as monarchical modernisation and openness. In fact it was an attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of an increasingly sceptical people.
Chief accountant Peat claimed that in fact the Windsors cost the people nothing. Indeed, he asserted that the £133M annual income from the Crown Estates should be treated as the Windsor family’s contribution to the national budget, to be set beside their £35M of expenses. He failed to mention that the Crown Estates were given up to the state in 1760, shortly after the Windsors forbears emigrated to Britain. It has long been the people’s money and the Windsors all financial burden.
Charlie Windsor Demands Army’s Religious Division
Charlie Windsor, son of Britain’s hereditary head of state, is trading on widespread British deference towards his family in an extraordinary attempt to have the Ministry of Defence establish the first army regiment open exclusively to members of one religion. It would recruit only from Britain’s 500,000 Sikhs, members of a reformed Hindu sect.
Windsor’s plan was revealed at the end of a week in which there had been serious rioting over religious differences in Northern Ireland and following a Church of England report calling for 100 more tax funded religious schools. It seemed to be perverse response to allegations of racism in Britain’s armed forces, that has contributed to a low level of non-white soldiers.
Legislators-for-Life Love Dressing Up
A report in the Independent newspaper has highlighted the contempt for democracy felt by Britain’s legislators-for-life.
"We love dressing up," said one of the newer legislators, explaining their wearing of robes worth £4,000 each for the opening of the new session of parliament. "It’s the only chance we have to wear our regalia and show off."
Five legislators showed greater concern for animal rights than for democratic ones, insisting that the fur on their robes be replaced with an artificial substitute. In the "mother of parliaments" the uniforms vary with the rank of the legislator. A legislator caught wearing the wrong type of uniform may be expelled.
Canada Tells Blair No Place For Feudal Titles In Democracy
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has protested to his British counterpart Tony Blair about knighthoods given to two Canadian citizens in queen Windsor’s so-called Birthday Honours List. In a strongly worded letter he told Blair that "in no circumstances would Canada consent to the granting of an honour which carries a title." The Canadian Primer Minister implicitly criticised the semi-feudalism that characterises British society by adding that titles were "not compatible with the ideas of democracy as they have developed in Canada." Mr Chretian’s anger at the British action was given emphasis by a personal phone call to the British prime minister the day before the honours were announced. He followed this with his letter and a diplomatic note when the publication of the list showed that two Canadians had been given feudal titles.
The British government has refused to make public its reply to the Canadian complaint, characterising the unusual diplomatic row as a "misunderstanding."
Republicans in Canada and Britain have been surprised by the unexpected support for democratic values from a country which still accepts the British queen as its head of state.
Government To Spend £30M Of Taxpayer's Money to Honour Liz
According to a report in the Financial Times the government plans to spend as much as £30M of the people’s money to celebrate Liz Windsor’s 50 year run as queen of Britain. However, British business has put the kibosh on the Labour Party’s hope that much more could be raised to celebrate the persistence of feudalism in this country. According to the FT a representative of one leading company told it that "The popularrity of the Windsor family, which has plummetted since the Silver Jubilee, would weigh extremely heavily on our minds."
Setbacks For Democratic Rights Announced in Queen's Speech
The government announced its legislative programme for the next session of parliament in the 20 June "Queen’s Speech."
Included in the proposals was an end to the "double jeopardy" protection against a second trial for the same offence following an acquittal. In the United States the constitution prevents Congress from removing this protection but in Britain a simple majority in the House of Commons can take away the citizen’s rights.
The speech also included an announcement that more of the hereditary legislators in the House of Lords will be removed. However, although some of the replacements will be elected, most will continue to be legislators-for-life, unelected and unaccountable to the people.
Created To Rule Over Us
Prime Minister Tony Blair has asked queen Elizabeth Windsor to make a former official of the Labour Party a legislator-for-life in order that she may become a minister of state. Sally Morgan is Blair’s political secretary and is not eligible to be a government minister as ministers must first be legislators. Queen Windsor may bypass the people by appointing new legislators to the House of Lords.
The Prime Minister has been criticised in this case for cronyism. Few voices have raised against his use of the power to appoint legislators-for-life to suit the convenience of the ruling party.
Meanwhile another legislator-for-life, Jeffrey Archer, is standing trial on four counts of perverting justice, two of perjury and one of using a false instrument. If the Conservative legislator is convicted he will not lose his entitlement to sit in the legislature until his death.
Church To Take £240M From People
The Church of England is expected to ask the government to increase its levy on British tax payers by £240M. The money would allow the state church to open 100 more religious schools.
The expansion of the church’s school system has been recommended in a report written by legislator-for-life Ron Dearing. The state privileged but financially troubled church would be obliged to contribute only 10 per cent of the total £250M cost of its education expansion.
Although only 43 percent of the population are Anglicans and far fewer attend its churches, all tax payers will be obliged to pay the tax increase. This is expected to lead to more demands for tax payer funding for other religious groups.
British Asked To Admire Hundreds More
The British government has issued a list of hundreds of more people it believes the people should admire. They are named in the so called Birthday Honours List, published on the official (but not actual) birthday of Liz Windsor, the hereditary head of state. No figures are available for the cost to the tax payers of this essential public service.
