Republic (political organisation)

History

Originally created by a small group of republicans in London in 1983. Republic was reinvented as a campaigning pressure group in 2006, when it became formally set up as a limited company (Republic Campaign Ltd) with a board of directors and Executive Office. Republic claims a supporter base of 30,000.

Campaigns and issues

CEO Graham Smith criticised hereditary power as being "absurd" and monarchy as an outdated political institution that "abuses its position, abuses public money and which gives politicians too much power."

Royal finances

Republic asserts that there is a lack of transparency and accountability with respect to the funding of the monarchy. The group believes the royal finances should be independently audited by the National Audit Office, like all other central government departments, and that the monarchy's exemption from the Freedom of Information Act should be removed.

Republic's response to the annual royal finance reports is reported in the media. In 2009, while Buckingham Palace claimed the total cost of the monarchy to be £41.5m, Republic estimated the figure at £334 million, once additional costs such as royal security had been taken into account. Republic's calculations do not factor in the profits of the Crown Estate, which are transferred to the national coffers in return for the civil list (a payment superseded by the Sovereign Grant in 2012); they assert that the Crown Estate is the property of the monarch only in their capacity as Head of State, and thereby state property.

Prince Charles and the Duchy of Cornwall

Following a legal ruling that the Duchy of Cornwall was separate from Prince Charles for the purposes of regulation, Republic asked HM Revenue and Customs to investigate if the Duchy should still be exempt from tax. The tax exemption is based on the assumption that the Duchy estate is inseparable from the tax exempt person of Prince Charles, which is now open to question.

Republic regularly criticises Prince Charles for expressing forthright views and lobbying on political issues, which the group says is unconstitutional. It has also called on the British Government to stop subsidising Charles' £16.3m annual income through grants and tax breaks. In 2015 Republic launched a campaign and petition Take Back the Duchy to abolish the Duchy of Cornwall and transfer its land and assets to the Crown Estate.

Oaths of allegiance

In 2008 Republic launched a campaign to give republicans an alternative oath of allegiance. The campaign began with an Early Day Motion and was taken up by human rights lawyer Louise Christian.

Royal wedding

Republic held an alternative street party in London at the 2011 Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton, "celebrating democracy and people power rather than inherited privilege", along with other events across the UK's major cities. The London event had initially been blocked by Camden Council.

BBC pro-monarchy bias

Republic has claimed that the BBC displays bias in relation to its reporting of royal matters. The documentary The Diamond Queen was criticised for this: in a letter to the chairman of the BBC Trust, Chris Patten, Graham Smith, the organisation's Chief Executive, argued that the programme breached BBC guidelines on impartiality. In his letter, Smith claimed the series was subject to "distortions, half-truths and fabrications".

Legal context

Advocacy of the replacement of the monarchy with a republic has been an imprisonable offence in law. The Treason Felony Act 1848 prohibits the advocacy of a republic in print. The penalty for such advocacy, even if the republic is to be set up by peaceful means, is lifetime imprisonment. This Act remains in force in the United Kingdom. However, under the Human Rights Act 1998, the Law Lords have held that although the Treason Felony Act remains on the statute books it must be interpreted so as to be compatible with the Human Rights Act, and therefore no longer prohibits peaceful republican activity.