Not sure if you’re being ironic but if not:

£25 million worth of tat – I think we could of done without it.

You asked if the royals bring money in, I gave you an example.

You asked if the royals bring money in, I gave you an example.

someone suggested the other day in a discussion about this at work that cost to the state of the monarchy is c.£70m/a, while income from the crown estate is c.£200m/a.

anyone shed any light on these figures?

You asked if the royals bring money in, I gave you an example.

Not really. The only money “brought in” would be memorabilia bought by foreigners, and from that, we’d need to deduct any money transferred out of the UK (e.g. manufacture of the goods in China). I doubt it’s very much at all…

where the majority of residents are not British

Not British by nationality, or by ethnicity/culture/heritage?

would be memorabilia bought by foreigners

And where do they live, eat, entertain themselves, etc, while they’re here ?.
😉

For me it’s simple- I want to live in a modern country with modern values and be seen to be progressive beyond and beyond reproach by the outside world. I simply can’t see that we can be that country whilst there is a head of state that inherits the job. Income generated by their existance fars a long way behind in terms of importance for of what it says about us as a nation.

Having said that the most staunch fans of the royalty seem to be from the those with the least in society who are more than happy to line the street and wave a flag at the first sniff of a royal celebration so what do I know.

Just to put that into perspective, our glorious figurehead and her chums could between them clear the deficit that the condems are clearing by sacking you and your neighbours and still be £70m better off each than they were in 2008.

Errrrr, the deficit is an annual thing, once they’ve paid it off for this year, what are we going to do next year, then the year after? Then wonder why the the richest 1000 people have f***ed off to monaco and are no longer paying any taxes, so our taxes go up.

Bessides, 2008 was the low point (supposedly), why not start your comparison with a good year (like early 2007), otherwise yoru stat just says that 1000 people are better off now than they were at the worst point of the recession.

I’m not Tory, I just hate the crap use of statistics.

“And where do they live, eat, entertain themselves, etc, while they’re here ?.”

1. You don’t have to come to the UK in order to buy the memorabilia.
2. Few foreigners would be making a special, additional journey.

2. Few foreigners would be making a special, additional journey.

Nope, they’re here on holiday anyway, and what do you know !.

Its Jubilee time, again.

😆

You lot really are an up-tight bunch of miserable gits.

EDIT:
Oh, and btw, While they’re here.

Nope, they’re here on holiday anyway, and what do you know !.

Because we have a royal family? Unlikely…

Because we have a royal family? Unlikely…

Being deliberately obtuse…. err, like a Troll.
😆

“And where do they live, eat, entertain themselves, etc, while they’re here ?.”

1. You don’t have to come to the UK in order to buy the memorabilia.
2. Few foreigners would be making a special, additional journey.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/29/royal-wedding-tourism-boost

Being deliberately obtuse…. err, like a Troll.

Having failed to establish your point, you’re reduced to posting cartoons. I suspected that you royalists were none too bright, so thanks for the confirmation. 😉

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/29/royal-wedding-tourism-boost

“The feast of pageantry cost the taxpayer £10m in total”
“The Confederation of British Industry calculates that a bank holiday costs the economy £6bn in lost productivity and overtime”

Having us ignore failed to establish your point, you’re reduced to posting cartoons. I suspected that you royalists were none too bright, so thanks for the confirmation.

My objection the notion of monarchy has nothing to do with the expense/revenue of the Royal family.

My objection is to a system that assumes that one family are superior to all others in the country by birth(I appreciate that it is a very fair system, as I could become a royal by marriage, but as I’m already married it is unlikely)

Why should we ‘defer’ to these people or give them any more respect than anybody else in the country?

Don’t forget that the queen is only ‘on the throne’ because her uncle abdicated to marry somebody who had been previously divorced and this was presumably against the very important ‘royal protocol’ at the time -It isn’t by divine appointment.

The monarchy/royal family is an anachronistic organisation that has no place in the UK in 2012.

What is the point in keeping them if only to demonstrate that we are a slightly eccentric country that can’t quite make the sensible decisions to remove the long-term nepotism of monarchy and hereditary peerages and to dis-establish the church.

