UK anti-monarchy pressure group optimistic amid
coronation apathy
Republic group says idea of a royal family is starting
to fall apart as polls indicate deep generational split
Ben Quinn
Ben Quinn
@BenQuinn75
Wed 26 Apr 2023 07.00 BST
On a
midweek evening two weeks before King Charles’s coronation, supporters of a
bloodless overthrow of the monarchy had gathered inside a west London church to
hear they might finally have cause to cheer.
“The good
news is that it can be got rid of and will be got rid off,” a smattering of
about 70 people were promised by Graham Smith, the chief executive of the
republican pressure group Republic, from behind a pulpit.
The low-key
event underlined the relatively small scale of active British republicanism. At
least 10 of those present were journalists, including a Japanese TV news camera
crew, and the sense of a not-entirely-youthful and largely white audience of
the converted being preached to was hard to avoid.
Yet in the
run-up to the coronation, those who have long banged the drum for the
republican cause have something of a spring in their step, with more than 1,400
people pledging to join protests in London on 6 May.
Some
believe an unprecedented focus on royal finance and funding – particularly by
the Guardian – has the potential to gain traction among the public. A YouGov
poll found 51% do not believe the coronation should be publicly funded, against
32% who do.
“The gloves
are coming off a bit more now,” said Norman Baker, the former Lib Dem
government minister who chronicled the royal family’s use of public money in
his book And What Do You Do?
While
disapproving of such stunts, Baker said he could not remember an egg being
thrown at the Queen in the way that Charles was recently targeted.
“It’s clear
that the public at large – including many royalists – are extraordinarily unhappy
with what the royals take from the public purse and I think that is where they
really are vulnerable,” Baker said.
Founded in
1983, Republic is undergoing a modest boost. A membership-based movement that
claims to have the support of at least 80,000 republicans, it received £70,000
in donations in the month of the Queen’s death last year – a considerable sum
given its 2020 income was just over £100,000.
Republic
believes it can build on this momentum before, during and after 6 May – when
yellow-clad supporters will chant “not my king” and carry bright placards in
groups along the procession route, creating an “unmissable sea of yellow”.
Elsewhere,
protests and marches are planned in cities including Cardiff and Nottingham,
while there are due to be anti-monarchy street parties in Oxford and London. In
Scotland – home to the UK’s highest levels of opposition to the monarchy –
protests will take place in Edinburgh and Glasgow at the same time as the
coronation service.
Republicans
face a stubborn bedrock of support for the monarchy. According to polling, the
percentage who believe royals are good for Britain is down to just over 50% –
from 60% in 2019.
But a
closer glance at polls indicate a deep generational split. A survey this week
showed nearly 40% of those aged 18 to 24 would prefer an elected head of state.
In recent
months, Republic have been building up a campaign using billboards and social
media as well as shadowing outings by King Charles. In the garrison town of
Colchester in Essex last month, the Guardian witnessed one of the protests that
have served as dress rehearsals of sorts for 6 May, as Smith and a group of
poster-wielding Republic supporters used a loudspeaker to try to challenge the
king to a debate.
Watched
over warily by police, the protesters were in turn heckled by members of the
crowd. Perhaps interestingly, however, one of the loudest of them paused and
agreed they might have a point when Charles – within earshot of the megaphone
but studiously ignoring it – was challenged about the use of royal funds to
support the legal travails of his brother, Prince Andrew.
But what
continues to be absent from British republicanism is any form of full-throated
campaign from MPs.
Former
parliamentarians such as Baker insist that significant number of Labour and Lib
Dem MPs are anti-monarchy but “don’t want the hassle” of talking publicly about
it. Labour under Keir Starmer has been eager to brandish its respect for the
monarchy as he seeks to emphasise patriotism as a way of distancing the party
from the Jeremy Corbyn years.
Even so,
Ken Ritchie, of the internal party grouping Labour for a Republic, insists
there is appetite among the party membership and points to increasing
attendance at its meetings during party conferences. Several constituency
Labour parties, branches and clubs also backed a motion recently fed into the
party’s policy forum by the group.
Republican
Labour MPs “keep their heads well down,” he said, with the exception of
outspoken voices such as Clive Lewis. Last week, Richard Burgon told the
Commons that the king should pay for the coronation.
Back at
Republic’s event in Kilburn, one of the two loudest rounds of applause came
when the journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown told how she had refused to curtsy
during a meeting with the Queen.
Otherwise
downbeat, she added: “I don’t share Graham’s optimism because they have been so
clever in manipulating the population.”
Nevertheless,
public apathy was cited by Smith as a reason for republicans to have cause for
optimism. Asked by YouGov how much they cared about the coronation, 64% of
people said “not at all” or “not very much”.
“The
monarchy is an idea that is starting to fall apart. Only 9% of people are
enthusiastic about the coronation. It’s something that for the most part is
passing people by.”
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