Sale of State Bishops’ Palaces Proposed
An Church of England report has revealed that accommodation provided for bishops of Britain’s state church has an average value of £575,000. There are 113 state bishops and the total value of their palaces, castles and houses is £65M. Although it was concerned that the generous accommodation created a bad impression, the committee making the report found no evidence that the state clerics live “in a grand manner.”
The report was commissioned by the church in response to criticism of the costs incurred by the bishops. It calls for radical reform of the way in which an annual £17.2M is spent on the clerics. The report suggests that some palaces might be replaced with houses with no more than 5 bedrooms.
The 108 recommendations in the report have yet to be agreed by the bishops.
All tax payers in Britain are obliged to fund the Church of England regardless of their beliefs. Archbishops have seats in the legislature from which they cannot be removed by the people.
Canadian Foreign Minister Supports Republic
John Manley, Canada’s Foreign Minister, has declared his support for a Canadian republic. He said that he expected the monarchy not to survive more than another 50 years.
Canada, like Australia, have Britain’s Liz Windsor as hereditary head of state. Prime Minster Jean Chretien has recently declared himself a supporter of this undemocratic system.
Novia Scotia Opposition Opposes "God Save the Queen"
The increasingly controversial nature of the monarchy in Canada has been reflected in a recent move by conservative in Nova Scotia to have members of parliament sing the British national anthem, at the end of legislative sessions.
The leader of the opposition NPD, Darrell Dexter, has accused the supporters of the move of attacking the rights of the province’s Acadian minority. Britain expelled Acadians from eastern Canada when many refused to swear allegiance to the crown. One Acadian conservative member of the parliament has said that he will not sing the anthem.
York Archbishop To Lose Legislature Seat (On Retirement)
According to press reports the government is expected to break a convention that the Archbishop of York be appointed legislator-for-life on retirement from his church position. This ending of the convention that the state church archbishop should not lose his seat in the legislature on retirement is not planned as a step forward for democracy however. The Independent reported that the government wished to punish the present Archbishop who has used his unelected position in the legislature to criticise government management of the foot and mouth disease emergency.
Until 1903 Anglican archbishops of Canterbury and York were legislators until they died. In that year the state church agreed that the practice should end. Nonetheless it has been the convention since then that they should be made "Lords" on retirement from their church and so keep their seats in the legislature.
Appointed To Rule Over Us
In April 2001 the names of the first 15 of the new legislators-for-life were announced. Those who had hoped for "people’s peers" were disappointed. You can read the roll of dishonour here.
The apologists for an unelected legislative chamber had claimed that this reform would make it more representative of the people of Britain. In fact 7 of them were already "knights" who wear a "Sir" in front of their names. Indeed only 4 of the 11 males were not "knights." What’s more a majority of the illegitimate legislators had already been honoured one way or another by Liz Windsor, the "queen." Only 4 of the 15 were women.
Those considered "representative" of Britain included chief executives, directors and the former commissioner of London’s police service. According to "Lord" Stevenson, who chairs the appointments commission, it excluded candidates it believed would not feel "comfortable" in the House of Lords.
The appointments were received with widespread hostility. The Financial Times commented that all of the new legislators-for-life "could have been raised to the peerage under the normal procedures, which means that the pool of candidates for the Lords has not changed at all." Labour legislator Gordon Prentice said they were a "sick joke." Other MPs called for an elected second legislative chamber. The Daily Express complained that "The House of Lords remains a piece of the Dark Ages at the heart of our democracy." The new legislators were, according to the Mirror, "drawn from the ranks of the so-called great and good." The Guardian demanded "Not selection, but election."
April Fools
At the start of April the British news media was in all-out excess mode over the “Sophie tapes.” Sophie Rhys-Jones, a.k.a. “The Countess of Wessex” (a one-time Anglo-Saxon kingdom in south and south west England) and a business partner had made indiscreet remarks while bidding for a public relations contract. She about the Prime Minister, his wife and the use of “royal” connections in help her business. And he about cocaine and sex. The prospective client turned out to be a journalist.
Ms Rhys-Jones benefits from a welfare handout of £141,000 in addition to her business income.
Salient features of the fuss.
In the press it was called the “bleakest day” for the royal family since the death of Diana Spencer
Buckingham Palace deplored “the entrapment, subterfuge, innuendo and untruth.”
Prime Minister Tony Blair declared himself “100% a supporter” of the anti-democratic institution of monarchy;
Trade Minister Kim Howells was allowed by the Prime Minister to say that the Windsor family were all “a bit bonkers.”
Some Labour MPs and Labour-supporting journalists rushed to insist that reform, not abolition of the curious institution, was what was needed. Dozens of Labour MPs signed a motion calling for reform of the monarchy and, in particular for a public register of the family’s financial interests. Tony Wright, who chairs the public administration committee of the House of Commons, argued in the Independent against abolition. He was apparently blind to the contradiction between his insistence that the monarchy was “not the private property of the Royal Family” and the hereditary principle that underlies it. One journalist went so far as imagine an hereditary head of state who would embody “the oneness of a multinational, multi-ethnic state.” Left wing MP Jeremy Corbyn called for the end of the curious institution but said that only a minority of Labour MPs were republicans.
Chris Smith, minister for sport and culture, called on the Windsor gang to act with “the highest degree of probity.” Apparently he did not want this interpreted as a call for their abdication.