“The feast of pageantry cost the taxpayer £10m in total”
“The Confederation of British Industry calculates that a bank holiday costs the economy £6bn in lost productivity and overtime”

You can pick at everything that it is put in front of you all you want. but this is one example, The royals do bring money in.

Singlespeed_Shep – Member
You can pick at everything that it is put in front of you all you want. but this is one example, The royals do bring money in.

…So do arms manufacturers who sell to dubious regimes.

You can pick at everything that it is put in front of you all you want. but this is one example, The royals do bring money in.

Something you’ve yet to establish. Keep trying.

Oh, and from your article: “Middleton’s entry into the royal family has made her fashion’s hottest property, rather like Michelle Obama, whose patronage delivered a $2.7bn boost to her favourite labels“.

Something you’ve yet to establish. Keep trying.

£25 million in memorabilia even if you think it was tat it came in.

The royals cost £38 million in upkeep per year. 62p per tax payer.
But the estates bring in £226 million in surplus income.

I’ll be staying somewhere with no tv, radio or mobile phone reception and riding my bike in the hills. Same place I avoided the wedding last year.

I have no particular problem with those who want to celebrate the jubilee doing so.

Singlespeed_Shep – Member

But the estates bring in £226 million in surplus income.

…and do they do this only because the royals ‘own’ them?

Would they disappear if the monarchy was disbanded?

Again, it is irrelevant. It is about having a country that at least pretends to have a meritocracy rather than a blatant closed-shop in the upper echelons.

Aristotle – Member
The monarchy/royal family is an anachronistic organisation that has no place in the UK in 2012.
What is the point?

For you there isn’t obviously. And be thankful that this constitutional monarchy allows you the liberty to enjoy and exercise your view. Meanwhile, just ignore the rest of the country who will be enjoying the celebrations and respecting the long service that ERII has given the country. Perhaps in doing so, you may wish to compare here vision of duty with those of our elected representatives (sic).

Oh and try to ignore the happiness in the faces of the crowds, the thrill of people who are involved or meeting the queen etc and those fools who think that receiving a medal from the Royal Family is any different from a certificate from a civil servant. What’s the point eh?

Better still – simply go and have a ride. Not a great weekend for republicans after all!!

be thankful that this constitutional monarchy allows you the liberty to enjoy and exercise your view.

Yes, I pity those poor, repressed (liberté, égalité, fraternité) French people who do not have the protection of a monarch.

you may wish to compare here{sic) vision of duty with those of our elected representatives (sic).

Launching ships, opening public buildings and going on foreign visits? You’re right, that sounds much more helpful than running public services, the economy and international negotiations. I’m even more grateful for the other royals.

Would you also prefer an unelected hereditary dictatorship to elected politicians? Maybe the North Korean system?

Better still – simply go and have a ride. Not a great weekend for republicans after all!!

Indeed, we can feel shame at our lack of deference and delight at a fairytale, non-ruling, nepotistic system. Gawbless ’em.

£25 million in memorabilia even if you think it was tat it came in.

The royals cost £38 million in upkeep per year. 62p per tax payer.
But the estates bring in £226 million in surplus income.

The royal wedding and jubilee bank holidays cost £6bn each – I think there might be a deficit

Aristotle – Happy to leave you to enjoy your views and pass on the obvious flaw in meritocracy. I will merely point out the delicious irony between your username and the views of the original Aristotle on the role of monarchy!

The very important Greek philsopher Aristotle distinguishes between good and bad forms of ruling, whether it be rule by one (mon-archy), a few (olig-archy, arist-ocracy), or many (dem-ocracy). For Aristotle, democracy is not the best form of government. As is also true of oligarchy and monarchy, rule in democracy is for and by the people named in the government type. In democracy, rule is by and for the needy. In contrast, rule of law or aristocracy (literally, power [rule] of the best) or even monarchy, where the ruler has the interest of his country at heart, are better types of government.

But then again, Aristotle also believed in slavery!!

teamhurtmore – Member

Aristotle – Happy to leave you to enjoy your views and pass on the obvious flaw in meritocracy.
Eh? So you would prefer a hereditary dictatorship?

ps. I may be wrong, but I’m not 100% sure that the fairly arbitrary choice of a forum pseudonym makes me the reincarnation of an ancient Greek philosopher. Either way, I don’t think that it has much bearing on whether the UK has a monarchy.

