With Britain about to go to the polls Republicrsquosgeneral election campaigning has been in full swing

The centrepiece of Republicrsquos campaign during the election is the Democracy Pledge seven statements in favour of full accountability throughout our system of government The final statement supports the right of the British people to choose their head of state

Republic members across the country have been asking their parliamentary candidates to sign the Democracy Pledge ndash and challenging them if they decline The Democracy Pledge can be viewed online at wwwdemocracypledgeorguk along with full instructions for contacting candidates

A handy list of questions to put to party canvassers on the doorstep has also been drawn up by the campaign team Covering the key policy issues related to the monar-chy Republicrsquos ldquodoorstep challengerdquo (see back page) is a quick test to reveal how seriously parliamentary candidates take reform

Republicrsquos election campaign kicked off with a Republic

Talks election special Professor Stephen Haseler spoke on the relationship between the Prime Minister and the monarchy drawing on examples from the last six decades of British political history

Another election themed event Republicrsquos Spring Con-ference in York on April 24 will examine the monarchyrsquos influence on the way we do politics And Republicrsquos flagship Annual Confer-ence in London ndash subti-tled lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo ndash will be held soon after the election on June 5 when what-ever the result Britain will be adjusting to a new political landscape

Take our election campaign actions at wwwrepublicorguk

T H E V O I C E O F T H E R E P U B L I C A N M O V E M E N T

2010 bull Issue 1 bull FREE

Page 2 Republican round up

Page 3 Hung out to dry

Page 4 An activist king

Page 8 The Republic

doorstep challenge

Putting republicanism on the election agenda

Republic launched a new logo a revamped website and updated branding in March The new logo was chosen from hundreds of designs submitted in an international competition

Republicrsquos distinguished supporters ndash including political commentator Lance Price freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke and human rights lawyer Louise Christian ndash met at Londonrsquos Groucho Club in March to discuss Republicrsquos plans for the coming months

A handful of economists have suggested that the Queen could play an active role in defending Britain against future recession Republic described the proposals as ldquolaughablerdquo

The Republic team attended the Battle for Politics event last month speaking to delegates about the campaign and recruiting new supporters

Republic has renewed its call for an inquiry into royal finances following an investigation by the Independent which revealed shocking waste and inefficiency at the Palace Ministers are to go to court to try to stop further revelations about royal spending

Republic has criticised government plans for state-funded celebrations of the monarchy including an extra bank holiday set for 2012 Republic told BBC news that 2012 should see a ldquomeaningful debaterdquo on the future of the monarchy and proposals for ldquoserious reformrdquo

Republic condemned as ldquoshamefulrdquo a recent decision to keep secret government advice on the legality of Prince Charlesrsquos marriage to Camilla Graham Smith told the Daily Express ldquoIf our constitution does limit the rights of Charles to marry then thatrsquos an argument for reform itrsquos not an argument for state secrecy designed to cover up an illegal marriagerdquo

Prince Charles may be forced to tell a court of his role in scuppering plans for the controversial re-development of Chelsea Barracks Property developers in the middle of a compensation battle with the Qatari royal family after they dropped the planned development have indicated that they may call on Charles to give evidence

RE

PU

BLI

CA

N R

OU

ND

UP

2

CONTACT REPUBLIC

T 08708 508 825E enquiriesrepublicorgukWrite to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

WE HAVE MOVEDPlease note that our address has changed and update your records accordingly

Are you signed up to

Republicrsquos email list

If not you could be

missing out on important

updates invitations

and campaign actions

Sign up at wwwrepublicorguk or

contact us with your email address

Republic relies on the financial support of republicans like you Every donation no matter how small will make a huge difference

Donate online at wwwrepublicorgukdonate or call 08708 508 825

By Republicrsquos Campaign Manager Graham Smith

Much of Republicrsquos efforts have been focused on preparing for the increasingly likely event of a hung parliament when the Queen could wield real power over the formation of a new government

With guidance from constitutional experts such as Professor Adam Tomkins and Professor Stephen Haseler the campaign team have been preparing their response should no party win an overall majority

Royal courtiers have colluded with Britainrsquos most senior civil servants to try and protect the Queen from political controversy should there be a hung parliament But there remain a number of scenarios in which the Queen could have the final say in who leads the country

Cabinet secretary Gus OrsquoDonnell has issued detailed guidance based on memos used by No 10 and the palace as they dealt with the hung parliament of February 1974 The proposals would give Gordon Brown three weeks to try and form a government rather than the usual six days in an attempt to stave off the need for the Queenrsquos intervention

In the event of a hung parliament the incum-bent Prime Minister remains in power until he or she resigns and may try to stay in government even if his or her party did not win the largest number of seats This happened in 1974 but after four days Edward Heath gave up trying to form a coalition and advised the Queen to appoint Harold Wilson Prime Minister

A party can stay in power without an absolute majority either by forming a coalition with smaller parties or pursuing a legislative programme on a vote-by-vote basis If the incumbent Prime Minis-ter cannot form a government in this way then he or she is expected to resign and advise the Queen to approach the Leader of the Opposition

But a number of very serious questions remain The Liberal Democrats could say that they will form a coalition government with Labour but not with Gordon Brown as its leader The Queen could then either approach another Labour Party figure more amenable to the Lib Dems (say David Miliband or deputy leader Harriet Harman) or go straight to Cameron According to the 1974 memos either option is perfectly permissible

What if Brown is unable to form a coalition but refuses to advise the Queen The Queen is nor-mally expected to act only on the Prime Ministerrsquos advice but if Brown simply walks away without advising the Queen to approach Cameron she will be forced to act independently

Another series of lsquowhat ifsrsquo concerns the pros-pect of a second general election If neither party is able to command the confidence of the house does the Queen go back to Brown or dissolve parliament and trigger another election What if Brown demands a second general election im-mediately The Queen is not obliged to dissolve parliament until she personally believes another election is ldquounavoidablerdquo

And finally what if either Brown or Cameron leading a weak minority government tries to suspend parliament to avoid a vote of confidence Would the Queen grant that request or would she demand another general election

The Queenrsquos actions in any of the scenarios out-lined above will have far-reaching consequences and are sure to embroil the monarchy in unprec-edented political controversy The political future of the United Kingdom will be in the hands of one woman - unelected and unaccountable answer-able to no one Britainrsquos creaking constitution will be on show for all to see and it will be an excellent opportunity to put forward the republican case

Hung out to dry

3For more news from Republic go to wwwrepublicorguk

A hung parliament could thrust the Queenrsquos role in choosing a new prime minister centre stage A finely balanced parliament and a significant discrepancy between votes cast and seats won could mean the Queen is left with a real choice of which MP to call to the palace

By Republicrsquos Development Manager James Gray

Earlier this month it emerged that Scotland Yard fraud officers were investigating the disappear-ance of pound300000 from Prince Charlesrsquos flagship health charity the Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH)

The news came just days after Republic submit-ted a formal complaint about the FIH to the Char-ity Commission asking the watchdog to launch a formal investigation into the charityrsquos governance Republicrsquos complaint outlined evidence that the charity had been pursuing a ldquovendettardquo against one of its most prominent critics

At stake here is not simply the reputation of a registered charity but the very foundation of our constitution the impartiality of the monarchy The FIH has long acted as a conduit for Charlesrsquos

controversial views on alternative medicine

ndash and with consider-able success

It has received pound1m of public money to es-tablish a register

of complimentary therapists and many

critics say the organisa-tion has been instrumental

in persuading the govern-ment to make certain forms

of alternative medicine available on the NHS

The royals have long cited their

ldquocharity workrdquo in justifica-tion for their e x p e n s e and con-s t i t u t i o n a l

position But

the adverse publicity surrounding the FIH has seri-ously undermined this monarchist line of defence Charlesrsquos lobby groups are now under scrutiny like never before largely thanks to campaigning by Republic

Last year in response to a previous complaint by Republic the Charity Commission launched a formal investigation into another of Charlesrsquos organisations the Foundation for the Built Envi-ronment

Documents obtained by the Guardian revealed that the Foundation pressed senior cabinet min-isters to bring government policy into line with Charlesrsquos beliefs on matters including hospital building and the design of ecotowns The char-ity also played a key role in the Chelsea Barracks controversy

Republic claimed that the foundation was being used as Charlesrsquos ldquopersonal lobby grouprdquo and the Charity Commission agreed that he was having a seriously detrimental effect on the charityrsquos public perception

Another of Charlesrsquos charities the Princersquos Teaching Institute also became embroiled in controversy recently when the shadow schools secretary Michael Gove announced that the group would be involved in drawing up a new curriculum if the Conservatives were to win the general elec-tion

The Institute campaigns for an education sys-tem in line with Charlesrsquos beliefs advocating rote learning of poetry and ndash perhaps unsurprisingly ndashthe names of kings and queens

The announcement prompted further calls for Charles to make clear his links to the Conserva-tive party In April last year the Princersquos Trust was censured by the Charity Commission for making an illegal donation of pound10000 to a Tory group and earlier this month Charles made his first election gaffe when he heaped praise on the Conservative candidate for Penrith Rory Stewart Perhaps most

With the recent furore over Prince Charlesrsquo role in the controversial Chelsea Barracks scheme and his alleged influence over Government health policy with his infamous lsquoBlack spider memosrsquo we ask whether our next king will be content taking the same hands-off role as his mother

Hear Paul Richards scientist David Colquhoun and architect Peter Jenkins discuss Charlesrsquos lobbying at the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 in London For more information and to book your tickets go to wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk or complete the form on page 8

4

An activist king

damaging of all the FIHrsquos accounts reveal that it received pound50000 from the foundation of disgraced Conservative politician Shirley Porter