Apologists for monarchy resorted as usual to smearing of republicans. We were accused by journalists of believing that abolition would “at a stroke” bring a more democratic society, of being “indelibly convinced that (we) are on the verge of the great moment” of abolition, “like Seventh-Day Adventists” and of contemplating the likes of Richard Branson and Joanna Lumley as president.
Conservatives mostly kept their heads down. Party leader William Hague noted that everyone makes mistakes. However, one Conservative MP signed a motion implicitly criticising members of the curious institution for using their positions to promote personal interests.
Many Apply To Be Illegitimate Legislators
3,200 people have applied to be legislators-for-life in the British parliament, under a new scheme intended to broaden the social base of the House of Lords. Seventeen live mainly outside the UK.
Ten of the applicants can expect to be appointed by the government to sit with other illegitimate legislators in the House. They will be accountable to nobody and it will not be possible to remove them from the legislature.
Britain Top of Crime League
Britain's reputation for law and order has taken another blow with the publication of new international crime comparisons. England and Wales have been revealed to have the highest overall level of crime in the industrial world. In crimes of violence, sex offences, burglary and auto theft the two nations are near but not at the top.
Seventeen countries took part in the International Crime Victims Survey, which was part-sponsored by the British government. While England and Wales tied with Australia for the top spot, crime in Scotland was just above the international average. England and Wales had the highest number of crimes considered to be "very serious." In robbery and sexual and other assaults, England, Wales and Scotland followed behind the most crime ridden nation, Australia.
Judicial Head Solicits For Labour Party
Britain's failure to separate judicial, legislative and executive functions has been forced into public awareness by the head of judicial system's soliciting of money for his party from lawyers.
Derry Irvine who holds the executive office of Lord Chancellor, is also a legislator, judge and head of the judicial system. He is responsible for the appointment of judges and the senior lawyers know as Queen's Counsels.
Mr Irvine invited Labour supporting lawyers to a dinner for which they were expected to donate at least £200 to the Labour Party. Many of the lawyers present would aspire to become Queens Counsel. Appointment as such would require approval by Mr Irvine.
One Labour supporting QC, Tony Scrivener, described Mr Irvine's action as "entirely inappropriate." He told the Independent that it "has never happened before in hundreds of years" in which there has been a Lord Chancellor.
Richard Dawkins Warns Against Tax Funding of Religion
The eminent scientist, Professor Richard Dawkins has condemned government plans to increase tax funding of religious schools. He warned that parents might feel obliged to feign religious belief in order that their children attend a good school and of children being indoctrinated with religious beliefs.
The Labour government has indicated that it would like to see more church run secondary schools and the Church of England has plans for 100 more schools.
There is no separation of church and state in Britain.
Labour Government Blocks Democracy Move
The Labour government is blocking attempts to allow legislators to discuss whether the reformed house of lords should in fact be as undemocratic in its composition as the government wishes. Liberal Democrats are insisting that the joint parliamentary commission that is consider the next steps in reforming the second chamber should debate the composition of the house. The house's labour leader, Margaret Jay, has told them that the commission must discuss only the functions of the reformed chamber. Because of this dispute the commission has yet to be set up.
The Labour Party intends that the new house of lords should have only a small minority of elected legislators, in order that it should lack the legitimacy to challenge the house of commons.
Ban On Clerics To Be Lifted
A 200 year old ban on Church of England and Catholic priests sitting in the House of Commons will be lifted if a new law proposed by the government is passed.
Ministers of other Christian denominations and of other religions have never been barred from the legislature. The Church of England will continue to be privileged by the right of its bishops to unelected seats in the house of lords.
The government has no plan to end the ban on republicans serving as legislators.
Bush Faults Monarchy
United States President George W Bush expressed an implicit but surprisingly clear criticism of monarchies in his inaugural address on 20 January. Calling on Americans to serve their nation, he contrasted the responsible citizens who would do so with those who were "subjects."
"I ask you to be citizens: " Bush declared, " citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character." The President had reminded Americans of a republican principle with his statement that " what you do is as important as anything government does. " He quickly reinforced his appeal to republican ideals by closing his address with references to Thomas Jefferson, one of the signers of America's declaration of independence from monarchist Britain.
Success for Canadian Republican
The Canadian federal government has conceded that republican employee Pierre Vincent can keep his job without swearing loyalty to Britain's Windsor family. Mr Vincent has worked as a civil servant since 1996. However last year he was threatened with the sack if he did not take the oath of loyalty when he transferred from Edmonton to a job in a research centre in Alberta. All Canadian government employees are usually required to take the oath.
Vincent objected as a republican and French-Canadian that this requirement was a violation of his constitution rights. Following a Public Service Commission investigation the assistant deputy minister of natural resources Ric Cameron has exempted Vincent on the grounds of his years of public service.
Vincent is trained as a lawyer. However, he is barred from practising because of his opposition to the monarchists' oath.
Windsor Family Financial Abuse Alleged
The Windsors have been accused in Parliament of diverting money intended for restoration of public buildings to Liz Windsor's art collection. Alan Williams MP, a member of the Public Accounts Committee, said that £14M earmarked for repairs to fire damage had gone instead to something called the "Royal Collection Trust." The legislator also asked why 14 Trust staff were given free or subsidised accommodation in royal palaces.
The head of the National Audit office, John Bourne, told the committee that although he was given all documents related to the finances of the head of state that he asked for he had no legal right to see them. He believed that he should have the status of external auditor with a right to demand such documents.
