News from the Centre for Citizenship
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Fewer Footsie Knights
The number of chief executives of FTSE 100 companies that are “knights” has fallen to just 5 from 32 in 1984, according to a report in the Financial Times. In 1984, when the FTSE was created, 40 per cent of the British CEOs of companies on the index used the feudal title. Now only 8.6…
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Free Speech Denied By Supreme Court
The supreme court has upheld a High Court ruling that the Communications Act 2003, which forbids “political” television advertisements, does not beach the human rights of British citizens. The “law lords” agreed unanimously that there should be a “level playing field” for competing opinions. It believed allowing the buying of TV time would give unfair…
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A Contract?
“The BBC collects the (licence) fee, creating a personal contract with every household”. Patricia Hodgson, a Dame Commander of the British Empire and British Broadcasting Corp. trustee writing in The Financial Times. “This is an official warning that the TV Licensing Enforcement Division will be proceeding with a full investigation of the above address. This…
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Windsor Oath of Allegiance Plan Condemned
Queens Belong Only In Fairy Tales Says Republican Centre The Centre for Citizenship has condemned a proposal that British children swear allegiance to the Windsor family to encourage them to feel a sense of belonging to their country. The proposal was made by legislator-for-life Peter Goldsmith in a report to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Mr.…
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Canadian Challenge to Feudal Oath To Go Ahead
The Canadian government has failed in its latest attempt to block a legal challenge to the oath of allegiance to the Windsors. The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that a class action lawsuit that claims that the oath violates the Canadian Charter of Rights may proceed. At present applicants for Canadian citizenship are required…
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Anglicans Fear Reform Might Strengthen Democracy
The Prime Minister is no longer to have a say in the appointment of Church of England bishops. But according to the Sunday Telegraph this new freedom is making some of the state church’s leaders anxious. They fear it may bring to an end their church’s undemocratic privileges in the government of the country. The…
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Windsors Don’t Interest Tourists
Research by VisitBritain has revealed that while the Palace of Versailles in republican France attracts millions of visitors each year, Buckingham Palace was visited by only 50,000 tourists last year. The London home of the Windsors came a long way down the list of attractions for overseas visitors. The other homes that British taxpayers provide…
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New Image for BBC Extortion Racket
Britain’s state broadcaster is looking at a new logo and name for its enforcement branch, TV Licensing, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Mediawatch-UK told the newspaper that the revamp was a waste of money. Broadcaster Esther Rantzen agreed. She suggested that the media giant might “do a variation of ‘It Could Be You’ (a national…
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Republican Soldier Loses Conscience Case
The Canadian Federal Court has ruled that that country’s armed forces are free to humiliate republican soldiers by forcing them to show deference to the Windsor family. Soldiers who do not drink a toast to the British hereditary head of state or sing “God Save the Queen” may face a seven year sentence for disloyalty.…
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Constitution Discrimination Must Stop, Says Legislator
The revelation that former Prime Minister Tony Blair has converted to Catholicism and that the Catholic Church has more weekly worshippers than the state Anglican Church has brought increased hope for democratic reform in Britain. Both the Times and The Financial Times have suggested that this may lead to reform of the Act of Settlement,…