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Support for the monarchy in New Zealand fell from 62% in 1999 to 48% in 2005 according to the recently released New Zealand Election Study. However, only 34% of New Zealanders favoured a republic.
A more recent opinion survey found support for the monarchy at 53%, while 39% wanted a republic.
These surveys suggest that while support for the monarchy is declining, republicans are failing to generate enthusiasm for a republic amongst the "don’t knows".
Republic, the largest republican group in Britain, has accused the BBC of continuing its historic bias towards monarchy. It says that this has been shown in the state media giant’s coverage of the movie "The Queen".
According Republic spokesperson Graham Smith "there seems to be an in-built cultural bias within the BBC toward presenting the Queen as a lovely old lady whose position is unquestioned. Its reporting on the movie has served to remind us of the BBC's institutional bias. It appears they see their role as being an unquestioning cheerleader for the Queen. They go out of their way to interview those who heap praise upon her, but stubbornly refuse to give prominent air time to those who oppose her position."
A new disadvantage of Britain’s hereditary system for filling the office of head of state has appeared. Henry Windsor, an army officer, has been posted to Iraq with his regiment. According to press reports special forces soldiers may be diverted from their normal duties if he gets into trouble in the war zone.
This special treatment at the expense of the taxpayers and the normal duties of highly trained fighters is because Mr. Windsor is deemed by Britain’s feudal system to have the genetic superiority to be eligible to be head of state. He will take that office if two other members of his family who are before him in line die before he does. The soldiers protecting him in Iraq were barred at birth from becoming Britain’s head of state.
This absurdity of Britain’s feudal system was further underlined by the revelation that Mr. Windsor is referred to in his regiment as "Wales" rather than "Windsor". This is because in Britain’s state run class system he is considered to be a "prince" of Wales.
Peter Hain, Northern Ireland Secretary and contender for Deputy Labour Party Leader has said that feudal titles such as "Lord" or "Knight" should be used as a reward for those who do not evade British taxes. Mr. Hain proposed this use of the state run system of social stratification as a weapon in a "war against inequality" He said that it would "help to promote a greater sense of responsibility in Britain’s boardrooms".
Mr. Hain’s comments may be seen as another attempt to avoid acknowledgement of the socially corrosive effects of the British class system by a pretence that it may be reconciled with a nation of equal citizens. In this vein journalist John Lloyd wrote recently in the Financial Times that "National essence (for the British Broadcasting Corporation is) now in implicit values - such as accuracy and fairness in news, a celebration of equality in difference in class, accent, race and religion".
According to press reports Capita, the outsourcing firm, that was the victim of a recent letter-bomb attack, responded by saying that it could not think "of a business area it operated in that was particularly controversial".
Capita collects the TV licence fee on behalf of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It’s investigators, who have no police powers, demand that people who will not explain why they do not have a licence, submit to an interview "under caution".
An Australia Day poll by Newspoll showed 45% of Australians in favour of their country becoming a republic. Thirty-six per cent were opposed and 19 per cent undecided.
The figures suggest that there has been little change in attitudes. Although the poll showed republicans outnumbering those committed to Australia remaining a monarchy, Australian republicans were disappointed by the lack of progress.
They took comfort, however, from the 51 per cent of Australians favouring a republic in the event of Charles Windsor replacing his mother as Britain's head of state. This suggests that most Australians do not accept in practice the principle of hereditary right on which monarchy is based.
Previous polls have indicated that 95 per cent of Australians would like a fellow Australian as their country's head of state, suggesting that many have failed to recognise that a republic would give them just that.
Britain's hereditary head of state, is also the head of state for Australia and a number of other former colonies.
There will be another 40 plus years of legislators-for-life if government proposals for reform of the House of Lords made public by the Labour Leader of the House of Commons, Jack Straw, are agreed. The current legislators-for-life would be allowed to keep their seats until they died. Even then 50 per cent of the legislators could be representing themselves in the legislature, not the people.
These proposals were in a White Paper published on Wednesday that is intended to set out the final stage for reform of a legislative chamber that still includes hereditary legislators and legislators representing the Church of England.
Members of Parliament will have, however, a "free vote" that will allow them to reject the 50-50 proposal. They will be able to decide on the proportion of legislators that should be elected. The options will range from no elected legislators to a fully elected chamber. If any members of the reformed chamber are elected they will represent the same regional constituencies as members of the European Parliament. These representatives of the people will no longer be given the feudal title of "Lord".
In an arrangement rather like allowing criminals to form the jury, the approval of the legislators-for-life is required for any reform of the House of Lords to become law. The "Lords" are reported to be dead set against the loss of their feudal privileges.
The White Paper allowed the Conservative Party, long a staunch opponent of democratisation, to say correctly that "these reforms will not lead to a more democratic and independent House of Lords". Party spokesperson Theresa May said "While the Conservatives believe in election by the many, Labour’s reforms would mean selection by the few".
Mr. Straw expressed the attenuated British understanding of the rights to the people prior to the publication of the White Paper with the statement that "In a modern democracy, it is difficult to justify a second chamber where there is no elected element – where the public has no direct input into who sits in it".