Australian Five Dollar Bill Not Defaced
The Reserve Bank of Australia has issued a special $5 note for the country's centennial celebrations that does not include a picture of Liz Windsor, the country's head of state and queen of the United Kingdom. A prominent Australian monarchist described the bank's action as "republicanism by stealth."
Major Newspaper Calls For British Republic
The Guardian newspaper has called for the United Kingdom to become a republic. However, it's 6 December editorial predicted that the referendum it called for would likely result in "public endorsement" of the Windsor family's privileges.
While questioning "how much longer Britain should remain a monarchy" and declaring that "we hope that in time we will move - by democratic consensus - to become a republic" the paper's leader writer maintained a traditional British deference with his insistence that "nothing we argue is intended to reflect upon the present royal family."
The Guardian did announce that it was making one practical challenge to the status of the monarchy. It will support a legal action against the ban on non-Protestants becoming head of state or monarch and against the privileged right of succession given to males. The action will be taken under European and British human rights provisions banning gender and religious discrimination. Strangely the newspaper did not refer to the inherently racist nature of hereditary public offices.
The Guardian also challenged the Treason Felony Act which outlaws the expression of republican beliefs and is therefore in breach of the European human rights convention's guarantee of free expression. It asked for an assurance from the Attorney General that it would not be prosecuted for publishing republican opinions. The assurance was refused. The paper's editor said that the Guardian "thought that a newspaper might set the ball rolling" as British legislators were forbidden from debating the role of the monarchy. In fact others have been publicly challenging the monarchy for many years without legal action being taken against them, including the newspaper's own Jonathan Freedland, author of Bring Home the Revolution.
In the same edition of the Guardian Mr Freedland made a strong case for a British republic. He commented that it would mean more than simply choosing a head of state for the first time. "We will at last be able to declare that there is only one sovereign in our land - and it is ourselves," he wrote.
The newspaper's leading article dismissed claims that the monarchy is an irrelevance with the statement that it is "it underpins every aspect of our current set-up - and stands behind most of the flaws or excesses of our system of government." Monarchy, it declared, had a "malign constitutional impact."
One startling omission from the newspaper's campaign was any recognition that monarchy is a denial of human rights, not simply an optional extra. Republicans in Britain are still banned from the legislature, judicial office, and from the police and military services. A referendum that supported the continuation of monarchy would lack democratic legitimacy therefore.
Note. In 1998 the Independent newspaper proposed a "republican monarchy" in which the monarch would have no political power.
Britain To Lift Ban On Catholics
The new Human Rights Act will force Britain to life the 300 year ban on Catholics becoming head of state according to a report in the conservative Daily Telegraph. The new law forbids religious discrimination and state interference in marriage choices.
The conservative newspaper claimed that the government had rejected recommendations made in a report it commissioned on religious discrimination because they would require reform of the monarchy. Seeming to confirm this, a government spokesperson told the Telegraph that although it was opposed to religious discrimination it did not intend to change the law in advance of a challenge in the courts.
Whatever changes may be made to the law to end religious discrimination, only members of the Windsor family will be permitted to be head of state.
Clergy To Be Allowed In Commons
Clergy who have been banned from election as legislators since 1801 will be allowed to stand in the next British general election. Bishops of the Church of England are already automatically made legislators-for-life with a seat in the House of Lords on their appointment by the state Church.
Over 1600 Apply To Be Legislators-for-Life
More than 1600 applications had been received for 10 newly opened bastard seats in Britain's legislature by the 17 November closing date. The 10 new illegitimate legislators will be chosen by Prime Minister Tony Blair and take their seats in March next year.
The legislators will be given the feudal title of "lord" or "baroness." They will be paid £81.50 each time they attend the House of Lords to interfere in the legislative process. "Outstanding integrity" is claimed by the commission that will examine the applications to be a chief requirement for appointment to these dishonourable positions.
Ambassador for Belize Made British Law Maker
Michael Ashcroft, a billionaire entrepreneur, until recently based in the Central American state of Belize, has been appointed a legislator-for-life in Britain. Ashcroft was Belize's ambassador to the United Nations. His spokesman said that he intended to be a "voice" on "Third World debt."
Ashcroft is Treasurer of the Conservative Party and was nominated to the legislature by that party. His appointment was confirmed by queen Liz Windsor. He cannot now be removed from his seat and may vote as he chooses. Former Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath has described the appointment as "a disgrace."
According to Conservative Party accounts Ashcroft gave the party £1.4M in the year prior to his appointment as a legislator. Press reports indicated that he has donated at least £3M since the last election.
The price of a seat in the "upper" legislative chamber was estimated in the The Independent newspaper earlier in 2000 to be £2M.
Labour Opposes Democratic Legislature
The Labour Party annual delegate conference has voted for an undemocratic second chamber to replace the House of Lords. A proposal to allow the people to elect half the legislators was defeated in favour of a chamber of mostly unelected and unremovable legislators. Supporters of the 50% option accused the ruling Labour Party of using strong-arm tactics to defeat their proposal. Trade union and Labour Party bigwig Brenda Dean, a member of the House of Lords reform commission and herself a female Lord, told advocates of democracy that a senate-type chamber would bring gridlock and not help increase the representation of minorities.
A recent opinion poll suggests that 78 per cent of voters favour a second chamber with an elected majority.
