Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant'
29th May 2012, 11:32
Apologies if on the wrong forum, just seemed fitting.
A group of volunteers is spending a long evening organising campaign material - stapling big white placards to wooden poles.
The signs read: "Power to the People" and "Citizen Not Subject" in large black lettering.
One placard asks: "9,560 Nurses or 1 Queen?" The answer, for members of Republic, is a no-brainer.
They are preparing for 3 June, when the country will be celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee - marking her 60 years on the throne, and the first in the UK since Queen Victoria's in 1897.
Thousands of onlookers are expected to flock to the Thames to catch a glimpse of their monarch forming the floating centrepiece of her own Jubilee River Pageant, a grand spectacle boasting seven-and-a-half miles of regal flotilla - just one of the main events in an extravagant four-day bank holiday weekend.
One might be forgiven for believing that Britain was barmy for royalty.
But just along from London's Tower Bridge on the south side of the river, Republic's protest, what they describe as "the biggest and boldest in modern times", will be floating a different idea. And this will be no riverside gala.
"We're there to make a point," says Emily Robinson, 31, an academic from Hull who joined Republic in 2006.
"For too long we've had a reputation for being a bit polite, but we also want to be firm and serious."
After years as a low-key movement, Republic re-launched itself in 2006 as an official pressure group.
In 2010 it had 9,000 members, but since the royal wedding announcement that year, they say registered supporters have increased to 21,000.
Republic's real frustration is, as they see it, unbalanced, unfettered royal press coverage. They complain in particular about the balance of BBC reporting.
By Ipsos Mori's previous reckonings, there could be as many as 10 million people in the UK who sympathise with Republic's view.
"You just wouldn't know that from the print media," says the group's director and "full-time republican" Andrew Child.
But not all anti-royalists share their position, among them author and former Labour minister Roy Hattersley.
"I'm a staunch republican, but I think many of the ways that Republic promotes the position are silly.
"They complain the media spends too much time reporting on Jubilee celebrations, but what else are they supposed to do?
"There's a very substantial case for a republic, but unfortunately the organisation Republic trivialises it."
How can "firm, serious" Republic fire debate if most people are fine, even happy, with the status quo?
"It's about asking questions, getting people thinking, working from a premise of fairness and equality," says Paula Feehan. "And showing how a republic would affect a normal person in the street."
"Republic isn't radical or scary. We're not counter-culture. We are culture."
Republic is ready for the Jubilee. The challenge for them is convincing the UK to listen.
(Full article on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18161083)
A group of volunteers is spending a long evening organising campaign material - stapling big white placards to wooden poles.
The signs read: "Power to the People" and "Citizen Not Subject" in large black lettering.
One placard asks: "9,560 Nurses or 1 Queen?" The answer, for members of Republic, is a no-brainer.
They are preparing for 3 June, when the country will be celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee - marking her 60 years on the throne, and the first in the UK since Queen Victoria's in 1897.
Thousands of onlookers are expected to flock to the Thames to catch a glimpse of their monarch forming the floating centrepiece of her own Jubilee River Pageant, a grand spectacle boasting seven-and-a-half miles of regal flotilla - just one of the main events in an extravagant four-day bank holiday weekend.
One might be forgiven for believing that Britain was barmy for royalty.
But just along from London's Tower Bridge on the south side of the river, Republic's protest, what they describe as "the biggest and boldest in modern times", will be floating a different idea. And this will be no riverside gala.
"We're there to make a point," says Emily Robinson, 31, an academic from Hull who joined Republic in 2006.
"For too long we've had a reputation for being a bit polite, but we also want to be firm and serious."
After years as a low-key movement, Republic re-launched itself in 2006 as an official pressure group.
In 2010 it had 9,000 members, but since the royal wedding announcement that year, they say registered supporters have increased to 21,000.
Republic's real frustration is, as they see it, unbalanced, unfettered royal press coverage. They complain in particular about the balance of BBC reporting.
By Ipsos Mori's previous reckonings, there could be as many as 10 million people in the UK who sympathise with Republic's view.
"You just wouldn't know that from the print media," says the group's director and "full-time republican" Andrew Child.
But not all anti-royalists share their position, among them author and former Labour minister Roy Hattersley.
"I'm a staunch republican, but I think many of the ways that Republic promotes the position are silly.
"They complain the media spends too much time reporting on Jubilee celebrations, but what else are they supposed to do?
"There's a very substantial case for a republic, but unfortunately the organisation Republic trivialises it."
How can "firm, serious" Republic fire debate if most people are fine, even happy, with the status quo?
"It's about asking questions, getting people thinking, working from a premise of fairness and equality," says Paula Feehan. "And showing how a republic would affect a normal person in the street."
"Republic isn't radical or scary. We're not counter-culture. We are culture."
Republic is ready for the Jubilee. The challenge for them is convincing the UK to listen.
(Full article on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18161083)