A republic is a state in which citizens are the highest authority and, collectively, they are the owners of the constitution and the institutions of government. If citizens are sovereign, there is no place for a sovereign monarch.
Republicanism, however, is also about the dignity and equal worth of all citizens. It is about a quest for a society free from the divisions of status and privilege.
We want Britain to become a republic and our objective is to make progress towards making republicanism a Labour policy.
We want to replace the monarchy with an elected head of state and create a society in which all are born equal and in which there is no place for hereditary privilege.
A true republic must be a fully democratic state. We do not propose the abolition of our parliamentary system, although reforms are needed to ensure that parliament better reflects the views of the population and to strengthen the accountability of politicians to those who elected them.
We want a head of state who is role is confined to representing the state on ceremonial occasions, ensuring compliance with the constitution and, should it ever be necessary, acting as a decision-maker of last resort in the event of a constitutional crisis.
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Britain cannot become a republic without the support of its citizens for such a change. Until such support is evident, it would be wrong for Labour to impose the change.
However, we want Labour to recognise that the monarchy is a political issue and that the choice between it and an elected head of state is a choice about the sort of society and democracy we want to create. Labour must therefore encourage debate on the type of head of state needed to promote the Party’s agenda.
There are also steps that we believe a Labour government should take now to reduce the costs of the monarchy, to remove the monarchy’s political influence, to make the monarchy more transparent and to allow MPs to swear their oaths of allegiance to their constituents and the country rather than to the monarch.
For more information on our immediate, you can read our Campaign Guide. For a more detailed description of our aims, both short and long-term, please read our book, Labour and Republicanism: Making Citizens Sovereign.
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