Liberal Democrats Vote For Church-State Separation.
The Liberal Democrats became the first mainstream party to support disestablishment of the Church of England at their annual conference this month. Delegates agreed that the monarch should no long be Supreme Governor of that Church and that the 1701 ban on Catholics becoming head of state should be removed. The Liberal Democrats agreed that the monarch should not be allowed to hold high office in any religious group. They also called for Anglican bishops to lose the right to be legislators without election.
Catholic Church Takes Tax Payers Money To Promote Religion
The government has given the Catholic Church £20,000 of tax payers' money to promote Catholicism. The money will be used to print a guide for teachers in Catholic schools on how they should maintain the religious ethos of their school. Teachers will be assessed on how well they do this.
Ontario Government Drops Royal Pledge
The government of Ontario, Canada has decided not to force school student to make a pledge of allegiance to Liz Windsor. The decision as to whether to require the daily oath of obeisance to the English queen will be left to each school. The provincial government backed down after opposition from young people, teachers and republicans. Under a new code of conduct students will have to stand for the Canadian national anthem.
Liberal Democrats To Debate End to Church Privileges
The September Liberal Democrat annual conference will debate a proposal that the ban on Catholics becoming head of state, enacted in 1701, be ended. Delegates will also vote on whether to impose a ban on the head of state holding high office in any religious group and whether to end the right of Anglican bishops to seats in the legislature to which they have not been elected. The constitution now requires that the head of state, currently Liz Windsor, also be head of the Church of England.
Jersey Senator Calls For Independence
Paul Le Claire, a senator in the British dependency of Jersey has made a formal request for an referendum on cutting the island's link with Britain. Senator Le Claire made his request in response to fears among the people of Jersey that their low tax regime is under threat from European Union harmonisation plans.
Australian Republicans Vote
Members of the Australian Republican Movement are voting during August for 93 elected positions on the movement's national, state and territory committees and for "Young Republic" youth delegates. The ballot, in which members have been able to vote on line, will close on 1 September.
The Australian Republic Movement had been expected to disband after the loss of the referendum. Instead it is renewing efforts to rid Australia of monarchy.
Royalists Threaten Another Canadian
Senior managers at the Canadian Department of Natural Resources are threatening Pierre Vincent with the sack unless he will swear loyalty to Liz Windsor, the British queen. The Public Service Employees Act requires federal government employees to "bear true allegiance" to Liz Windsor and to her children when they take over the job. Liz is considered by the Canadian constitution to be queen of Canada.
According to CBC News Pierre points out that his Maritime Acadian ancestors were expelled from Canada 250 years ago when they refused to swear loyalty to the British monarchy. He also complains that the oath denies him his democratic rights to freedom of thought and expression.
The federal government, which has in the past sacked staff because of their republcian beliefs, is allowing Pierre Vincent to keep his job while it considers its position. Vincent has said that he will take legal action against the government if he is fired.
Australian Republicans Start to Rebuild
The Australian Republican Movement (ARM) is calling for nominations for its national and state executives, as a start in rebuilding the movement after its defeat in last year's referendum. Elections will be held in August.
National Director James Terrie said that ARM's new constitution would allow for a wide debate on the form of the Australian republic, including the direct election option. "This election," he said, "is the first step to achieving change which will be embraced by all Australians."
Government to Spy on Bank Accounts
Department of Social Security clerks will be given online access to citizens' bank accounts without a warrant if a new law proposed by the government is passed. Britain has no constitutional bar to prevent a majority in parliament agreeing to this.
Pay Cut for Windsors
Britain's richest family are to be allowed to keep their hands in the pockets of British tax payers for another ten years, the government has announced. The Windsor family will continue to draw £7.9M a year until 2011.
The new deal is a setback for the Windsors, however. In 1990 they cut a deal with the
the then conservative government based on an assumption that inflation would be at 7.5 percent a year. In fact it has been a third of that. Since 1990 the cost of family has fallen by 55 percent in real terms.
Royal Matriarch May Have Honours Honour
The Windsor family has disclosed that Elizabeth Windsor senior may be given an unprecedented opportunity to issue a special batch of honours to mark her 100th birthday. The family's matriarch has in her long life favoured appeasement of Nazi Germany and apartheid in South Africa.
Senior Judge Calls For Democratic Legitimacy
So-called "Lord" Steyn, a judge in Britain's supreme court, has called for an independent system for the appointment of judges. He wants a nine-person commission, chaired by a non-lawyer to recommend who should be appointed. Steyn said that this would give democratic legitimacy to the judiciary.
At present judges are appointed by the government, after secret "soundings" among members of the legal establishment. The consequence is that most judges are white males who attended the Oxford and Cambridge universities.
Parliamentary Committee to Consider Lords Powers
The government leader in the House of Lords has announced that a committee of legislators-for-life and elected members of parliament will be formed after the summer break to look at the role and powers of the reformed second chamber. It will not consider the composition of the house, which the government intends should be largely unelected, unaccountable and unremovable.
Prime Minister Defends Feudal System
A spokesperson for Tony Blair has told the press that the Prime Minister values his relationship with Liz Windsor and believe that her family has a "central role" in British life. This followed a proposal by one of his minister, Mo Mowlam, that the family should vacate its central London palace and Berkshire castle for modern accommodation.
