The Monarchy Today > Queen and State > Queen and Government > Queen in Parliament

But it seemed pretty plain in that link you posted that she can do exactly those things Pete, and that Parliament and the PM are subservient to her wishes.

As for Flash attempting to create a republic and abolishing the Queen, He would not stand a chance and would probably find himself in the Tower hopefully with his egregious cronies.

You may think it is purely traditional, but it is part of our constitution and is kept alive with the ceremonies which are always performed.

Les

 

Les

You are just wrong here, Parliament is sovereign.

It would not be a case of 'flash' (as you put it) trying to turn us into a republic, the slightest political interference from the Monarch would spark a constitutional crisis, in which there could only be one winner...parliament.
And lets all be thankful for that fact too!!!

 

Why be thankful? Getting deja vu here < looks back at the preceding threads >

Nope, I still think we'd be better under queenie than we are under parliament.

 

We had a bit of a conflab called the English civil war to sort out who was boss between Parliament and the Monarchy.

The result was pretty conclusive.

 

And of course the world has not moved on in the intervening 357 years.....

 

Yeah good plan, let's end democracy and bring back dictatorship

 

And when you can't remove those in power it's called what exactly? I reitterate my earlier post - do you really think they would make a worse job of it?

 

Stop trolling

 

Course it has. Power has shifted wholesale to Parliament.

The chances of the UK going back to being ruled by a Monarch are less than zero.

The UK shifting to a republic (which I happen to think woul dbe a bad thing) is far more likely.


What do you mean you can't remove those in power?

The Government ar eculpable for thier actions, if you don't like them you can vote them out (as will in all likelyhood happen in 2010). I mean comparing it to a dictatorship is just silly.

 

Why is the comparison silly?

So the Queen can't get rid of them
Vote of no confidence can't succeed
We have to wait another 2 years

Just how do you plan on removing them as we disappear merrily down the slippery slope?

Are you saying all parliamentary democracies are better than autocracies?

 

Correct.

5 year terms is what we vote on. It has to be a sensible length of time, anything much less and all the time will be spend campaigning rather than governing.

Compared to a dictatorship. Where the only way to overthrow the incumbant is by bloody coup or similar.

I mean , you say "we woul dbe better off with the Queen". What happens if you're worng? It;s not like voting the wrong party in, it not like you can put it right in 4 or 5 years time. Once you go down the route of dictatorship, you are potentially stuck with it.

Disappear down what slippery slope?
I am saying that I will favour a democracy over a dictatorship every single time.

 

Pete, stop it!

he's pulling your chain fella

 

But are you sure we're a democracy Pete? Or are we an oligarchy? Ok it's an elected oligarchy. Why? Well, the actual differences between the viable political rivals are small, the oligarchic elite impose strict limits on what constitutes an 'acceptable' and 'respectable' political position, and politicians' careers depend heavily on unelected economic and media elites. Taking that premise further, we are in effect ruled by those last two groups ie the economic and media elites

 

Not trolling, just enjoying some sensible debate for a change

 

I always understood that the government belonged to the Queen who allows it to administer to the needs of the country.

This is how she refers to the government in the Queen's speech and she ids the one who allows it to open, or to be dissolved, or to be closed without being dissolved. The PM has to ask her for permission to disolve or to form it.

Why does the PM have to pay regular visits to the Queen to inform her of government affairs too?

Les

 

Tradition, respect, courtesy?

And the key word is "inform"... he tells her what he is going to do he doesn't ask. As for the Queens speech, it is to tell Parliament of the plans of the government over the coming year and is written for her by the government! The whole process is purely traditional and ceremonial.

The Queen is a hugely important figurehead. But she has no influence on political matters or how the country is run.