These are just three of the organisations Charles personally established ndash there are currently 18 of them known collectively as lsquothe Princersquos Charitiesrsquo According to Paul Richards a former special ad-viser to two cabinet ministers ldquoit is an astonishing empire of organisations each reflecting Prince Charlesrsquos personal political viewsrdquo

Even the Princersquos Trust whose work is widely regarded as valuable has given Charles the op-portunity to wade into the lsquobroken Britainrsquo debate through a series of op-eds in the Mirror

Charles does not always use his charities to promote his ideas Sometimes it is more effective to approach a minister directly ldquoIn the maelstrom of official correspondence and departmental pa-pers they stick out like a diamond in a middenrdquo says Richards who received his fair share of lsquoblack spider memosrsquo while working for Patricia Hewitt and Hazel Blears

ldquoYou can guarantee that they are put under the nose of the minister within hours of arrival unlike nine tenths of the letters sent to ministers They are placed high in the piles of paperwork in the red box and fast-tracked through the systemrdquo

It is this correspondence which the government has moved to make secret The monarchy has always been exempt from Freedom of Information

rules but until now there has been the slim hope that Charlesrsquos lobbying of Whitehall would come to light if disclosure was in the public interest

However a recent amendment to the Constitu-tional Reform and Governance Bill rushed through in the notorious lsquowash uprsquo process during the final days of parliament removed this public interest test ndash effectively putting a total ban on public access to royal documents The Times accurately described the amendment as ldquoa gagging law to protect Prince Charlesrdquo

So the fight is on Charles shows no sign of scaling back his lobbying as he gets closer to the throne ndash he has even signalled his intention to be a ldquopresidential kingrdquo And with the royal FOI ban now in place he has been given a green light to continue

But Republic aided by an ever-growing repub-lican movement and the more sceptical elements of the media is now subjecting Charles to an unprecedented level of scrutiny If the politicians are not prepared to hold him to account then republican activists will

Prince Charles should of course be free to express his views and speak out on issues that con-cern him It is the British constitution not Republic which says he must stay silent The answer then is a new constitution which allows Charles Windsor to enter the cut and thrust of political debate as a free citizen ndash or even as an elected politician

5Help us create a democratic Britain by making a donation at wwwrepublicorgukdonate

Republic is working closely with other European republican movements to establish a new alli-ance The Swedish republican movement is to host a convention in Stockholm in June bring-ing together republican campaigns from Swe-den Belgium Norway Denmark the Nether-lands and Britain

Recently Graham Smith was guest speaker at the launch event of the Danish republican move-ment held in the parliament in Copenhagen Graham spoke about the experiences of Republic and how the British campaign has developed and grown over the years He spoke optimistically of the chances for success in the future and told the Danish group that Republic welcomed the opportunity for cooperation offered by a formal European alliance

Contrary to popular belief many of the Euro-

pean monarchies present similar constitutional problems as the British monarchy This should not be too surprising as the monarchies are largely made up of the same extended family ndash prompting one suggestion for an alliance slogan lsquoone family one movementrsquo

Republic is by far the oldest of the contem-porary European republican movements The Swedish movement is about ten years old and the Danes set up their group last year Others are just getting started and we hope the alliance will provide a source of support advice and inspiration to our Continental allies

The June convention will hopefully see the birth of a formal alliance and Republic has pro-posed a second convention in London toward the end of the year which we hope will be open to all members and supporters of Republic

The pound79m annual civil list payment to the Queen which represents a small fraction of the annual cost of the monarchy is currently being reviewed by parliament

Talks between royal aides and the government began last year with the Palace lobbying hard for an increase despite holding pound21m in reserves Parliament is required to review the payments and make a decision on any increase by July

A Guardian investigation last October revealed that parliament is explicitly banned under the 1972 Civil List Act from reducing the civil list payment Ministers would need to repeal this provision of the Act before any cuts are made

The decision on whether to give in to Palace demands and increase royal funding could be the first major controversy faced by the new govern-

ment In the midst of the worst recession since the Second World War a royal pay rise is likely to provoke immense public anger

So far Labour and the Liberal Democrats have refused to be drawn on their plans for the civil list but a spokeswoman for the shadow chancellor George Osborne told Republic that the Conserva-tives will not automatically exempt the royals from the public spending squeeze

Republic will be campaigning hard to stop any increase to the civil list payment We will be call-ing on parliament to impose a freeze on all royal spending and bring all royal spending under the management of a single government department Find out how to support the campaign at wwwrepublicorgukroyalfinances

Republic joins European republican alliance

Nothing civil about a royal pay rise

6 Follow us on Twitter at twittercomrepublicstaff

Republic Talks is Republicrsquos series of seminars and debates examining a range of issues related to republicanism and the monarchy A speaker is invited each month to give a presentation on a key republican theme which is followed by a lively discussion in a relaxed and informal at-mosphere

The talks usually take place on the first Wednesday of each month in the upstairs room of the Plough pub just around the corner from the British Museum

Previous speakers have included Ekklesiarsquos Jonathan Bartley on the Christian case for a re-public Anthony Holden on his journey from royal biographer to republican and historian Edward Vallance on Britainrsquos republican heritage Most recently Professor Stephen Haseler discussed the Queenrsquos political role

Other Republic Talks events have brought to-gether two speakers with very different views on an

issue such as when republican journalist Emily Hill discussed the royal PR machine with royal reporter Richard Palmer ndash or when Spikedrsquos Brendan OrsquoNeill debated the achievements of the constitutional reform movement with POWER2010rsquos Pam Giddy

Republic Talks events are organised by volun-teer Jennifer Gingell who puts together a varied programme covering all aspects of the republican debate ldquoThe talks are an opportunity for republi-cans to take a step back from the cut and thrust of the campaign and look at the issues in detailrdquo she explains ldquoTheyrsquore also a great way to meet other Republic supportersrdquo

Please note that there will be no Republic Talks events in May or June as the Republic team are preparing for the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 Repub-lic Talks will be back in July ndash please keep checking wwwrepublicorgukwhatson for details

Republic talks

7Read what wersquove got to say at wwwrepublicorgukblog

REPUBLICANNUAL

CONFERENCESaturday June 5

London

TICKETSpound1000 members

pound13 non-memberspound18 membership+ticket

Order your tickets online orcall 08708 508 825

wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk

1 YOUR DETAILS

Name

Address and postcode

Telephone number Email

2 YOUR MEMBERSHIP RATEOur standard membership rate is pound24 but you can pay anything above our minimum of pound10 (pound5 for students)

I wish to pay pound24 pound50 pound100 pound__________

3 YOUR PAYMENT METHODWe accept payment by creditdebit card or cheque Please make all cheques payable to lsquoRepublicrsquo

Credit or debit card

Name on card

Card type Visa (DeltaElectron) MasterCard Switch Solo JCB (no Amex or Diners)

Valid FromIssue number 1048646 1048646 Card number 1048646 ndash ndash ndash 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

Expiry date mmyy 1048646 1048646 3 Digit Security Code (back of card) 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

4 RETURN Please return to a Republic representative or send to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

copy Republic 2010 Republic Campaign Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee operating under the name lsquoRepublicrsquo Registered Number 05891072 Registered Address Dalton House 60 Windsor Avenue London SW19 2RR Designed by Stuart Ogier wwwstuartogiercom All photos of the British Monarchy copy The Royal Household

Have these questions ready when party canvassers knock on your door Let us know

what answers you get backYou can also put these questions directly to your newly elected Member of Parliament after the election

Given the current economic climate and the need for deep cuts to public services do you oppose any increase in the Civil List

At a time when the public are demanding greater openness and transparency in politics do you support

moves to completely exempt Prince Charlesrsquos lobbying from the Freedom of Information Act

There has been a lot of talk from all three main parties about the need for better democracy and

for constitutional reform Do you agree that the people

should be able to choose their next head of state

REPUBLIC MEMBERSHIP FORM

Republicrsquos publications Find out more about the arguments in favour of real constitutional change

Find out more at wwwrepublicorgukshop

1

2

3

Republic launched a new logo a revamped website and updated branding in March The new logo was chosen from hundreds of designs submitted in an international competition

Republicrsquos distinguished supporters ndash including political commentator Lance Price freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke and human rights lawyer Louise Christian ndash met at Londonrsquos Groucho Club in March to discuss Republicrsquos plans for the coming months

A handful of economists have suggested that the Queen could play an active role in defending Britain against future recession Republic described the proposals as ldquolaughablerdquo

The Republic team attended the Battle for Politics event last month speaking to delegates about the campaign and recruiting new supporters

Republic has renewed its call for an inquiry into royal finances following an investigation by the Independent which revealed shocking waste and inefficiency at the Palace Ministers are to go to court to try to stop further revelations about royal spending

Republic has criticised government plans for state-funded celebrations of the monarchy including an extra bank holiday set for 2012 Republic told BBC news that 2012 should see a ldquomeaningful debaterdquo on the future of the monarchy and proposals for ldquoserious reformrdquo

Republic condemned as ldquoshamefulrdquo a recent decision to keep secret government advice on the legality of Prince Charlesrsquos marriage to Camilla Graham Smith told the Daily Express ldquoIf our constitution does limit the rights of Charles to marry then thatrsquos an argument for reform itrsquos not an argument for state secrecy designed to cover up an illegal marriagerdquo

Prince Charles may be forced to tell a court of his role in scuppering plans for the controversial re-development of Chelsea Barracks Property developers in the middle of a compensation battle with the Qatari royal family after they dropped the planned development have indicated that they may call on Charles to give evidence

RE

PU

BLI

CA

N R

OU

ND

UP

2

CONTACT REPUBLIC

T 08708 508 825E enquiriesrepublicorgukWrite to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

WE HAVE MOVEDPlease note that our address has changed and update your records accordingly

