News from the Centre for Citizenship

Nigel Farage, UK Independence Party member of the European Parliament, has urged that queen Windsor dissolve Britain’s parliament to prevent British approval of a proposed new constitution for the European Union. An alternative suggestion from Mr. Farage was that Windsor refuse to sign legislation approving the new constitution, according to the Sun newspaper. Constitutional historian…

Immigration is to be made easy for the foreign wife-to-be of Denmark’s so called Prince Frederick. Parliament will be pass a law to make his Australian girlfriend a citizen and taxpayers money will ensure that she does not have to demonstrate financial self-sufficiency. Immigrants usually have to wait as long as nine years and prove…

The Liberal Democratic Party at its annual conference has voted down a motion calling for a referendum on the right of the people to choose their own head of state. Party leader Charles Kennedy had opposed the motion on the grounds that other issues were more urgent. Some speakers at the conference said that opposition…

The constitutional affairs secretary has announced that the government will propose legislation to remove the remaining 92 hereditary legislators from Parliament. New legislators-for-life will continue to be appointed however, under the supervision of a statutory commission. The conservative party leader in the House of Lords threatened a “major fight” against the reform. Legislators-for-life from other…

Jamaican prime minister P J Patterson has called for his country to become a republic within the next few years. Currently Jamaica recognises` British queen Elizabeth Windsor as its head of state. Mr. Patterson was speaking at a conference of his People’s National Party. The opposition Labour Party also supports the reform of Jamaica’s constitution…

Opposition to the absolute monarchy in Swaziland has shown a marked increase this year, according to the New York Times. In August a three-day trade union protest blocked a border crossing with South Africa. And the Swaziland Youth Congress has called for armed conflict. Observers attribute the increased opposition to king Mswati to the economic…

Michael Jeffrey, the new representative of the British monarchy in Australia, has admitted that a republic may be on the agenda for that country in as few as five years from now. Mr. Jeffrey was sworn in this week as the representative of the British queen and titular head of state in the former colony.…

David Garrard of the Minerva property group has been revealed by the Electoral Commission as the biggest individual donor to the Labour Party in the second quarter of 2003. Mr. Garrard, who was given the feudal title of “Knight” in the New Year honours list, donated £200,000. At the time the knighthood was awarded the…

The BBC, Britain’s state media giant, in under unprecedented attack for its part in events leading the death of David Kelly. It has been blamed by MP Robert Jackson for the apparent suicide of the weapons expert. The BBC justified its broadcasting of uncorroborated allegations about the government “sexing up” a dossier on Iraqi weapons…