Changing Britain Into a Republic Using Democratic Methods

By Michael Littlefair

A pamphlet describing the means to change Britain from a 'Constitutional Monarchy' into a free Republic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365520679

Book preview

Foreword

The term ‘democracy’ is an oft used word that has a variety of meanings depending on who is using it. It is important therefore to define what one means by ‘democracy’ before discussing it.

As George Orwell wrote in Politics and the English Language:

"The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently, the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different."

So, what is the author’s definition of democracy? A state in which the government leads the people in a direction that is in the common interest of all its citizens, not just the privileged few. This is close to what is called constitutional government or Polity. All those who have a position of control in the state are selected and elected by the citizens. In other words, the citizens select their leaders; they do not simply get a choice between candidates picked by the ‘elite’ behind closed doors with hidden agendas. Party politics is not democracy. Or, tolerate rulers who are unelected and claim a right to rule by accident of birth, a claim which appears dubious both constitutionally and genetically. That is not democracy by any stretch of the imagination.

But what do we mean by a Monarchy? It was defined by Aristotle as a State ruled by one person for the good of all. The Roman statesman Cicero assumed that this one person would have to be a perfect human being, because he would have to put the needs of all others before himself. Since the perfect human has never been born, and the further removed from perfection that person is, then the closer the regime approaches tyranny. Until finally, when the State is ruled by a single person who makes decisions purely for his or her own private interests, the result is tyranny. Thus, the best practical compromise system of government is a Republic.

What is also interesting is to look at the historical rationale for different systems of government. For example, the rationale for democracy is to enact the will of the people. The rational for Monarchy is the pleasure of the Monarch. And the rationale for tyranny? It is the physical security of the tyrant.

Britain claims to have a ‘Constitutional Monarchy’ and that Britain is a democratic state. Quite how a ‘Constitutional Monarchy’ can exist in a state that has no written constitution or even a basic bill of human rights, is a mystery the author cannot fathom. However, it is clear to even a casual observer, that the power of the current Monarchy is most definitely not that of a titular figurehead answerable to Parliament; if anything, it is the other way around. When all members of the government and armed forces swear an oath of allegiance to the Monarch and not the people, that is not a figurehead Monarch, it is a feudal ruler. When all the institutions, which in a free society should be independent of the government, all have members of the Monarchy at their head, this is feudalism not democracy. When the people are kept in a powerless state by fear and repression, unable to think about their future because they are in fear of the present, this is not democracy it is tyranny. When the Monarch rules the country from behind the scenes, sending private letters and then blaming the ministers for the Monarch's flaws, that is not democracy, it is absolute Monarchy, feudalism. When the unelected ‘Constitutional Monarch’ sits behind closed doors out of sight of the public on Government committees, this is corruption of the democratic process by an unseen sinister gloved hand!

Is this a state of affairs that ought to exist in a modern democracy? No, it is an archaic and outmoded form of government suited only to a medieval feudalistic ruler. Britain needs to replace the Monarchy with a modern democratic system of government, suitable to the twenty-first century. They deserve a Republic and an elected Head of State.

This pamphlet is written on the assumption that the Monarchy need to be replaced by a system more in tune with the British people in the twenty-first century, and that such an archaic and feudalistic institution has no place in the modern world. Therefore, I do not intend to spend any time discussing the reasons they need to be removed. It is taken as a given that they need to be replaced by something more democratic. In order to do this, an assessment is needed of their strengths and weaknesses, and how this can be used to bring into being a more democratic system of government.

Chapter 1: The British Monarchy - Strengths

Oaths, Power and Bloodlines

There are two types of perceived power; that which is transparent and can be seen, and that which is hidden from public view either by taking place behind closed doors, or ‘hidden in plain view’ and not recognized by us for what it really is.

Visible Power

Queen Elizabeth II of