The family made an unusual public response to the implied criticism of Ms Mowlam's proposal. It said that its palace in Westminster was a working head quarters for the family business, not just a home. The conservative party claimed that Mowlam's remarks in a magazine interview were evidence that the labour party was covertly opposed to the feudal institution of monarchy. The minister insisted, however, that she was not advocating that Britain should have a democratic head of state. In a bizarre development Ms Mowlam later apologised for any hurt she had caused to the family.
Pressure To Limit Democracy Alleged
The Independent newspaper has alleged that the chairperson of the Wakeham commission on reform of the House of Lords was put under government pressure not to make proposals that would conflict with its wish for an undemocratic chamber of limited authority. Mr Wakeham subsequently denied that any pressure was applied.
European President Breaks Royal Code.
Nicole Fontaine, the French president of the European parliament, has broken the code of silence observed by Britons who meet Liz Windsor. She revealed Ms Windsor's belief that Britain would join the European currency if it proved a success. A family representative complained about the breach of confidentiality which some saw as undermining the Windsors' mystique.
British Anger At Violence Claim
Many Britons reacted with anger to an American TV report that Britain is a more violent nation than the USA. The claim by CBS correspondent that this country is more dangerous than America were widely rejected as memories of recent press photographs of British sports fans bringing savage violence to the streets of European cities faded.
Tax Payers Taken For £16M
The government took almost £16M from the pockets of British tax payers to maintain palaces and 250 apartments for the Windsor family during the 1998 - 1999 financial year, according to the National Audit Office. In eight out of 14 royal projects examined by the NAO the cost to the taxpayers was in excess of the budget.
The main components of the £15.8M were £7.2M for major works, £2M for routine maintenance, £1.5M for utilities and £500,000 for cleaners and porters. Work on wardrobes for the Windsors cost tax payers £70, 000, which was £19, 000 over budget. Changes required by the family to the design of wardrobes in three rooms added £9,000 to the bill. In all British tax payers had to fork out for the salaries of 160 palace staff, including 18 building surveyors and technicians.
Legal Caste System Alleged
The procedures by which British judges and senior lawyers are appointed have been described as a "caste system" in a report commissioned by the Lord Chancellor's Department or ministry of justice. A judge told the authors of the report that she or he did not know how the official elite of lawyers, known as "Queen's Counsel," were selected. "It seems to me that it depends on who you know, what committee you sit on rather than anything else" the judge said. A barrister described his own elite law practice as "a sort of 'golden road'" to becoming a QC or judge.
Most of those questioned by the authors favoured open and objective selection based on merit. At present QCs and judges are appointed after secret enquiries by a government minister. Eighty-nine percent of judges in England and Wales are male. Ninety-eight percent are white.
Government Sees Little Place for Democracy in Reformed Legislature
Margaret Beckett, the labour party leader in the House of Commons, has indicated that the government sees little room for elected legislators in the reformed second chamber. Beckett told MPs that she preferred that the chamber should be composed of unelected, non-partisan legislators chosen for their expertise, who should reflect the economic, religious etc. make up of Britain. She added that although her government was likely to broadly approve the Wakeham Commission's recommendations there were aspects on which it had not yet decided.
British Support for Monarchy Down
Less than half the population of Britain, 44 percent, would regret the abolition of the monarchy according to an opinion poll for the Guardian newspaper. This is down from 70 percent in the early 1990s. However, only 27 percent expressed a definite wish for a republic. The highest level of support for freeing Britain of the feudal system came from 18 to 24 year olds.
Manifesto Promise on Lords Reform
Prime Minister Tony Blair has told MPs that there will be proposals to complete the reform of the House of Lords in his party's next election manifesto. Blair was responding to a challenge from a conservative MP over his government's failure to complete the reform of the second house after the removal of most of the hereditary legislators.
Britain Lags in Literacy
Britain is behind the United States in the number of people reading at least one book a month and has a level of illiteracy similar to America's according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development. Nearly half of British adults are not literate enough to manage routine tasks, said the OECD. However, in hours spent watching television Britain, with its two tax payer funded channels, was top of the international league.
King In Waiting Snubbed By Legislators.
Twenty Labour members of the Welsh Assembly and 14 Plaid Cymru members turned down invitations to dine with Charlie Windsor, the "heir to the throne," on 11 May. Only eight Labour and three Plaid legislators attended the special dinner to which they were invited by the man who styles himself the "prince" of their nation. Apparently this was despite a special appeal made by the Windsor family head office when the likely low turn-out was anticipated.
Royal Oath For Barristers Ruled Against.
The High Court in Belfast, Northern Ireland has ruled that the Lord Chancellor, a minister of the British government, did not have the power to require senior barristers there to declare that they would "well and truly serve Queen Elizabeth 2nd" before they could be promoted to the position of "Queen's Counsel."
The Lord Chancellor has continued to block the promotion of republican barristers despite a recommendation by a committee of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland that reference to the queen be removed from the oath. He insisted that lawyers in Northern Ireland must make the same declaration as that required of those in England and Wales. No thought was given, it seems, to ending the discrimination against republicans throughout the United Kingdom.
The High Court ruling against the Lord Chancellor was based on his failure to consult the Bar Council and Supreme Court judges in Northern Ireland before reaching his decision. He may be free to re-impose the ban on republican lawyers after consulting with these groups. The two barristers who brought the action against the Chancellor have still not been allowed to practice as senior counsel.