The royal wedding and jubilee bank holidays cost £6bn each

like many other figures bandied around in any debate on the monarchy it is hard to see how these figures are arrived at, do they take into account such things as increased productivity in the days following an extra bank holiday ? etc etc …. well …. I don’t know but then again I always suspect such nice round numbers are plucked out of thin air cos they sound good 😛

What we do know is the cost of the Royal family on a year by year basis as the civil list is published on a regular basis, another ” known ” is the amount contributed to the treasury by the same royal family in the way of taxes ( only the Queen is exempt and she pays on a voluntary basis ) and other income passed on to the treasury as a condition of receiving off the civil list or on a voluntary basis, Overseas sales helped by royal tours etc

All in all it shows the country gets more than it pays out but don’t let facts get in the way of a good story

As for the debate about Monarchy or Republic , well I for one reckon we are far better off having a nominal head of state rather than a new president every few years, a Prime MInister is more than enough to wreck an economy with out another career politician joining in as President.

I’ll be putting up the bunting, flying the flags, Union, Cross of St George and Yorkshire Rose and having a mighty fine time cos it all brings a smile to my face, I may even get out on the bike as well cos that also brings a smile to my face and I see no reason on earth why smiling should be frowned on 😆

Eh? So you would prefer a hereditary dictatorship?

WTF?

The royal wedding and jubilee bank holidays cost £6bn each – I think there might be a deficit

The £6bn was plucked out of the air. It varies from 1.2bn to 6bn depending on what article you read.

Anyway it ain’t gonna change in our lifetime. I’m off to clean my bike.

ps. I may be wrong, but I’m not 100% sure that the fairly arbitrary choice of a forum pseudonym makes me the reincarnation of an ancient Greek philosopher.

I’m a singlespeeder called shep. so maybe there is something in it 😉

I suspect that the economy of the country would not be significantly affected by the absence of the monarchy.

As for the debate about Monarchy or Republic , well I for one reckon we are far better off having a nominal head of state rather than a new president every few years, a Prime MInister is more than enough to wreck an economy with out another career politician joining in as President.

Some presidents are nominal figure-heads-of-state, it depends on the system used. I’m not sure that a lifetime monarch is superior, but maybe I should be more deferential and question less.

The title of the person who is actually ‘running’ the country is irrelevant.

Can I just say we have sold loads of jubilee stuff. Nice little economy boost.

I suspect that the economy of the country would not be significantly affected by the absence of the monarchy.

Quite. The palace of Versaille gets 2.5 million visitors per year. I think that people are confusing income from royalty with income from heritage and head of state.

The £6bn was plucked out of the air. It varies from 1.2bn to 6bn depending on what article you read.

So we can safely assume that your figures were also plucked out of the air? Anyway, £1.2 billion is rather more than £25 million from tat sales.

So we can safely assume that your figures were also plucked out of the air? Anyway, £1.2 billion is rather more than £25 million from tat sales.

The figures I got where from the news site that said the particular £6bn figure you are talking about was an estimate there has never been any proof it cost the economy this amount. (there is proof in what the wedding cost to run)

£25 million of tat sales was from one individual event and was brought in direct relation to the royals themselves.This was very much appreciated in the retail sector.

The argument of bank holidays has been going for ages regardless of the royals. If we where in the USA (a republic) we would have more holidays so lose a lot more money. Just think of the wedding last year and the jubilee this year as our “national days” something the TUC have been after.

I suspect that the economy of the country would not be significantly affected by the absence of the monarchy.

This proves that there is no point to dissolve the monarchy or even keep it. Sort of a stalemate.

We won’t be better or worse off so just leave it.

This proves that there is no point to dissolve the monarchy or even keep it. Sort of a stalemate.

We won’t be better or worse off so just leave it.
Proves?

it isn’t about the money.

Spent the Royal Wedding at Three Cliffs on the Gower in the caravan.

For the Jubilee we will be at The Lakes with the caravan.

LOL!!

Plenty of people on here doing stuff that they would on any B/Hol which is great – my comments about pathetic were attached to those who try and claim they are trying to avoid something by doing what they would normally be doing. All sounds like a lot more effort to get excited about it!!

Don’t have the 4 day weekend here in Oz (but then again I have no job so public holidays are a bit of a funny idea here)