Aristocracy. Monarchy. Equality. Which word is the odd man out? Or can they co exist under a new model of leadership?
Hundreds of years of evolution and progress, have gone by, improving living standards enormously, and while equality for all is something we apparently all want, it couldn’t be more evident today that we haven’t really managed to achieve it have we? All we have done is move structural inequality offshore and out of sight. We all participate in this.
The current mess of British politics: The news and polls strongly suggest that the 13 year reign of the Tory party is definitely coming to an end at the next election. The Labour Party, currently led by Keir Starmer, and no doubt remembering the mistakes of the Corbyn leadership, have not presented a bold vision that will guarantee victory, but more likely they will win under a ‘not them’ result. Neither side seems able to address or make substantial change to the elephant in the room, the deeply ingrained structural hierarchy and class system that exists. The best either of them seem to be able to come up with is “Change, with Continuity” (credit: Selena Meyer). With the percentage of people living below the poverty line 10% higher than its English speaking peers (Canada, Australia, USA), the case for continuity is flimsy.
Since the the year 1215 steps have gradually been taken to minimise the power of the king and bring about democracy. A thousand years later, have we come full circle? Is it time to bring them back? A Monarchy re-imagined could be a model to consider.
While statistically the under 40s claim not see the monarchy as relevant today, given the state of politics in the UK, do they have an alternative? The proliferation of smaller alternative parties suggests that change is both desperately needed and wanted.
All hail William: Now Prince William in charge of the Duchy of Cornwall, reportedly worth 1.2 billion pounds, is technically financially independent. A leader who is independently wealthy and tasked only with working for the people, in the best interests of everyone, regardless of who you vote for. Is it time to dismiss the right and left, the eternal tug and war between money and people and just like in the times of the aristocracy, when opposing families got married to ensure peace, have one leader who cares about both?
William, with the help of Catherine has put aside his desire to be ‘normal’ (or at least stopped whining about it) and gotten on with the job of being Royal.
A plan to focus efforts on real improvements: We are all familiar with the Royal photo ops where members of the family visit their patronages and perform for the camera bringing ‘visibility’ to each one and not much else. Rather, Catherine has chosen one key project as her cornerstone or legacy, the magnificent Early Years project, focusing on improving the first five years of a child’s life. This is a demonstration of long term thinking. Whether it influences policy remains to be seen.
William has committed to building 24 homes on Crown land to relieve homelessness in Cornwall. Obviously this was met with howls of derision at the size of the project compared to the size of the problem. Apparently the idea was drawn from Finland where they quite wisely and pragmatically solved the homelessness problem by giving people homes to live in. Could this be a test project for the UK? A chance for William, with Catherine to turn the monarchy into part of the solution instead of being ideologically part of the problem?
The Republic organisation in the UK had this to say about the project : “Rather than be thankful for a few homes built on Duchy land, which William will profit from, we all need to be demanding the return of the Duchy to full public ownership and an end to the monarchy.”
The question is – Can the UK government be trusted with it? that would keep the Duchy in safe and profitable hands, or will it go the way of the nations gold reserves and be sold off for a short term profit, putting that year’s budget in the black, and no doubt an election year at that.
The class system and other forms of judgement: in the UK and everywhere creates so much waste. Wasted talent, waste ideas that were never brought to fruition due to financial circumstances or not being in the right ‘network’. Resources wasted giving people the bare minimum in the short term, the proverbial fish rather than the fishing rod AND access to the river
Morgan May 
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