Government Keeps Control Of Legislator-for-Life Appointments.
The government is to keep the appointment of legislators-for-life in its own hands, at least for the time being, despite the recommendation of the reform commission that an independent appointments committee be formed. Most members of the appointments committee announced by Tony Blair on 4 May, including the chairperson, will be appointed by him. Four will be "independent " and three will be "Lords" representing the main political parties.
The committee will nominate the non-party legislators, while the majority of the legislators will be named by the main political parties. The prime minister will continued to decide how many legislators are appointed and will be able to veto any he believes to pose a threat to national security. Tony Blair insists that this is a interim arrangement until the full reform of the illegitimate legislative chamber. No proposals for the next phase of reform have been announced.
Education of Republican School Students Threatened.
School students in Ontario, Canada are to be forced to pledge their allegiance to the British queen Liz Windsor, starting this autumn. Those who refuse may be suspended. The daily oath of allegiance was announced on 30 April by education minister Janet Ecker. The only exception she conceded was on religious grounds.
Ontario is the only province to require such an oath of school students. Opinion polls in recent years have suggested that as many as 60 percent of Canadians do not favour swearing allegiance to the British queen. Federal legislation to remove the reference to Ms Windsor's successors from the oath has not yet been enacted.
The loyalty oath has been described by Canadian republicans as an "oath of degradation." Some young Canadians are talking of walking out of school in protest. The oath is doubly offensive because the pledge of loyalty will be to a foreign head of state.
Film Star Renounces Knighthood.
Film star Anthony Hopkins has decided that American citizenship is more worthwhile than the knighthood bestowed on him by the British queen Liz Windsor in 1993. Mr Hopkins, who starred in The Silence of the Lambs, has given up the dubious honour of calling himself "Sir Anthony" in order to become a citizen of the United States. "I renounce the title of nobility which I have heretofore" used, Mr Hopkins declared after swearing allegiance to the USA.
Scottish Legislators Angry At Royal Symbol.
According to a report in the Independent members of the Scottish parliament are angry that a royal crown has been incorporated into the assembly's official emblem without their agreement. Many of the legislators are republicans, said the newspaper, and saw the crown as a mark of pre-democratic feudalism.
Liberal-Democrat Says Queen Should Not Be Exempt from Laws.
Liberal-Democrat legislator Simon Hughes has moved an amendment to the Race Relations Bill to require the "royal" Windsor family to abide by a strengthened law against race discrimination. The Windsor family believes that it is exempt from existing law s that protect members of ethic minorities against discrimination in employment. The percentage of ethnic minority staff employed by the family in London is significantly smaller than the proportion of ethnic minorities in London, where the family maintains its main facilities. The holders of Britain's chief public office, that of head of state, are drawn exclusively from the white European Windsor family. That would be illegal in the case of any other position.
Legislators-for-Life Rebel Against Code of Conduct
The unelected legislators-for-life in the House of Lords have threatened to resist a code of conduct that the elected House of Commons wishes to introduce. Labour legislator-for-life Stoddard told one newspaper that his unaccountable comrades should be left to regulate themselves.
Outrage At Sale of Seats In British Legislature.
Renewed claims that seats in the "upper" house of the British legislature are for sale has caused outrage in Britain. The uproar follows the appointment of Michael Ashcroft, United States resident and ambassador of the central American Belize, to the United Nations as a British legislator-for-life.
Following the announcement the Independent newspaper called for the ending of Britain's honours system and a stop to the public recognition of such feudal titles as "Lord" and "Sir." The honours system "dishonours our national life" declared the headline. The editorial argued that "the idea of calling people Lord or Lady should be left behind in the 20th century, by the end of which it was already out of date." It went on to say that the founders of the American nation "had the right idea" when they included the ban on noble title in the American constitution. The newspaper referred to the "venality" of "the continued sale of places" in the legislature and called for a second chamber composed mainly of elected representatives.
Mr Ashcroft was appointed on the insistence of the leader of the conservative party, who is entitled to nominate new legislators-for-life to represent his party in the House of Lords. Ashcroft is the party's treasurer and the biggest financial supporter of his party. He is said to have donated over £3M . What most distinguishes him from other party supporters who have been rewarded with seats in the legislature is that his business is based in the USA, he lives for much of the time outside Britain and was until last week the ambassador to the United Nations of Belize, another country in which he has business interests.
The elite committee which vets the nominations to the legislature had refused to endorse the nomination of Mr Ashcroft. It has now given way to pressure from the conservative leader, on condition that his nominee gives up the UN ambassadorship and makes Britain his home. This is the first time that appointment as legislator-for-life has been postponed until such conditions are met. Ashcroft has promised to comply by the end of the year.
Even members of Mr Ashcroft's conservative party were angered by his appointment. A former Tory leader in the House of Lords said that his appointment was "an affront to the dignity and standing" of the legislature. The current labour leader in that House claimed that what the conservative party had done was to "simply reward someone who has raised money."
Twenty new labour legislators-for-life were appointed at the same time. The Liberal Democrats were allowed to nominate another nine legislators and the conservative party, which has a majority in the Lords, got 4.
Legislators-for-Life Promise "More Trouble Ahead."
