News from the Centre for Citizenship

According to a Financial Times report most unelected legislators will keep their seats in Parliament if the Labour Party wins the next general election. Only the 92 hereditary legislators will be removed in the party’s first five years in power. More than 700 other legislators will remain. This is despite Labour leader Keir Starmer’s previous…

The Church of England, Britain’s state church, has offered to spend £100mn to make good “past wrongs” in the enslavement of Africans. The church, which is followed by a minority of Britons, profited from slavery to the extent of £1bn in today’s money. An independent committee chaired by one of the church’s bishops has stated…

The cost of policing the coronation of Charlie Windsor was around £150m. Most of this burden was carried by the police of the capital city. But research by Republic has given insights into how police forces and taxpayers outside London suffered from the celebration of feudal privilege. The spending by the Met included £6,389 taken…

The Labour Party has reneged on its promise to legislate for the abolition of the House of Lords, according to a report in the Financial Times (FT). The second chamber is composed of unelected “lords” for life, hereditary “lords”, bishops, legislators appointed by one of the major parties, and legislators who have bought a seat…

The Guardian has reported that the National Archives has put protection of royal privilege before its duty to the British people. The newspaper found that the Archives had doctored records to conceal documents that show that former head of state Elizabeth Windsor asked for details of a relative’s wealth to be hidden from the British…

An opinion poll by Savanta on behalf of the UK’s leading republican organisation, Republic, has shown only 48% favour monarchy over an elected head of state. This is a fall from November 2023 when 52% preferred the monarchy, a drop of 4 points in six weeks. In all age groups under 55 years fewer than…

Britain’s hereditary head of state Charlie Windsor has been misusing the money that he is allowed to take from the pockets of citizens who die intestate in some parts of England, according to the Guardian newspaper. The British monarch is given the income from the Duchy of Lancaster, a land and property holding in north…

Monarchs Personally Involved in Human Trafficking Transatlantic slave traders branded their slaves like cattle. Now the design of one of those brands has thrown new light on the involvement of British monarchs in the enslavement of Africans. The Washington Post has reported that British monarchs were personally involved in the transatlantic slave trade and in…

The Metropolitan Police has decided to take no further action about allegations that an official honour was given to a Saudi business person in exchange for cash. Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker told the Guardian that “I’m not actually surprised. To have taken action would have offended important people in society.” According to that…

Free Speech Suppressed In Scotland To Protect Monarchy An advertising company has told the Scottish Alba party that it will not allow it to hire billboards for a pro-democracy message, according to the STV channel. The billboard company said that an advertisement calling for a democratic head of state for Scotland could cause offence. The…