Blood Diamond

2012 marks the 60th year of Queen Elizabeth sitting on the throne in charge of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. What does this mean for Britain? Fuck all really. There's people who argue that the monarchy is needed in Britain still, it's part of our tradition, it brings tourists in, blah blah blah.But after doing a bit of research, it turns out the Queen is what you call a 'constitutional monarch', meaning that when she gets sent round the world she represents Britain, and, according to her website, is "a focus of national unity". National unity? Fuck off. The importance of considering yourself as 'British' is completely and utterly irrelevant, unless you're getting a passport. National identity is not something that I perceive to be overly important. I am a firm believer in open borders, we're all human and we're all on this planet together, let's enjoy it while we're here without fear of racial hatred or getting fucked over at imaginary borders drawn on the world by people who were subjects of the monarchy centuries ago. It also turns out from my little bits of research that no-one in Britain is a 'citizen' as such; we are all still subjects of the monarch, as were those people who split the world up into countries, states and territories.

      At the end of the day, the monarchy purely serves to reiterate that Britain is a class society. Children understand who the Queen is from a young age, and if they are not Protestant then they will never be able to be a part of the highest of the upper classes. We do not need the monarchy. Even people who are worried that abolishing the monarchy will mean that Britain isn't Britain any more need not worry - we will still have shit expensive trains, grass, trees, hills, bastard police, council estates, off licenses and a government who has no idea what it's doing. Yes, David Cameron would be head of the country, but he is already. No-one voted for the Queen, but at least we know who to blame if someone like Cameron gets voted in.

      Britain needs a revolution to overthrow the monarchy and form a republic. 2012 is the perfect year to do it. What are we waiting for? By law, MPs, the voted-for representatives of the people of Britain, are not allowed to discuss the monarchy, let alone overthrow it. It's up to us to do it. I propose commandeering the Queen's diamond jubilee boat.

Kathy