Are you signed up to

Republicrsquos email list

If not you could be

missing out on important

updates invitations

and campaign actions

Sign up at wwwrepublicorguk or

contact us with your email address

Republic relies on the financial support of republicans like you Every donation no matter how small will make a huge difference

Donate online at wwwrepublicorgukdonate or call 08708 508 825

By Republicrsquos Campaign Manager Graham Smith

Much of Republicrsquos efforts have been focused on preparing for the increasingly likely event of a hung parliament when the Queen could wield real power over the formation of a new government

With guidance from constitutional experts such as Professor Adam Tomkins and Professor Stephen Haseler the campaign team have been preparing their response should no party win an overall majority

Royal courtiers have colluded with Britainrsquos most senior civil servants to try and protect the Queen from political controversy should there be a hung parliament But there remain a number of scenarios in which the Queen could have the final say in who leads the country

Cabinet secretary Gus OrsquoDonnell has issued detailed guidance based on memos used by No 10 and the palace as they dealt with the hung parliament of February 1974 The proposals would give Gordon Brown three weeks to try and form a government rather than the usual six days in an attempt to stave off the need for the Queenrsquos intervention

In the event of a hung parliament the incum-bent Prime Minister remains in power until he or she resigns and may try to stay in government even if his or her party did not win the largest number of seats This happened in 1974 but after four days Edward Heath gave up trying to form a coalition and advised the Queen to appoint Harold Wilson Prime Minister

A party can stay in power without an absolute majority either by forming a coalition with smaller parties or pursuing a legislative programme on a vote-by-vote basis If the incumbent Prime Minis-ter cannot form a government in this way then he or she is expected to resign and advise the Queen to approach the Leader of the Opposition

But a number of very serious questions remain The Liberal Democrats could say that they will form a coalition government with Labour but not with Gordon Brown as its leader The Queen could then either approach another Labour Party figure more amenable to the Lib Dems (say David Miliband or deputy leader Harriet Harman) or go straight to Cameron According to the 1974 memos either option is perfectly permissible

What if Brown is unable to form a coalition but refuses to advise the Queen The Queen is nor-mally expected to act only on the Prime Ministerrsquos advice but if Brown simply walks away without advising the Queen to approach Cameron she will be forced to act independently

Another series of lsquowhat ifsrsquo concerns the pros-pect of a second general election If neither party is able to command the confidence of the house does the Queen go back to Brown or dissolve parliament and trigger another election What if Brown demands a second general election im-mediately The Queen is not obliged to dissolve parliament until she personally believes another election is ldquounavoidablerdquo

And finally what if either Brown or Cameron leading a weak minority government tries to suspend parliament to avoid a vote of confidence Would the Queen grant that request or would she demand another general election

The Queenrsquos actions in any of the scenarios out-lined above will have far-reaching consequences and are sure to embroil the monarchy in unprec-edented political controversy The political future of the United Kingdom will be in the hands of one woman - unelected and unaccountable answer-able to no one Britainrsquos creaking constitution will be on show for all to see and it will be an excellent opportunity to put forward the republican case

Hung out to dry

3For more news from Republic go to wwwrepublicorguk

A hung parliament could thrust the Queenrsquos role in choosing a new prime minister centre stage A finely balanced parliament and a significant discrepancy between votes cast and seats won could mean the Queen is left with a real choice of which MP to call to the palace

By Republicrsquos Development Manager James Gray

Earlier this month it emerged that Scotland Yard fraud officers were investigating the disappear-ance of pound300000 from Prince Charlesrsquos flagship health charity the Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH)

The news came just days after Republic submit-ted a formal complaint about the FIH to the Char-ity Commission asking the watchdog to launch a formal investigation into the charityrsquos governance Republicrsquos complaint outlined evidence that the charity had been pursuing a ldquovendettardquo against one of its most prominent critics

At stake here is not simply the reputation of a registered charity but the very foundation of our constitution the impartiality of the monarchy The FIH has long acted as a conduit for Charlesrsquos

controversial views on alternative medicine

ndash and with consider-able success

It has received pound1m of public money to es-tablish a register

of complimentary therapists and many

critics say the organisa-tion has been instrumental

in persuading the govern-ment to make certain forms

of alternative medicine available on the NHS

The royals have long cited their

ldquocharity workrdquo in justifica-tion for their e x p e n s e and con-s t i t u t i o n a l

position But

the adverse publicity surrounding the FIH has seri-ously undermined this monarchist line of defence Charlesrsquos lobby groups are now under scrutiny like never before largely thanks to campaigning by Republic

Last year in response to a previous complaint by Republic the Charity Commission launched a formal investigation into another of Charlesrsquos organisations the Foundation for the Built Envi-ronment

Documents obtained by the Guardian revealed that the Foundation pressed senior cabinet min-isters to bring government policy into line with Charlesrsquos beliefs on matters including hospital building and the design of ecotowns The char-ity also played a key role in the Chelsea Barracks controversy

Republic claimed that the foundation was being used as Charlesrsquos ldquopersonal lobby grouprdquo and the Charity Commission agreed that he was having a seriously detrimental effect on the charityrsquos public perception

Another of Charlesrsquos charities the Princersquos Teaching Institute also became embroiled in controversy recently when the shadow schools secretary Michael Gove announced that the group would be involved in drawing up a new curriculum if the Conservatives were to win the general elec-tion

The Institute campaigns for an education sys-tem in line with Charlesrsquos beliefs advocating rote learning of poetry and ndash perhaps unsurprisingly ndashthe names of kings and queens

The announcement prompted further calls for Charles to make clear his links to the Conserva-tive party In April last year the Princersquos Trust was censured by the Charity Commission for making an illegal donation of pound10000 to a Tory group and earlier this month Charles made his first election gaffe when he heaped praise on the Conservative candidate for Penrith Rory Stewart Perhaps most

With the recent furore over Prince Charlesrsquo role in the controversial Chelsea Barracks scheme and his alleged influence over Government health policy with his infamous lsquoBlack spider memosrsquo we ask whether our next king will be content taking the same hands-off role as his mother

Hear Paul Richards scientist David Colquhoun and architect Peter Jenkins discuss Charlesrsquos lobbying at the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 in London For more information and to book your tickets go to wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk or complete the form on page 8

4

An activist king

damaging of all the FIHrsquos accounts reveal that it received pound50000 from the foundation of disgraced Conservative politician Shirley Porter

These are just three of the organisations Charles personally established ndash there are currently 18 of them known collectively as lsquothe Princersquos Charitiesrsquo According to Paul Richards a former special ad-viser to two cabinet ministers ldquoit is an astonishing empire of organisations each reflecting Prince Charlesrsquos personal political viewsrdquo

Even the Princersquos Trust whose work is widely regarded as valuable has given Charles the op-portunity to wade into the lsquobroken Britainrsquo debate through a series of op-eds in the Mirror

Charles does not always use his charities to promote his ideas Sometimes it is more effective to approach a minister directly ldquoIn the maelstrom of official correspondence and departmental pa-pers they stick out like a diamond in a middenrdquo says Richards who received his fair share of lsquoblack spider memosrsquo while working for Patricia Hewitt and Hazel Blears

ldquoYou can guarantee that they are put under the nose of the minister within hours of arrival unlike nine tenths of the letters sent to ministers They are placed high in the piles of paperwork in the red box and fast-tracked through the systemrdquo

It is this correspondence which the government has moved to make secret The monarchy has always been exempt from Freedom of Information

rules but until now there has been the slim hope that Charlesrsquos lobbying of Whitehall would come to light if disclosure was in the public interest

However a recent amendment to the Constitu-tional Reform and Governance Bill rushed through in the notorious lsquowash uprsquo process during the final days of parliament removed this public interest test ndash effectively putting a total ban on public access to royal documents The Times accurately described the amendment as ldquoa gagging law to protect Prince Charlesrdquo

So the fight is on Charles shows no sign of scaling back his lobbying as he gets closer to the throne ndash he has even signalled his intention to be a ldquopresidential kingrdquo And with the royal FOI ban now in place he has been given a green light to continue

But Republic aided by an ever-growing repub-lican movement and the more sceptical elements of the media is now subjecting Charles to an unprecedented level of scrutiny If the politicians are not prepared to hold him to account then republican activists will

Prince Charles should of course be free to express his views and speak out on issues that con-cern him It is the British constitution not Republic which says he must stay silent The answer then is a new constitution which allows Charles Windsor to enter the cut and thrust of political debate as a free citizen ndash or even as an elected politician

5Help us create a democratic Britain by making a donation at wwwrepublicorgukdonate

Republic is working closely with other European republican movements to establish a new alli-ance The Swedish republican movement is to host a convention in Stockholm in June bring-ing together republican campaigns from Swe-den Belgium Norway Denmark the Nether-lands and Britain

Recently Graham Smith was guest speaker at the launch event of the Danish republican move-ment held in the parliament in Copenhagen Graham spoke about the experiences of Republic and how the British campaign has developed and grown over the years He spoke optimistically of the chances for success in the future and told the Danish group that Republic welcomed the opportunity for cooperation offered by a formal European alliance

Contrary to popular belief many of the Euro-

pean monarchies present similar constitutional problems as the British monarchy This should not be too surprising as the monarchies are largely made up of the same extended family ndash prompting one suggestion for an alliance slogan lsquoone family one movementrsquo

Republic is by far the oldest of the contem-porary European republican movements The Swedish movement is about ten years old and the Danes set up their group last year Others are just getting started and we hope the alliance will provide a source of support advice and inspiration to our Continental allies

The June convention will hopefully see the birth of a formal alliance and Republic has pro-posed a second convention in London toward the end of the year which we hope will be open to all members and supporters of Republic

The pound79m annual civil list payment to the Queen which represents a small fraction of the annual cost of the monarchy is currently being reviewed by parliament

