Evan: Labour has dealt serious blow to reform of the monarchy

By The Voice | Fri 27th March 2009 - 3:57 pm

Even as the Prime Minister was, according to the headlines, proving his commmitment to ‘ending anomaly of royal ban on Catholics’, his Government was conspiring to ‘talk out’ Dr Evan Harris’s private member’s bill reforming the right of succession and the laws preventing the monarch marrying a Catholic. Evan was not amused:

Despite the spin from the Prime Minister about amending religious and sexual discrimination in our constitution being a higher priority, the Government has dealt a serious blow to the prospects of reform by talking out my Bill. Jack Straw was asked three times to provide either a timetable, a commitment to a government Bill before the next election or any other tangible step towards this necessary and popular reform, but said he couldn’t provide any.

“The Liberal Democrats, with cross-party backbench allies, will seek every opportunity to keep this on the agenda.”

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3 Comments

Terry Gilbert 27th Mar '09 - 5:17pm

My own view is that the remaining perogative powers of the monarchy should be abolished first, as a higher priority.
Letterman 27th Mar '09 - 6:43pm

I agree, how about an elected head of state then this wouldn’t be an issue????

We wouldn’t have to get rid of the Queen but when she steps down there shouldn’t be automatic succession for Charles we should have a referendum.
Joe Otten 28th Mar '09 - 1:22pm

The C of E need a contingency plan for dealing with an unsympathetic monarch whether this goes through or not. They could easily find themselves with a nominal anglican who believed any old new age cobblers.

The idea that any individual has a duty to be and stay anglican is a breach of their human rights, and the idea that church leadership should be inherited is not one I would tolerate were I in a church.