Abolish the Monarchy: Why we should and how we will

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This only adds urgency to the need for wider political reform, beyond the limited tinkering proposed by proponents of electoral reform or an elected upper house. The book is not only an insult to the royal family and their supporters, but also to the intelligence and common sense of the reader. Graham Smith makes very clear the type of British presidency he wants is one that is strictly defined in terms of powers and responsibilities, not a massive Executive/Imperial presidency like in France or the USA, never mind Russia. Wait until the consensus is much greater and don't make a fuss now, they argue, ignoring the fact that much of the change in opinion has come through the efforts of people like Graham Smith, campaigning for years.

Eventually, the government will be unable to ignore public clamour for a referendum on the monarchy’s continuation. Smith fails to provide any concrete proposals for how the monarchy would be abolished or what would replace it. Indeed, perhaps to burst any preconception that he is a Cromwellian killjoy, Smith spends the first few pages chronicling a tour of Buckingham Palace he took with his nephews.One of the stronger passages examines the prorogation affair of 2019 and the paralysis that overcame the queen as she struggled to reconcile her role of constitutional backstop with the expectation that the monarch do nothing to impede an elected government.

If this book changes at least one person’s mind, then Graham Smith has indeed done what a real democratic President does - win over the people not because of the family they are born into, but because of the integrity of their character and consistency of their principles. It is a waste of time and money that should be avoided by anyone who values history, democracy and good writing. Since it hauled the author of this book off to the cells hours before Charles III’s coronation, in full sight of the world’s media, the campaign group he heads, Republic, has almost doubled its membership.If I were to offer Graham Smith some constructive criticism I would recommend that he could have replaced the Lords chapters with one trying to focus more into de-toxifying the idea of what a presidency would actually mean and how we could make it work for our country. Even in my most evangelical of days as a teenager (I really must have been insufferable in my religious fervour) I could see that the belief the monarchy was somehow 'God-given' was simply not true. Abolish The Monarchy renews and informs the debate, eviscerating the nonsensical claims of the royalists and setting the tone for a full-throated challenge to the monarchy. I think it oversimplifies a bit for effect, especially when discussing constitutional reform, but is nonetheless a very good read. He has participated in countless live debates, including at Oxford, Cambridge and Durham Unions, and has been on the Today Programme, BBC Breakfast, BBC News, Sky News, Channel 5 News, ITN, countless local and national radio programmes as well as CNN, Al Jazeera, ABC (America), .