Talks between royal aides and the government began last year with the Palace lobbying hard for an increase despite holding pound21m in reserves Parliament is required to review the payments and make a decision on any increase by July

A Guardian investigation last October revealed that parliament is explicitly banned under the 1972 Civil List Act from reducing the civil list payment Ministers would need to repeal this provision of the Act before any cuts are made

The decision on whether to give in to Palace demands and increase royal funding could be the first major controversy faced by the new govern-

ment In the midst of the worst recession since the Second World War a royal pay rise is likely to provoke immense public anger

So far Labour and the Liberal Democrats have refused to be drawn on their plans for the civil list but a spokeswoman for the shadow chancellor George Osborne told Republic that the Conserva-tives will not automatically exempt the royals from the public spending squeeze

Republic will be campaigning hard to stop any increase to the civil list payment We will be call-ing on parliament to impose a freeze on all royal spending and bring all royal spending under the management of a single government department Find out how to support the campaign at wwwrepublicorgukroyalfinances

Republic joins European republican alliance

Nothing civil about a royal pay rise

6 Follow us on Twitter at twittercomrepublicstaff

Republic Talks is Republicrsquos series of seminars and debates examining a range of issues related to republicanism and the monarchy A speaker is invited each month to give a presentation on a key republican theme which is followed by a lively discussion in a relaxed and informal at-mosphere

The talks usually take place on the first Wednesday of each month in the upstairs room of the Plough pub just around the corner from the British Museum

Previous speakers have included Ekklesiarsquos Jonathan Bartley on the Christian case for a re-public Anthony Holden on his journey from royal biographer to republican and historian Edward Vallance on Britainrsquos republican heritage Most recently Professor Stephen Haseler discussed the Queenrsquos political role

Other Republic Talks events have brought to-gether two speakers with very different views on an

issue such as when republican journalist Emily Hill discussed the royal PR machine with royal reporter Richard Palmer ndash or when Spikedrsquos Brendan OrsquoNeill debated the achievements of the constitutional reform movement with POWER2010rsquos Pam Giddy

Republic Talks events are organised by volun-teer Jennifer Gingell who puts together a varied programme covering all aspects of the republican debate ldquoThe talks are an opportunity for republi-cans to take a step back from the cut and thrust of the campaign and look at the issues in detailrdquo she explains ldquoTheyrsquore also a great way to meet other Republic supportersrdquo

Please note that there will be no Republic Talks events in May or June as the Republic team are preparing for the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 Repub-lic Talks will be back in July ndash please keep checking wwwrepublicorgukwhatson for details

Republic talks

7Read what wersquove got to say at wwwrepublicorgukblog

REPUBLICANNUAL

CONFERENCESaturday June 5

London

TICKETSpound1000 members

pound13 non-memberspound18 membership+ticket

Order your tickets online orcall 08708 508 825

wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk

1 YOUR DETAILS

Name

Address and postcode

Telephone number Email

2 YOUR MEMBERSHIP RATEOur standard membership rate is pound24 but you can pay anything above our minimum of pound10 (pound5 for students)

I wish to pay pound24 pound50 pound100 pound__________

3 YOUR PAYMENT METHODWe accept payment by creditdebit card or cheque Please make all cheques payable to lsquoRepublicrsquo

Credit or debit card

Name on card

Card type Visa (DeltaElectron) MasterCard Switch Solo JCB (no Amex or Diners)

Valid FromIssue number 1048646 1048646 Card number 1048646 ndash ndash ndash 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

Expiry date mmyy 1048646 1048646 3 Digit Security Code (back of card) 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

4 RETURN Please return to a Republic representative or send to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

copy Republic 2010 Republic Campaign Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee operating under the name lsquoRepublicrsquo Registered Number 05891072 Registered Address Dalton House 60 Windsor Avenue London SW19 2RR Designed by Stuart Ogier wwwstuartogiercom All photos of the British Monarchy copy The Royal Household

Have these questions ready when party canvassers knock on your door Let us know

what answers you get backYou can also put these questions directly to your newly elected Member of Parliament after the election

Given the current economic climate and the need for deep cuts to public services do you oppose any increase in the Civil List

At a time when the public are demanding greater openness and transparency in politics do you support

moves to completely exempt Prince Charlesrsquos lobbying from the Freedom of Information Act

There has been a lot of talk from all three main parties about the need for better democracy and

for constitutional reform Do you agree that the people

should be able to choose their next head of state

REPUBLIC MEMBERSHIP FORM

Republicrsquos publications Find out more about the arguments in favour of real constitutional change

Find out more at wwwrepublicorgukshop

1

2

3

By Republicrsquos Campaign Manager Graham Smith

Much of Republicrsquos efforts have been focused on preparing for the increasingly likely event of a hung parliament when the Queen could wield real power over the formation of a new government

With guidance from constitutional experts such as Professor Adam Tomkins and Professor Stephen Haseler the campaign team have been preparing their response should no party win an overall majority

Royal courtiers have colluded with Britainrsquos most senior civil servants to try and protect the Queen from political controversy should there be a hung parliament But there remain a number of scenarios in which the Queen could have the final say in who leads the country

Cabinet secretary Gus OrsquoDonnell has issued detailed guidance based on memos used by No 10 and the palace as they dealt with the hung parliament of February 1974 The proposals would give Gordon Brown three weeks to try and form a government rather than the usual six days in an attempt to stave off the need for the Queenrsquos intervention

In the event of a hung parliament the incum-bent Prime Minister remains in power until he or she resigns and may try to stay in government even if his or her party did not win the largest number of seats This happened in 1974 but after four days Edward Heath gave up trying to form a coalition and advised the Queen to appoint Harold Wilson Prime Minister

A party can stay in power without an absolute majority either by forming a coalition with smaller parties or pursuing a legislative programme on a vote-by-vote basis If the incumbent Prime Minis-ter cannot form a government in this way then he or she is expected to resign and advise the Queen to approach the Leader of the Opposition

But a number of very serious questions remain The Liberal Democrats could say that they will form a coalition government with Labour but not with Gordon Brown as its leader The Queen could then either approach another Labour Party figure more amenable to the Lib Dems (say David Miliband or deputy leader Harriet Harman) or go straight to Cameron According to the 1974 memos either option is perfectly permissible

What if Brown is unable to form a coalition but refuses to advise the Queen The Queen is nor-mally expected to act only on the Prime Ministerrsquos advice but if Brown simply walks away without advising the Queen to approach Cameron she will be forced to act independently

Another series of lsquowhat ifsrsquo concerns the pros-pect of a second general election If neither party is able to command the confidence of the house does the Queen go back to Brown or dissolve parliament and trigger another election What if Brown demands a second general election im-mediately The Queen is not obliged to dissolve parliament until she personally believes another election is ldquounavoidablerdquo

And finally what if either Brown or Cameron leading a weak minority government tries to suspend parliament to avoid a vote of confidence Would the Queen grant that request or would she demand another general election

The Queenrsquos actions in any of the scenarios out-lined above will have far-reaching consequences and are sure to embroil the monarchy in unprec-edented political controversy The political future of the United Kingdom will be in the hands of one woman - unelected and unaccountable answer-able to no one Britainrsquos creaking constitution will be on show for all to see and it will be an excellent opportunity to put forward the republican case

Hung out to dry

3For more news from Republic go to wwwrepublicorguk

A hung parliament could thrust the Queenrsquos role in choosing a new prime minister centre stage A finely balanced parliament and a significant discrepancy between votes cast and seats won could mean the Queen is left with a real choice of which MP to call to the palace

By Republicrsquos Development Manager James Gray

Earlier this month it emerged that Scotland Yard fraud officers were investigating the disappear-ance of pound300000 from Prince Charlesrsquos flagship health charity the Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH)

The news came just days after Republic submit-ted a formal complaint about the FIH to the Char-ity Commission asking the watchdog to launch a formal investigation into the charityrsquos governance Republicrsquos complaint outlined evidence that the charity had been pursuing a ldquovendettardquo against one of its most prominent critics

At stake here is not simply the reputation of a registered charity but the very foundation of our constitution the impartiality of the monarchy The FIH has long acted as a conduit for Charlesrsquos

controversial views on alternative medicine

ndash and with consider-able success

It has received pound1m of public money to es-tablish a register

of complimentary therapists and many

critics say the organisa-tion has been instrumental

in persuading the govern-ment to make certain forms

of alternative medicine available on the NHS

The royals have long cited their

ldquocharity workrdquo in justifica-tion for their e x p e n s e and con-s t i t u t i o n a l

position But

the adverse publicity surrounding the FIH has seri-ously undermined this monarchist line of defence Charlesrsquos lobby groups are now under scrutiny like never before largely thanks to campaigning by Republic

Last year in response to a previous complaint by Republic the Charity Commission launched a formal investigation into another of Charlesrsquos organisations the Foundation for the Built Envi-ronment

Documents obtained by the Guardian revealed that the Foundation pressed senior cabinet min-isters to bring government policy into line with Charlesrsquos beliefs on matters including hospital building and the design of ecotowns The char-ity also played a key role in the Chelsea Barracks controversy

Republic claimed that the foundation was being used as Charlesrsquos ldquopersonal lobby grouprdquo and the Charity Commission agreed that he was having a seriously detrimental effect on the charityrsquos public perception

Another of Charlesrsquos charities the Princersquos Teaching Institute also became embroiled in controversy recently when the shadow schools secretary Michael Gove announced that the group would be involved in drawing up a new curriculum if the Conservatives were to win the general elec-tion

The Institute campaigns for an education sys-tem in line with Charlesrsquos beliefs advocating rote learning of poetry and ndash perhaps unsurprisingly ndashthe names of kings and queens