The legislators-for-life in the House of Lords are stepping-up their campaign against legislation proposed by the House of Commons. The Lords have defeated a number of changes to the law passed by the other house. "This is just the beginning . . . there is much more trouble ahead" claimed the conservative leader in the Lords, according to the Independent. He said that the Lords had greater legitimacy in doing so because most of the hereditary legislators have been removed. Even laws promised by the ruling party in its election manifesto may now be voted down by the Lords, according to the Tory leader.
The conservative party, which was unable to win a majority of seats in the House of Commons, still has more seats in the Lords than the governing labour party. To redress the balance somewhat the government has appointed 20 more labour supporters as legislators-for-life and 4 liberal democrats. Four of these legislators are former hereditary lords who lost their seats when most hereditaries were removed last year.
Elections Undermine Democracy, Claims Government.
The government's chief representative in the House of Lords has claimed that a fully elected second legislative chamber would "undermine democracy," according to press reports. She indicated that only a small minority of elected legislators, representing the regions, would be acceptable to the Labour party. The majority would be appointed by a government selected "appointments commission" that would cost taxpayers a minimum of £56, 000 a year for its task of usurping their democratic rights.
Windsor Family Protected From Embarrassment.
The hope of historians for revelations about the abdication of king Edward in 1936 have been dashed. The Bodleian Library has unsealed 10 boxes of the correspondence of Edward's legal adviser, Walter Monckton, but is holding back another for another 27 years! A letter from queen Liz Windsor's mum to Monckton has mysteriously disappeared. And copies of telegrams from Edward Windsor to Adolph Hitler, which may reveal more about the suspected Nazi sympathies of the then head of the royal family, were not to be found among the papers made public.
Charlie Windsor To Be Blocked From Throne.
According to a report in the Daily Express the British government wants to prevent Charlie Windsor becoming king. To give a taste of the respect that the monarchy inspires overseas we reproduce comments on this reported development by an American journalist in the on line magazine Slate.
"The Labour Government, which once really liked Prince Charles (why? I cannot imagine) has now changed its mind. After listening with increasing alarm to Charles' unwelcome pronouncements on things he has no business discussing like the Millennium Dome (he hates it) and fox hunting (he loves it, and of course it's a big talking point when he gets together with Camilla the Royal Mistress), the Labour Government has decided that on no account should Charles take on any of his aged mother's royal responsibilities when she get even older than she is now. How old is she? 75? 100? I can't remember." Sarah Lyall went on to comment that "The Labour government is worried about the terrifying prospect of Charles becoming king and spewing out all kinds of nonsense about anything that suddenly strikes his strange little mind."
More legislators-for-life.
The government plans to appoint 25 more legislators-for-life to the House of Lords, according to press reports. This has caused a row with the Liberal Democrats who have not been able to reach an agreement with the Labour party on an increase in their number of legislator Lords.
The Labour government is anxious to increase its representation in the second chamber because the unelected Lords have been blocking its legislation. The legislators-for-life have recently defeated the government on homosexual equality, trial by jury and campaign funding for London's first mayoral election.
Ancient City Rejects Royal Name.
Kingston upon Hull, the ancient northern England city, has decided to call itself plain Hull. No longer will the city use the prefix of Kingston, an abbreviation for "king's town," given to it by Edward I 700 years ago.
The idea of dropping the royal reference is part of a regeneration plan for Hull. Most local people and businesses have not used the name for some time and there is little opposition to the change.
Ban on republicans to stay.
Hopes that republicans might be allowed to sit in the British legislature have been dashed by the government. Reports last year had suggested that the ban on republican legislators who would not swear an oath of loyalty to queen Liz Windsor and her successors would be lifted to allow Sinn Fein members of parliament to take their seats. Now Northern Ireland minister Peter Mandelson has announced that the ban on legislators who will not take the oath will stay. The government will merely propose that Sinn Fein MPs should be permitted to use the parliament building and receive office expenses. They will not be allowed to join in the business of the legislature, nor will they be paid MPs' salaries unless they swear the royal oath.
Tiffs in Labour's Royal Love Affair.
Cabinet papers unsealed at the start of the new year have thrown some interesting light on relations between the Windsor family and the Labour party when it held power 30 years ago.
In 1968 Liz Windsor and husband Phil penned the queen's Christmas broadcast for the first time. In previous years a civil servant had drafted the short and invariably vacuous talk. However, Prime Minister Harold Wilson was alerted to an embarrassing reference to Britain's current "economic difficulties" under his government. The offending phrase was blue pencilled.
A year later George Thomas, Secretary for Wales, complained that Charlie Windsor was giving aid and comfort to Welsh nationalists. Charlie was due to be receive the title of "Prince of Wales." He had been learning the Welsh language to appease those who found fault in an English royal being foisted on them.
Thomas, an ardent monarchist who later became a legislator-for-life, objected to the suggestion by Charlie that there was a cultural and political awakening in Wales. He arranged for Liz to be spoken to about her son's behaviour.
Labour to Create More Legislators-for-Life.
According to press reports the government of Tony Blair is set to create as many as 50 new legislators-for-life to sit in the House of Lords. The intention is to make up the short-fall between the 222 Conservative lords and the 172 who support the Labour party.
The new legislators are likely to include a number of hereditary legislators who lost their seats in the recent reform. Among those reported to be on the prime minister's list are Beatle Paul McCartney and a Greenpeace activist who was recently arrested for damaging genetically modified plants.
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