Abolish the Monarchy: Why we should and how we will

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Although he is committed enough to the republican cause to lay down his freedom for it, there is something not altogether serious about the book he has produced. Worst case scenario, they gain a better understanding of why some are anti-monarchy; best case scenario, they reconsider their own views. Yet just four weeks later, as the constitution, at the centre of which lies the Crown, was in crisis [because Boris Johnson's government ministers had nearly all resigned yet he still clung on as PM], the Queen had vanished. If I were to offer Graham Smith some constructive criticism I would recommend that he could have replaced the Lords chapters with one trying to focus more into de-toxifying the idea of what a presidency would actually mean and how we could make it work for our country. The basic structure of the author’s book starts with addressing some usual defence arguments put out in favour of the British Monarchy, but then moves on to discuss what a republican model could potentially offer the UK.

It is a great introduction to republican ideas and arguments for the undecided layman, but for those of us who are already convinced, I can say that I would like to see a far more equitable future than the tepid liberal democracy that Graham Smith envisions.Like Smith says in the book itself, if you are a monarchist, this book is probably not for you - which is the precise reason I would recommend it to all the monarchists out there. No self-respecting country should base it’s governing system on how many tourists it is likely to attract. We want to see the monarchy abolished and the King replaced with an elected, democratic head of state, not running the government but representing the nation independently of our politicians.

His aspirational democratic principles stand in stark contrast to the way we are actually governed today. The British Monarchy appears so invincible and unassailable that it’s defenders are getting complacent. I bought the book because I am a member of Republic but felt that I should at least make the effort to read it although unlikely to be persuaded by the arguments therein. This only adds urgency to the need for wider political reform, beyond the limited tinkering proposed by proponents of electoral reform or an elected upper house.

Rather than the monarchy defending the constitution and, by implication, the British people, it has been the responsbility of subjects to defend the monarch not from injustice or tyranny, but from embarrassment. One moment we see the monarch, and are told of her great virtues, the next she is nowhere to be seen, as we're told that under no circumstances can the Queen be 'dragged into' doing her job. He commented on the rather sad assertion put by Royalists that the British Monarchy cannot be abolished because it represents the best of our country. I used to volunteer in Graham Smith’s organisation, so a lot of these arguments and how he tells them is very familiar.

Erudite Graham Smith shows what fools our rotten constitution makes of us, with a monarch as emblem of a country beset by nepotism, backhanders, chumocracy and inherited privilege.A president put in a similar position to the queen, without constitutional protocols to follow, would have encountered the same troubles.