The announcement prompted further calls for Charles to make clear his links to the Conserva-tive party In April last year the Princersquos Trust was censured by the Charity Commission for making an illegal donation of pound10000 to a Tory group and earlier this month Charles made his first election gaffe when he heaped praise on the Conservative candidate for Penrith Rory Stewart Perhaps most

With the recent furore over Prince Charlesrsquo role in the controversial Chelsea Barracks scheme and his alleged influence over Government health policy with his infamous lsquoBlack spider memosrsquo we ask whether our next king will be content taking the same hands-off role as his mother

Hear Paul Richards scientist David Colquhoun and architect Peter Jenkins discuss Charlesrsquos lobbying at the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 in London For more information and to book your tickets go to wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk or complete the form on page 8

4

An activist king

damaging of all the FIHrsquos accounts reveal that it received pound50000 from the foundation of disgraced Conservative politician Shirley Porter

These are just three of the organisations Charles personally established ndash there are currently 18 of them known collectively as lsquothe Princersquos Charitiesrsquo According to Paul Richards a former special ad-viser to two cabinet ministers ldquoit is an astonishing empire of organisations each reflecting Prince Charlesrsquos personal political viewsrdquo

Even the Princersquos Trust whose work is widely regarded as valuable has given Charles the op-portunity to wade into the lsquobroken Britainrsquo debate through a series of op-eds in the Mirror

Charles does not always use his charities to promote his ideas Sometimes it is more effective to approach a minister directly ldquoIn the maelstrom of official correspondence and departmental pa-pers they stick out like a diamond in a middenrdquo says Richards who received his fair share of lsquoblack spider memosrsquo while working for Patricia Hewitt and Hazel Blears

ldquoYou can guarantee that they are put under the nose of the minister within hours of arrival unlike nine tenths of the letters sent to ministers They are placed high in the piles of paperwork in the red box and fast-tracked through the systemrdquo

It is this correspondence which the government has moved to make secret The monarchy has always been exempt from Freedom of Information

rules but until now there has been the slim hope that Charlesrsquos lobbying of Whitehall would come to light if disclosure was in the public interest

However a recent amendment to the Constitu-tional Reform and Governance Bill rushed through in the notorious lsquowash uprsquo process during the final days of parliament removed this public interest test ndash effectively putting a total ban on public access to royal documents The Times accurately described the amendment as ldquoa gagging law to protect Prince Charlesrdquo

So the fight is on Charles shows no sign of scaling back his lobbying as he gets closer to the throne ndash he has even signalled his intention to be a ldquopresidential kingrdquo And with the royal FOI ban now in place he has been given a green light to continue

But Republic aided by an ever-growing repub-lican movement and the more sceptical elements of the media is now subjecting Charles to an unprecedented level of scrutiny If the politicians are not prepared to hold him to account then republican activists will

Prince Charles should of course be free to express his views and speak out on issues that con-cern him It is the British constitution not Republic which says he must stay silent The answer then is a new constitution which allows Charles Windsor to enter the cut and thrust of political debate as a free citizen ndash or even as an elected politician

5Help us create a democratic Britain by making a donation at wwwrepublicorgukdonate

Republic is working closely with other European republican movements to establish a new alli-ance The Swedish republican movement is to host a convention in Stockholm in June bring-ing together republican campaigns from Swe-den Belgium Norway Denmark the Nether-lands and Britain

Recently Graham Smith was guest speaker at the launch event of the Danish republican move-ment held in the parliament in Copenhagen Graham spoke about the experiences of Republic and how the British campaign has developed and grown over the years He spoke optimistically of the chances for success in the future and told the Danish group that Republic welcomed the opportunity for cooperation offered by a formal European alliance

Contrary to popular belief many of the Euro-

pean monarchies present similar constitutional problems as the British monarchy This should not be too surprising as the monarchies are largely made up of the same extended family ndash prompting one suggestion for an alliance slogan lsquoone family one movementrsquo

Republic is by far the oldest of the contem-porary European republican movements The Swedish movement is about ten years old and the Danes set up their group last year Others are just getting started and we hope the alliance will provide a source of support advice and inspiration to our Continental allies

The June convention will hopefully see the birth of a formal alliance and Republic has pro-posed a second convention in London toward the end of the year which we hope will be open to all members and supporters of Republic

The pound79m annual civil list payment to the Queen which represents a small fraction of the annual cost of the monarchy is currently being reviewed by parliament

Talks between royal aides and the government began last year with the Palace lobbying hard for an increase despite holding pound21m in reserves Parliament is required to review the payments and make a decision on any increase by July

A Guardian investigation last October revealed that parliament is explicitly banned under the 1972 Civil List Act from reducing the civil list payment Ministers would need to repeal this provision of the Act before any cuts are made

The decision on whether to give in to Palace demands and increase royal funding could be the first major controversy faced by the new govern-

ment In the midst of the worst recession since the Second World War a royal pay rise is likely to provoke immense public anger

So far Labour and the Liberal Democrats have refused to be drawn on their plans for the civil list but a spokeswoman for the shadow chancellor George Osborne told Republic that the Conserva-tives will not automatically exempt the royals from the public spending squeeze

Republic will be campaigning hard to stop any increase to the civil list payment We will be call-ing on parliament to impose a freeze on all royal spending and bring all royal spending under the management of a single government department Find out how to support the campaign at wwwrepublicorgukroyalfinances

Republic joins European republican alliance

Nothing civil about a royal pay rise

6 Follow us on Twitter at twittercomrepublicstaff

Republic Talks is Republicrsquos series of seminars and debates examining a range of issues related to republicanism and the monarchy A speaker is invited each month to give a presentation on a key republican theme which is followed by a lively discussion in a relaxed and informal at-mosphere

The talks usually take place on the first Wednesday of each month in the upstairs room of the Plough pub just around the corner from the British Museum

Previous speakers have included Ekklesiarsquos Jonathan Bartley on the Christian case for a re-public Anthony Holden on his journey from royal biographer to republican and historian Edward Vallance on Britainrsquos republican heritage Most recently Professor Stephen Haseler discussed the Queenrsquos political role

Other Republic Talks events have brought to-gether two speakers with very different views on an

issue such as when republican journalist Emily Hill discussed the royal PR machine with royal reporter Richard Palmer ndash or when Spikedrsquos Brendan OrsquoNeill debated the achievements of the constitutional reform movement with POWER2010rsquos Pam Giddy

Republic Talks events are organised by volun-teer Jennifer Gingell who puts together a varied programme covering all aspects of the republican debate ldquoThe talks are an opportunity for republi-cans to take a step back from the cut and thrust of the campaign and look at the issues in detailrdquo she explains ldquoTheyrsquore also a great way to meet other Republic supportersrdquo

Please note that there will be no Republic Talks events in May or June as the Republic team are preparing for the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 Repub-lic Talks will be back in July ndash please keep checking wwwrepublicorgukwhatson for details

Republic talks

7Read what wersquove got to say at wwwrepublicorgukblog

REPUBLICANNUAL

CONFERENCESaturday June 5

London

TICKETSpound1000 members

pound13 non-memberspound18 membership+ticket

Order your tickets online orcall 08708 508 825

wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk

1 YOUR DETAILS

Name

Address and postcode

Telephone number Email

2 YOUR MEMBERSHIP RATEOur standard membership rate is pound24 but you can pay anything above our minimum of pound10 (pound5 for students)

I wish to pay pound24 pound50 pound100 pound__________

3 YOUR PAYMENT METHODWe accept payment by creditdebit card or cheque Please make all cheques payable to lsquoRepublicrsquo

Credit or debit card

Name on card

Card type Visa (DeltaElectron) MasterCard Switch Solo JCB (no Amex or Diners)

Valid FromIssue number 1048646 1048646 Card number 1048646 ndash ndash ndash 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

Expiry date mmyy 1048646 1048646 3 Digit Security Code (back of card) 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

4 RETURN Please return to a Republic representative or send to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

copy Republic 2010 Republic Campaign Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee operating under the name lsquoRepublicrsquo Registered Number 05891072 Registered Address Dalton House 60 Windsor Avenue London SW19 2RR Designed by Stuart Ogier wwwstuartogiercom All photos of the British Monarchy copy The Royal Household

Have these questions ready when party canvassers knock on your door Let us know

what answers you get backYou can also put these questions directly to your newly elected Member of Parliament after the election

Given the current economic climate and the need for deep cuts to public services do you oppose any increase in the Civil List

At a time when the public are demanding greater openness and transparency in politics do you support

moves to completely exempt Prince Charlesrsquos lobbying from the Freedom of Information Act

There has been a lot of talk from all three main parties about the need for better democracy and

for constitutional reform Do you agree that the people

should be able to choose their next head of state

REPUBLIC MEMBERSHIP FORM

Republicrsquos publications Find out more about the arguments in favour of real constitutional change

Find out more at wwwrepublicorgukshop

1

2

3

By Republicrsquos Development Manager James Gray

Earlier this month it emerged that Scotland Yard fraud officers were investigating the disappear-ance of pound300000 from Prince Charlesrsquos flagship health charity the Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH)

The news came just days after Republic submit-ted a formal complaint about the FIH to the Char-ity Commission asking the watchdog to launch a formal investigation into the charityrsquos governance Republicrsquos complaint outlined evidence that the charity had been pursuing a ldquovendettardquo against one of its most prominent critics

At stake here is not simply the reputation of a registered charity but the very foundation of our constitution the impartiality of the monarchy The FIH has long acted as a conduit for Charlesrsquos

controversial views on alternative medicine

ndash and with consider-able success

It has received pound1m of public money to es-tablish a register

of complimentary therapists and many

critics say the organisa-tion has been instrumental

in persuading the govern-ment to make certain forms

of alternative medicine available on the NHS

The royals have long cited their

ldquocharity workrdquo in justifica-tion for their e x p e n s e and con-s t i t u t i o n a l

position But

the adverse publicity surrounding the FIH has seri-ously undermined this monarchist line of defence Charlesrsquos lobby groups are now under scrutiny like never before largely thanks to campaigning by Republic

