I'd agree, but the idea of becoming a republic scares me with the new breed of professional politicians and cynical public 'servants' feathering their nest with an bloated public sector full of non-jobs.

The less power these peeps have the better IMHO.

 

Are you a Marxist?

 

Yes and no.

But that does not make me a political activist.

 

I was just curious as your posts read like a theoretical Marxist.

 

France is a nice place to live

 

Well I like Marx's historical materialism as a way to explain history and view the current economic arrangements of society, but otoh I agree with Popper that is negates the role of the individual and potentially is at odds with the notion of democracy.

But basically when it comes to personal political views I'm more of a liberal and would probably vote Tory.

 

That just demonstrates how open the Bible is to interpretation.

 

I had not seen that story and agree that the aide should have known better. Maybe he was trying to make a name for himself in the royal household.

I don't think much of the way that Prince Andrew plays the system using expensive transport for his royal duty which always seems to end up in a free game of golf, or the way that Prince Charles does not seem to be able to do anything much for himself-getting a manservant to hold his specimen jar for him while he fills it is going too far! Having several boiled eggs done in the morning so that he can find one that is suitably cooked is another example.

The Queen has made positive efforts to save money in transport etc. Princess Anne is well known for the very large amount of work she does in her royal duties, bit hard to keep up with I'd have thought, I hear also that Prince Philip does not drag his heels either, especially at his age.

As I understand it, the Royal Family has returned a great deal into the possession of the country in exchange for the civil list. The Queen has to pay all the expenses out of that. She does pay tax. She does have to maintain the royal palaces and household etc. by virtue of her position.

I think that the advantages we get in return from having a royal family make them well worth having and I think this country would be very much poorer without them.

Les

 

Yes we could half the deficit by stopping such outrageous waste!

 

Prince Charles also abuses his position in my view. He stopped a perfectly valid commercial property venture by writing to the Qatari Royal family to tell them of his displeasure. His aides allegedly then tried to cover up the communication when the venture owners and the architect sued both parties.

To me this is a complete abuse of a very privileged position.

If a senior political figure intervened in such a way there would be an outcry!

 

Charles is one of the old school Royals,I believe behind the scenes he plays a good part,he was one of many to object to the planners,would you like to have that built next to you? Royal Family do a lot of good for our country,at least they pay taxes more than I can say for 6mill of population give or take one ore two,Just imagine president blair

 

If I was next door to it then yes I would have been happy for it to be built.

I think it is entirely wrong for an untrained self-appointed representative of conservative values in architecture to abuse this position.

Some of our most historic buildings were seen as radical and nouveau in their day.

Now we will just have some anodyne pastiche of our glorious past rather than a bold statement of the direction for our country celebrating some of the talent of the best architects in the world that come from yes, London, where they are stifled from practising.

 

BTW - as for taxation - they may pay an honorary amount. Please convince me that they pay for a) their full share taxed as if it were a commercial venture and b) pay more than reap from the public purse supporting their ventures.

 

http://www.duchyofcornwall.org/index.htm

Interesting insight

 

Maybe, but otoh isn't he allowed an opinion? All he did was voice it?

Yes we should experiment with architecture but otoh lots of our cities have been blighted with buildings which put quick profit over quality. It's very sad to see and is 3rd world in some respects with the lack of proper town planning. Manchester is a prime example with cheap apartment blocks thrown up ***** nilly in a mix of styles like they were designed by some schizophrenic architect in a manic phase. It's given the place a discordant feel and made it a mess.

 

I do not think that writing directly to the Qatari royal family as the Prince of Wales is quite the same as 'voicing an opinion'! Simply by doing what he did would have created a major diplomatic problem had the Qatari's ignored him.

And this was not some cheap development but a development by one of the world's leading architects.

 

Hi Greg,

I am not sure what I have learned from looking at this other than to feel more republican than when I started

I am certainly failing to see past the privilege to understand whether Charlie Chester is paying his full tax on his true commercial value.

 

Even better, he only voiced his opinion in private!

 

So you have found the magic bullet! How very impressive. I think Prince Charles is a well meaning sort of chap in general, but some of the examples he sets are thoughtless. That is the point in case you did not realise it!

How about the amount that is spent on the police protection insisted on for his daughters by his brother Prince Andrew? None of the other royal children feel that necessity.

Les

 

One good thing is the power the Queen has to prorogue Parliament should that become necessary, even if it is unlikely. At least that is something that could be used to keep the government in check.

Les

 

She should have done it seven years ago!

 

Funny you should say that!

Les