News from the Centre for Citizenship
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Spending on Monarchy Questioned
The waste of the people’s money on queens and kings during a time of austerity for many of those paying the bills is being questioned more. The so-called king of Spain is facing demands that he slash his spending and publish details of what he is spending taxpayers’ money on. Belgium’s “king” has decided to…
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Secrecy on Feudal Legislative Veto Challenged
Britain’s Information Commissioner has ruled that a secret official guide to feudal practices in Britain’s deeply flawed democracy must be published. The guide advises civil servants on getting the consent of the Windsor clan before proposing changes to laws that might affect their private interests. The Commissioner has given the Cabinet Office until 25 September…
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BBC Use of Covert Surveillance Revealed
The Financial Times has revealed that the state-sponsored British Broadcasting Corporation uses covert surveillance to collect the fee it charges citizens who want to watch television. The BBC’s enforcement agency told the newspaper that “It is only used as a last resort once other enforcement methods have been exhausted”. The revelation was in a report…
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New York Times Hires First Amendment Foe
The New York Times has hired Mark Thompson, former Director General of the state-sponsored British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), as its Chief Executive Officer. The BBC run by Mr. Thompson is financed by a ban on British citizens watching any form of TV unless they pay the state broadcaster an annual fee for a licence to…
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Soccer Players Refuse to Sing Royal Anthem
Monarchy Divides Britain The claim of monarchists that monarchy unites Britain has yet again been shown as false, this time by the refusal of sports people to join in singing the British royal anthem, known as “God Save the Queen”. Welsh footballers Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy and Scottish football players Kim Little and Ifeoma…
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Monarch Takes Pay Cut
But It’s Not Windsor The “king” of Spain has taken a pay cut of £16,000, in response to the anger among Spanish people about their government’s tax increases and austerity budgeting. His son is to be paid £8,000 less than last year and other family members will also take cuts in their pay. In all…
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Windsors Keep On Taking
£31m From “Crown Estate” The Windsor family are to take £31m of the people’s money from the “Crown Estate” in 2012-13, the first year in which they will be allowed to take income from this vast public propert holding. However, spending on their their “jubilee” celebrations to mark another 60 years of feudal privilege mean…
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Australian Guides Drop Ban on Republicans
The Girl Guides of Australia no longer require members to pledge allegiance to Elizabeth Windsor, Britain’s feudal head of state. The 29,000-member organisation consulted widely before ending the pledge. The Australian Republican Movement said that the change was a step towards that country becoming a republic. In Britain republicans are barred from Parliament, the judiciary…
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Death in Jail After Insulting Royal Family
Ampon Tangnoppakul has died while serving a twenty-year sentence for insulting the Thai “royal” family. Mr. Ampon was sentenced for sending SMS messages that were alleged to have violated the law that forbids free speech deemed insulting to the feudal rulers of Thailand. Hundreds of Thai citizens protested following the death, demanding an end to…
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Party Leader Boycotts Windsor
Leanne Wood, the new leader of Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales), is boycotting a service at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff that is part of a tour of Wales by Britain’s hereditary head of state to celebrate her sixty years of extraordinary and unwarranted privilege. Ms. Wood, a member of the Welsh legislature, said that: “As a…