Last year in response to a previous complaint by Republic the Charity Commission launched a formal investigation into another of Charlesrsquos organisations the Foundation for the Built Envi-ronment

Documents obtained by the Guardian revealed that the Foundation pressed senior cabinet min-isters to bring government policy into line with Charlesrsquos beliefs on matters including hospital building and the design of ecotowns The char-ity also played a key role in the Chelsea Barracks controversy

Republic claimed that the foundation was being used as Charlesrsquos ldquopersonal lobby grouprdquo and the Charity Commission agreed that he was having a seriously detrimental effect on the charityrsquos public perception

Another of Charlesrsquos charities the Princersquos Teaching Institute also became embroiled in controversy recently when the shadow schools secretary Michael Gove announced that the group would be involved in drawing up a new curriculum if the Conservatives were to win the general elec-tion

The Institute campaigns for an education sys-tem in line with Charlesrsquos beliefs advocating rote learning of poetry and ndash perhaps unsurprisingly ndashthe names of kings and queens

The announcement prompted further calls for Charles to make clear his links to the Conserva-tive party In April last year the Princersquos Trust was censured by the Charity Commission for making an illegal donation of pound10000 to a Tory group and earlier this month Charles made his first election gaffe when he heaped praise on the Conservative candidate for Penrith Rory Stewart Perhaps most

With the recent furore over Prince Charlesrsquo role in the controversial Chelsea Barracks scheme and his alleged influence over Government health policy with his infamous lsquoBlack spider memosrsquo we ask whether our next king will be content taking the same hands-off role as his mother

Hear Paul Richards scientist David Colquhoun and architect Peter Jenkins discuss Charlesrsquos lobbying at the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 in London For more information and to book your tickets go to wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk or complete the form on page 8

4

An activist king

damaging of all the FIHrsquos accounts reveal that it received pound50000 from the foundation of disgraced Conservative politician Shirley Porter

These are just three of the organisations Charles personally established ndash there are currently 18 of them known collectively as lsquothe Princersquos Charitiesrsquo According to Paul Richards a former special ad-viser to two cabinet ministers ldquoit is an astonishing empire of organisations each reflecting Prince Charlesrsquos personal political viewsrdquo

Even the Princersquos Trust whose work is widely regarded as valuable has given Charles the op-portunity to wade into the lsquobroken Britainrsquo debate through a series of op-eds in the Mirror

Charles does not always use his charities to promote his ideas Sometimes it is more effective to approach a minister directly ldquoIn the maelstrom of official correspondence and departmental pa-pers they stick out like a diamond in a middenrdquo says Richards who received his fair share of lsquoblack spider memosrsquo while working for Patricia Hewitt and Hazel Blears

ldquoYou can guarantee that they are put under the nose of the minister within hours of arrival unlike nine tenths of the letters sent to ministers They are placed high in the piles of paperwork in the red box and fast-tracked through the systemrdquo

It is this correspondence which the government has moved to make secret The monarchy has always been exempt from Freedom of Information

rules but until now there has been the slim hope that Charlesrsquos lobbying of Whitehall would come to light if disclosure was in the public interest

However a recent amendment to the Constitu-tional Reform and Governance Bill rushed through in the notorious lsquowash uprsquo process during the final days of parliament removed this public interest test ndash effectively putting a total ban on public access to royal documents The Times accurately described the amendment as ldquoa gagging law to protect Prince Charlesrdquo

So the fight is on Charles shows no sign of scaling back his lobbying as he gets closer to the throne ndash he has even signalled his intention to be a ldquopresidential kingrdquo And with the royal FOI ban now in place he has been given a green light to continue

But Republic aided by an ever-growing repub-lican movement and the more sceptical elements of the media is now subjecting Charles to an unprecedented level of scrutiny If the politicians are not prepared to hold him to account then republican activists will

Prince Charles should of course be free to express his views and speak out on issues that con-cern him It is the British constitution not Republic which says he must stay silent The answer then is a new constitution which allows Charles Windsor to enter the cut and thrust of political debate as a free citizen ndash or even as an elected politician

5Help us create a democratic Britain by making a donation at wwwrepublicorgukdonate

Republic is working closely with other European republican movements to establish a new alli-ance The Swedish republican movement is to host a convention in Stockholm in June bring-ing together republican campaigns from Swe-den Belgium Norway Denmark the Nether-lands and Britain

Recently Graham Smith was guest speaker at the launch event of the Danish republican move-ment held in the parliament in Copenhagen Graham spoke about the experiences of Republic and how the British campaign has developed and grown over the years He spoke optimistically of the chances for success in the future and told the Danish group that Republic welcomed the opportunity for cooperation offered by a formal European alliance

Contrary to popular belief many of the Euro-

pean monarchies present similar constitutional problems as the British monarchy This should not be too surprising as the monarchies are largely made up of the same extended family ndash prompting one suggestion for an alliance slogan lsquoone family one movementrsquo

Republic is by far the oldest of the contem-porary European republican movements The Swedish movement is about ten years old and the Danes set up their group last year Others are just getting started and we hope the alliance will provide a source of support advice and inspiration to our Continental allies

The June convention will hopefully see the birth of a formal alliance and Republic has pro-posed a second convention in London toward the end of the year which we hope will be open to all members and supporters of Republic

The pound79m annual civil list payment to the Queen which represents a small fraction of the annual cost of the monarchy is currently being reviewed by parliament

Talks between royal aides and the government began last year with the Palace lobbying hard for an increase despite holding pound21m in reserves Parliament is required to review the payments and make a decision on any increase by July

A Guardian investigation last October revealed that parliament is explicitly banned under the 1972 Civil List Act from reducing the civil list payment Ministers would need to repeal this provision of the Act before any cuts are made

The decision on whether to give in to Palace demands and increase royal funding could be the first major controversy faced by the new govern-

ment In the midst of the worst recession since the Second World War a royal pay rise is likely to provoke immense public anger

So far Labour and the Liberal Democrats have refused to be drawn on their plans for the civil list but a spokeswoman for the shadow chancellor George Osborne told Republic that the Conserva-tives will not automatically exempt the royals from the public spending squeeze

Republic will be campaigning hard to stop any increase to the civil list payment We will be call-ing on parliament to impose a freeze on all royal spending and bring all royal spending under the management of a single government department Find out how to support the campaign at wwwrepublicorgukroyalfinances

Republic joins European republican alliance

Nothing civil about a royal pay rise

6 Follow us on Twitter at twittercomrepublicstaff

Republic Talks is Republicrsquos series of seminars and debates examining a range of issues related to republicanism and the monarchy A speaker is invited each month to give a presentation on a key republican theme which is followed by a lively discussion in a relaxed and informal at-mosphere

The talks usually take place on the first Wednesday of each month in the upstairs room of the Plough pub just around the corner from the British Museum

Previous speakers have included Ekklesiarsquos Jonathan Bartley on the Christian case for a re-public Anthony Holden on his journey from royal biographer to republican and historian Edward Vallance on Britainrsquos republican heritage Most recently Professor Stephen Haseler discussed the Queenrsquos political role

Other Republic Talks events have brought to-gether two speakers with very different views on an

issue such as when republican journalist Emily Hill discussed the royal PR machine with royal reporter Richard Palmer ndash or when Spikedrsquos Brendan OrsquoNeill debated the achievements of the constitutional reform movement with POWER2010rsquos Pam Giddy

Republic Talks events are organised by volun-teer Jennifer Gingell who puts together a varied programme covering all aspects of the republican debate ldquoThe talks are an opportunity for republi-cans to take a step back from the cut and thrust of the campaign and look at the issues in detailrdquo she explains ldquoTheyrsquore also a great way to meet other Republic supportersrdquo

Please note that there will be no Republic Talks events in May or June as the Republic team are preparing for the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 Repub-lic Talks will be back in July ndash please keep checking wwwrepublicorgukwhatson for details

Republic talks

7Read what wersquove got to say at wwwrepublicorgukblog

REPUBLICANNUAL

CONFERENCESaturday June 5

London

TICKETSpound1000 members

pound13 non-memberspound18 membership+ticket

Order your tickets online orcall 08708 508 825

wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk

1 YOUR DETAILS

Name

Address and postcode

Telephone number Email

2 YOUR MEMBERSHIP RATEOur standard membership rate is pound24 but you can pay anything above our minimum of pound10 (pound5 for students)

I wish to pay pound24 pound50 pound100 pound__________

3 YOUR PAYMENT METHODWe accept payment by creditdebit card or cheque Please make all cheques payable to lsquoRepublicrsquo

Credit or debit card

Name on card

Card type Visa (DeltaElectron) MasterCard Switch Solo JCB (no Amex or Diners)

Valid FromIssue number 1048646 1048646 Card number 1048646 ndash ndash ndash 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

Expiry date mmyy 1048646 1048646 3 Digit Security Code (back of card) 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

4 RETURN Please return to a Republic representative or send to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

copy Republic 2010 Republic Campaign Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee operating under the name lsquoRepublicrsquo Registered Number 05891072 Registered Address Dalton House 60 Windsor Avenue London SW19 2RR Designed by Stuart Ogier wwwstuartogiercom All photos of the British Monarchy copy The Royal Household

Have these questions ready when party canvassers knock on your door Let us know

what answers you get backYou can also put these questions directly to your newly elected Member of Parliament after the election

Given the current economic climate and the need for deep cuts to public services do you oppose any increase in the Civil List

At a time when the public are demanding greater openness and transparency in politics do you support

moves to completely exempt Prince Charlesrsquos lobbying from the Freedom of Information Act

