News from the Centre for Citizenship

The New Zealand Republican Movement has declared the race on amongst Commonwealth countries to remove the monarchy and become republics in the Commonwealth. Australia is set to hold another referendum on the issue, support in Canada has topped 50% and in Jamaica a clear electoral mandate for reform has been given to the new government.…

Nationalist attacks on the Spanish monarchy are putting national unity under pressure. Catalan nationalists have begun to protest against the feudal institution and have declared that they will campaign for its abolition as well as for independence for Catalonia. The Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) nationalist party told the Financial Times that it was burning…

Canadian republicans will be back in court next week in their attempt to free new citizens from the requirement that they swear loyalty to a hereditary head of state. Earlier this year the Canadian government lost its attempt in the Ontario Superior Court to stop the class action going forward. Next week the Attorney General…

Britain’s feudal constitution has caused the country a double international embarrassment with the revelation that a Windsor family member must renounce his right to become head of state in order to marry a Catholic woman. Peter Phillips, who is tenth in line to be hereditary head of state, intends to marry a Canadian, Autumn Kelly.…

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper has reported that Charles Windsor, the son of Britain’s hereditary head of state, has had a 90 minute meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. This was said to be the start of what Brown hopes will be a close working relationship. The two expect to meet three or four times a…

Star BBC presenter Jeremy Paxman has told a lecture audience in Edinburgh that “a tax on the ownership of a television belongs to the 1950s”. “Why not tax people for owning a washing machine to fund the manufacture of Persil”, he asked. According to the Financial Times Mr. Paxman “questioned how many more licence fee…

The freedom to criticise the feudal institution of monarchy has come under attack in the Netherlands and Spain A homeless man was convicted in Amsterdam last week for calling the hereditary head of state a “whore”. A journalist has also been arrested for wearing a tee shirt with the same insult. According to Radio Netherlands…

Australian Labour Party leader Kevin Rudd has said that a second referendum on making Australia a republic will be on the cards if his party forms the government after the general election later this year. This was welcomed by Republic, the British anti-monarchy group. A representative of the Group said “Seeing Australia become a republic…