In the crowded aisles of the Liverpool political gathering meant to build support for the Labour Party, a small stall has one of the biggest challenges: it wants the party faithful to sign up to a British republic.
Volunteers for the stall, which is run by Labour for a Republic, try to talk to party members in the hope that they will stop and put on a sticker showing they want to remove King Charles III from the throne. Most of the delegates shuffle past with their eyes on other things – like the Premier League stand, or the policy talks with free food, or the main speeches in the hall.
Ken Ritchie does not seem to be losing heart and is thinking long term. He is not asking the party to demand an instant end to the monarchy.
“There would be a huge reaction to that because the public hasn’t got to the stage of thinking about it,” he says.
“So we’re not asking the Labour Party to do that.”
This seems wise because Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in a political fight to revive support for his flagging government on issues such as wages, migration, health and education. At the gathering of about 20,000 people at the Liverpool conference, he has no time for a debate on a republic.
“We have a long way to go, but in a sense, the debate hasn’t started. And you can point to other big changes that take time. How many thought that the Berlin Wall would fall?”
Ken Ritchie, Labour for a Republic
What Ritchie wants, however, is a series of smaller steps to increase the power of the parliament and scale back the King’s sway over the country.
This includes changing the oath of allegiance for new MPs so they could swear allegiance to the people who elected them, rather than the King, his heirs and successors. Another change would be to scrap the “royal prerogative” that allows the monarch to act without the consent of parliament.
King Charles presides over the State Opening of Parliament in 2023.Credit: Getty Images
A third reform would be to control royal expenditure, so that the royal family’s budget would resemble that of any other arm of government and perhaps be brought under tighter restraints.
But of the ultimate removal of the monarch? “It will be a thing that takes time,” he says.
“We have a long way to go, but in a sense, the debate hasn’t started. And you can point to other big changes that take time. How many thought that the Berlin Wall would fall? Look at the environmental movement – how fast did it move to become mainstream?”
Soft power: The royal family’s diplomatic value was on full view on President Donald Trump’s recent state visit.Credit: Getty Images
The King, three years into his reign, is a beloved figure to many in the United Kingdom. The mourning for Queen Elizabeth II has given way to respect for her son and his wife, Queen Camilla.
Charles has exuded calm and charm, whether he was drinking kava with chiefs in Samoa, listening to an angry Victorian senator attack the monarchy in Canberra or greeting US President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle.
Only days ago, he met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, with a warm smile when they arrived at Balmoral Castle in Scotland for lunch.
The King and the prime minister: Charles meets Anthony Albanese at Balmoral last week.Credit: AFR
Hours after those talks, Albanese told the ABC’s Insiders program he did not want a referendum on a republic in his time as prime minister.
If a republic seems a distant prospect in Australia for those who want the change, it seems barely visible on the horizon in Britain. The pollster, YouGov, found that 59 per cent had a positive view of King Charles and 31 per cent had a negative view, resulting in a net favourability rating of 28 points.
And perhaps ominously for republicans, support appears to be stratospheric for Charles’ heir, Prince William, and his wife, Catherine, who had matching net favourability ratings of 57 per cent.
William himself, though, appears mindful of not counting any chickens. In a candid Apple+ TV interview this week, the prince told Schitt’s Creek actor Eugene Levy that when he becomes king, “change is on my agenda”.
“Change for good, and I embrace that … I don’t fear it, that’s the bit that excites me, the idea of being able to bring some change. Not overly radical, but changes that I think need to happen,” he said.
But while the royal family continues to suffer scandals, the institution endures. Prince Andrew has a net favourability of minus 82 per cent after being exposed over his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but he has been removed from royal duties and banished to a lodge near Windsor Castle.
Next in line: William appears mindful that the monarchy must remain relevant into the mid-21st century. Credit: Getty Images
For those who oppose, railing against the monarchy can be risky. When Labour MP Emma Dent Coad suggested former British Army pilot Prince Harry could not actually fly a helicopter, she lost her marginal Kensington seat at the next election.
One sitting Labour MP, Clive Lewis, who represents a constituency near Norwich, takes a public stand in favour of a republic. Most do not go public.
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Support for a republic is stronger in Australia than in the UK. While the idea was put to a vote in Australia in 1999, there has never been anything like that in Britain.
“You’re much further ahead than we are, and that’s not surprising,” says Ritchie. “If our head of state lived in Australia, I’m sure it would be much, much easier for us to say ‘this is a complete nonsense’.”
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