There has been a lot of talk from all three main parties about the need for better democracy and

for constitutional reform Do you agree that the people

should be able to choose their next head of state

REPUBLIC MEMBERSHIP FORM

Republicrsquos publications Find out more about the arguments in favour of real constitutional change

Find out more at wwwrepublicorgukshop

1

2

3

damaging of all the FIHrsquos accounts reveal that it received pound50000 from the foundation of disgraced Conservative politician Shirley Porter

These are just three of the organisations Charles personally established ndash there are currently 18 of them known collectively as lsquothe Princersquos Charitiesrsquo According to Paul Richards a former special ad-viser to two cabinet ministers ldquoit is an astonishing empire of organisations each reflecting Prince Charlesrsquos personal political viewsrdquo

Even the Princersquos Trust whose work is widely regarded as valuable has given Charles the op-portunity to wade into the lsquobroken Britainrsquo debate through a series of op-eds in the Mirror

Charles does not always use his charities to promote his ideas Sometimes it is more effective to approach a minister directly ldquoIn the maelstrom of official correspondence and departmental pa-pers they stick out like a diamond in a middenrdquo says Richards who received his fair share of lsquoblack spider memosrsquo while working for Patricia Hewitt and Hazel Blears

ldquoYou can guarantee that they are put under the nose of the minister within hours of arrival unlike nine tenths of the letters sent to ministers They are placed high in the piles of paperwork in the red box and fast-tracked through the systemrdquo

It is this correspondence which the government has moved to make secret The monarchy has always been exempt from Freedom of Information

rules but until now there has been the slim hope that Charlesrsquos lobbying of Whitehall would come to light if disclosure was in the public interest

However a recent amendment to the Constitu-tional Reform and Governance Bill rushed through in the notorious lsquowash uprsquo process during the final days of parliament removed this public interest test ndash effectively putting a total ban on public access to royal documents The Times accurately described the amendment as ldquoa gagging law to protect Prince Charlesrdquo

So the fight is on Charles shows no sign of scaling back his lobbying as he gets closer to the throne ndash he has even signalled his intention to be a ldquopresidential kingrdquo And with the royal FOI ban now in place he has been given a green light to continue

But Republic aided by an ever-growing repub-lican movement and the more sceptical elements of the media is now subjecting Charles to an unprecedented level of scrutiny If the politicians are not prepared to hold him to account then republican activists will

Prince Charles should of course be free to express his views and speak out on issues that con-cern him It is the British constitution not Republic which says he must stay silent The answer then is a new constitution which allows Charles Windsor to enter the cut and thrust of political debate as a free citizen ndash or even as an elected politician

5Help us create a democratic Britain by making a donation at wwwrepublicorgukdonate

Republic is working closely with other European republican movements to establish a new alli-ance The Swedish republican movement is to host a convention in Stockholm in June bring-ing together republican campaigns from Swe-den Belgium Norway Denmark the Nether-lands and Britain

Recently Graham Smith was guest speaker at the launch event of the Danish republican move-ment held in the parliament in Copenhagen Graham spoke about the experiences of Republic and how the British campaign has developed and grown over the years He spoke optimistically of the chances for success in the future and told the Danish group that Republic welcomed the opportunity for cooperation offered by a formal European alliance

Contrary to popular belief many of the Euro-

pean monarchies present similar constitutional problems as the British monarchy This should not be too surprising as the monarchies are largely made up of the same extended family ndash prompting one suggestion for an alliance slogan lsquoone family one movementrsquo

Republic is by far the oldest of the contem-porary European republican movements The Swedish movement is about ten years old and the Danes set up their group last year Others are just getting started and we hope the alliance will provide a source of support advice and inspiration to our Continental allies

The June convention will hopefully see the birth of a formal alliance and Republic has pro-posed a second convention in London toward the end of the year which we hope will be open to all members and supporters of Republic

The pound79m annual civil list payment to the Queen which represents a small fraction of the annual cost of the monarchy is currently being reviewed by parliament

Talks between royal aides and the government began last year with the Palace lobbying hard for an increase despite holding pound21m in reserves Parliament is required to review the payments and make a decision on any increase by July

A Guardian investigation last October revealed that parliament is explicitly banned under the 1972 Civil List Act from reducing the civil list payment Ministers would need to repeal this provision of the Act before any cuts are made

The decision on whether to give in to Palace demands and increase royal funding could be the first major controversy faced by the new govern-

ment In the midst of the worst recession since the Second World War a royal pay rise is likely to provoke immense public anger

So far Labour and the Liberal Democrats have refused to be drawn on their plans for the civil list but a spokeswoman for the shadow chancellor George Osborne told Republic that the Conserva-tives will not automatically exempt the royals from the public spending squeeze

Republic will be campaigning hard to stop any increase to the civil list payment We will be call-ing on parliament to impose a freeze on all royal spending and bring all royal spending under the management of a single government department Find out how to support the campaign at wwwrepublicorgukroyalfinances

Republic joins European republican alliance

Nothing civil about a royal pay rise

6 Follow us on Twitter at twittercomrepublicstaff

Republic Talks is Republicrsquos series of seminars and debates examining a range of issues related to republicanism and the monarchy A speaker is invited each month to give a presentation on a key republican theme which is followed by a lively discussion in a relaxed and informal at-mosphere

The talks usually take place on the first Wednesday of each month in the upstairs room of the Plough pub just around the corner from the British Museum

Previous speakers have included Ekklesiarsquos Jonathan Bartley on the Christian case for a re-public Anthony Holden on his journey from royal biographer to republican and historian Edward Vallance on Britainrsquos republican heritage Most recently Professor Stephen Haseler discussed the Queenrsquos political role

Other Republic Talks events have brought to-gether two speakers with very different views on an

issue such as when republican journalist Emily Hill discussed the royal PR machine with royal reporter Richard Palmer ndash or when Spikedrsquos Brendan OrsquoNeill debated the achievements of the constitutional reform movement with POWER2010rsquos Pam Giddy

Republic Talks events are organised by volun-teer Jennifer Gingell who puts together a varied programme covering all aspects of the republican debate ldquoThe talks are an opportunity for republi-cans to take a step back from the cut and thrust of the campaign and look at the issues in detailrdquo she explains ldquoTheyrsquore also a great way to meet other Republic supportersrdquo

Please note that there will be no Republic Talks events in May or June as the Republic team are preparing for the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 Repub-lic Talks will be back in July ndash please keep checking wwwrepublicorgukwhatson for details

Republic talks

7Read what wersquove got to say at wwwrepublicorgukblog

REPUBLICANNUAL

CONFERENCESaturday June 5

London

TICKETSpound1000 members

pound13 non-memberspound18 membership+ticket

Order your tickets online orcall 08708 508 825

wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk

1 YOUR DETAILS

Name

Address and postcode

Telephone number Email

2 YOUR MEMBERSHIP RATEOur standard membership rate is pound24 but you can pay anything above our minimum of pound10 (pound5 for students)

I wish to pay pound24 pound50 pound100 pound__________

3 YOUR PAYMENT METHODWe accept payment by creditdebit card or cheque Please make all cheques payable to lsquoRepublicrsquo

Credit or debit card

Name on card

Card type Visa (DeltaElectron) MasterCard Switch Solo JCB (no Amex or Diners)

Valid FromIssue number 1048646 1048646 Card number 1048646 ndash ndash ndash 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

Expiry date mmyy 1048646 1048646 3 Digit Security Code (back of card) 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

4 RETURN Please return to a Republic representative or send to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

copy Republic 2010 Republic Campaign Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee operating under the name lsquoRepublicrsquo Registered Number 05891072 Registered Address Dalton House 60 Windsor Avenue London SW19 2RR Designed by Stuart Ogier wwwstuartogiercom All photos of the British Monarchy copy The Royal Household

Have these questions ready when party canvassers knock on your door Let us know

what answers you get backYou can also put these questions directly to your newly elected Member of Parliament after the election

Given the current economic climate and the need for deep cuts to public services do you oppose any increase in the Civil List

At a time when the public are demanding greater openness and transparency in politics do you support

moves to completely exempt Prince Charlesrsquos lobbying from the Freedom of Information Act

There has been a lot of talk from all three main parties about the need for better democracy and

for constitutional reform Do you agree that the people

should be able to choose their next head of state

REPUBLIC MEMBERSHIP FORM

Republicrsquos publications Find out more about the arguments in favour of real constitutional change

Find out more at wwwrepublicorgukshop

1

2

3

Republic is working closely with other European republican movements to establish a new alli-ance The Swedish republican movement is to host a convention in Stockholm in June bring-ing together republican campaigns from Swe-den Belgium Norway Denmark the Nether-lands and Britain

Recently Graham Smith was guest speaker at the launch event of the Danish republican move-ment held in the parliament in Copenhagen Graham spoke about the experiences of Republic and how the British campaign has developed and grown over the years He spoke optimistically of the chances for success in the future and told the Danish group that Republic welcomed the opportunity for cooperation offered by a formal European alliance

Contrary to popular belief many of the Euro-

pean monarchies present similar constitutional problems as the British monarchy This should not be too surprising as the monarchies are largely made up of the same extended family ndash prompting one suggestion for an alliance slogan lsquoone family one movementrsquo

Republic is by far the oldest of the contem-porary European republican movements The Swedish movement is about ten years old and the Danes set up their group last year Others are just getting started and we hope the alliance will provide a source of support advice and inspiration to our Continental allies

The June convention will hopefully see the birth of a formal alliance and Republic has pro-posed a second convention in London toward the end of the year which we hope will be open to all members and supporters of Republic

The pound79m annual civil list payment to the Queen which represents a small fraction of the annual cost of the monarchy is currently being reviewed by parliament

Talks between royal aides and the government began last year with the Palace lobbying hard for an increase despite holding pound21m in reserves Parliament is required to review the payments and make a decision on any increase by July

A Guardian investigation last October revealed that parliament is explicitly banned under the 1972 Civil List Act from reducing the civil list payment Ministers would need to repeal this provision of the Act before any cuts are made

The decision on whether to give in to Palace demands and increase royal funding could be the first major controversy faced by the new govern-

ment In the midst of the worst recession since the Second World War a royal pay rise is likely to provoke immense public anger

So far Labour and the Liberal Democrats have refused to be drawn on their plans for the civil list but a spokeswoman for the shadow chancellor George Osborne told Republic that the Conserva-tives will not automatically exempt the royals from the public spending squeeze

Republic will be campaigning hard to stop any increase to the civil list payment We will be call-ing on parliament to impose a freeze on all royal spending and bring all royal spending under the management of a single government department Find out how to support the campaign at wwwrepublicorgukroyalfinances

Republic joins European republican alliance

Nothing civil about a royal pay rise

6 Follow us on Twitter at twittercomrepublicstaff

Republic Talks is Republicrsquos series of seminars and debates examining a range of issues related to republicanism and the monarchy A speaker is invited each month to give a presentation on a key republican theme which is followed by a lively discussion in a relaxed and informal at-mosphere

The talks usually take place on the first Wednesday of each month in the upstairs room of the Plough pub just around the corner from the British Museum

Previous speakers have included Ekklesiarsquos Jonathan Bartley on the Christian case for a re-public Anthony Holden on his journey from royal biographer to republican and historian Edward Vallance on Britainrsquos republican heritage Most recently Professor Stephen Haseler discussed the Queenrsquos political role

Other Republic Talks events have brought to-gether two speakers with very different views on an

issue such as when republican journalist Emily Hill discussed the royal PR machine with royal reporter Richard Palmer ndash or when Spikedrsquos Brendan OrsquoNeill debated the achievements of the constitutional reform movement with POWER2010rsquos Pam Giddy

Republic Talks events are organised by volun-teer Jennifer Gingell who puts together a varied programme covering all aspects of the republican debate ldquoThe talks are an opportunity for republi-cans to take a step back from the cut and thrust of the campaign and look at the issues in detailrdquo she explains ldquoTheyrsquore also a great way to meet other Republic supportersrdquo

Please note that there will be no Republic Talks events in May or June as the Republic team are preparing for the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 Repub-lic Talks will be back in July ndash please keep checking wwwrepublicorgukwhatson for details

Republic talks

7Read what wersquove got to say at wwwrepublicorgukblog

REPUBLICANNUAL

CONFERENCESaturday June 5

London

TICKETSpound1000 members

pound13 non-memberspound18 membership+ticket

Order your tickets online orcall 08708 508 825

wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk

1 YOUR DETAILS

Name

Address and postcode

Telephone number Email

2 YOUR MEMBERSHIP RATEOur standard membership rate is pound24 but you can pay anything above our minimum of pound10 (pound5 for students)

I wish to pay pound24 pound50 pound100 pound__________

3 YOUR PAYMENT METHODWe accept payment by creditdebit card or cheque Please make all cheques payable to lsquoRepublicrsquo

Credit or debit card

Name on card

Card type Visa (DeltaElectron) MasterCard Switch Solo JCB (no Amex or Diners)

Valid FromIssue number 1048646 1048646 Card number 1048646 ndash ndash ndash 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

Expiry date mmyy 1048646 1048646 3 Digit Security Code (back of card) 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

4 RETURN Please return to a Republic representative or send to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

copy Republic 2010 Republic Campaign Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee operating under the name lsquoRepublicrsquo Registered Number 05891072 Registered Address Dalton House 60 Windsor Avenue London SW19 2RR Designed by Stuart Ogier wwwstuartogiercom All photos of the British Monarchy copy The Royal Household

Have these questions ready when party canvassers knock on your door Let us know

what answers you get backYou can also put these questions directly to your newly elected Member of Parliament after the election

Given the current economic climate and the need for deep cuts to public services do you oppose any increase in the Civil List

At a time when the public are demanding greater openness and transparency in politics do you support

moves to completely exempt Prince Charlesrsquos lobbying from the Freedom of Information Act

There has been a lot of talk from all three main parties about the need for better democracy and

for constitutional reform Do you agree that the people

should be able to choose their next head of state

REPUBLIC MEMBERSHIP FORM

Republicrsquos publications Find out more about the arguments in favour of real constitutional change

Find out more at wwwrepublicorgukshop

1

2

3

Republic Talks is Republicrsquos series of seminars and debates examining a range of issues related to republicanism and the monarchy A speaker is invited each month to give a presentation on a key republican theme which is followed by a lively discussion in a relaxed and informal at-mosphere

The talks usually take place on the first Wednesday of each month in the upstairs room of the Plough pub just around the corner from the British Museum

Previous speakers have included Ekklesiarsquos Jonathan Bartley on the Christian case for a re-public Anthony Holden on his journey from royal biographer to republican and historian Edward Vallance on Britainrsquos republican heritage Most recently Professor Stephen Haseler discussed the Queenrsquos political role

Other Republic Talks events have brought to-gether two speakers with very different views on an

issue such as when republican journalist Emily Hill discussed the royal PR machine with royal reporter Richard Palmer ndash or when Spikedrsquos Brendan OrsquoNeill debated the achievements of the constitutional reform movement with POWER2010rsquos Pam Giddy

Republic Talks events are organised by volun-teer Jennifer Gingell who puts together a varied programme covering all aspects of the republican debate ldquoThe talks are an opportunity for republi-cans to take a step back from the cut and thrust of the campaign and look at the issues in detailrdquo she explains ldquoTheyrsquore also a great way to meet other Republic supportersrdquo

Please note that there will be no Republic Talks events in May or June as the Republic team are preparing for the Republic Annual Conference lsquoItrsquos the monarchy stupidrsquo on Saturday June 5 Repub-lic Talks will be back in July ndash please keep checking wwwrepublicorgukwhatson for details

Republic talks

7Read what wersquove got to say at wwwrepublicorgukblog

REPUBLICANNUAL

CONFERENCESaturday June 5

London

TICKETSpound1000 members

pound13 non-memberspound18 membership+ticket

Order your tickets online orcall 08708 508 825

wwwrepublicannualconferenceorguk

1 YOUR DETAILS

Name

Address and postcode

Telephone number Email

2 YOUR MEMBERSHIP RATEOur standard membership rate is pound24 but you can pay anything above our minimum of pound10 (pound5 for students)

I wish to pay pound24 pound50 pound100 pound__________

3 YOUR PAYMENT METHODWe accept payment by creditdebit card or cheque Please make all cheques payable to lsquoRepublicrsquo

Credit or debit card

Name on card

Card type Visa (DeltaElectron) MasterCard Switch Solo JCB (no Amex or Diners)

Valid FromIssue number 1048646 1048646 Card number 1048646 ndash ndash ndash 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

Expiry date mmyy 1048646 1048646 3 Digit Security Code (back of card) 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

4 RETURN Please return to a Republic representative or send to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

copy Republic 2010 Republic Campaign Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee operating under the name lsquoRepublicrsquo Registered Number 05891072 Registered Address Dalton House 60 Windsor Avenue London SW19 2RR Designed by Stuart Ogier wwwstuartogiercom All photos of the British Monarchy copy The Royal Household

Have these questions ready when party canvassers knock on your door Let us know

what answers you get backYou can also put these questions directly to your newly elected Member of Parliament after the election

Given the current economic climate and the need for deep cuts to public services do you oppose any increase in the Civil List

At a time when the public are demanding greater openness and transparency in politics do you support

moves to completely exempt Prince Charlesrsquos lobbying from the Freedom of Information Act

There has been a lot of talk from all three main parties about the need for better democracy and

for constitutional reform Do you agree that the people

should be able to choose their next head of state

REPUBLIC MEMBERSHIP FORM

Republicrsquos publications Find out more about the arguments in favour of real constitutional change

Find out more at wwwrepublicorgukshop

1

2

3

1 YOUR DETAILS

Name

Address and postcode

Telephone number Email

2 YOUR MEMBERSHIP RATEOur standard membership rate is pound24 but you can pay anything above our minimum of pound10 (pound5 for students)

I wish to pay pound24 pound50 pound100 pound__________

3 YOUR PAYMENT METHODWe accept payment by creditdebit card or cheque Please make all cheques payable to lsquoRepublicrsquo

Credit or debit card

Name on card

Card type Visa (DeltaElectron) MasterCard Switch Solo JCB (no Amex or Diners)

Valid FromIssue number 1048646 1048646 Card number 1048646 ndash ndash ndash 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

Expiry date mmyy 1048646 1048646 3 Digit Security Code (back of card) 1048646 1048646 1048646 1048646

4 RETURN Please return to a Republic representative or send to PO Box 151 Brighton BN51 9DX

copy Republic 2010 Republic Campaign Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee operating under the name lsquoRepublicrsquo Registered Number 05891072 Registered Address Dalton House 60 Windsor Avenue London SW19 2RR Designed by Stuart Ogier wwwstuartogiercom All photos of the British Monarchy copy The Royal Household

Have these questions ready when party canvassers knock on your door Let us know

what answers you get backYou can also put these questions directly to your newly elected Member of Parliament after the election

Given the current economic climate and the need for deep cuts to public services do you oppose any increase in the Civil List

At a time when the public are demanding greater openness and transparency in politics do you support

moves to completely exempt Prince Charlesrsquos lobbying from the Freedom of Information Act

There has been a lot of talk from all three main parties about the need for better democracy and

for constitutional reform Do you agree that the people

should be able to choose their next head of state

REPUBLIC MEMBERSHIP FORM

Republicrsquos publications Find out more about the arguments in favour of real constitutional change

Find out more at wwwrepublicorgukshop

1

2

3