'Monarchy and tradition put the Great in Great Britain'

30 December 2023 , 21:53

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King Charles (Image: UK Press via Getty Images)

The monarchy is our most ancient ­institution but throughout history it has had to adapt and change with the times. The King no longer rules but reigns, his powers limited by Parliament. We are citizens, not his subjects. Now a massive 175,000-participant survey is asking what the main role of a 21st-century constitutional monarch should be. It is a good question and the right time to ask it.

The stability the Queen’s 70 years of devoted service gave this country has taken a knock because of the behaviour of younger members of the Royal Family. The honours system was tarnished by ex-PMs Boris Johnson and Liz Truss abusing it to reward their cronies.

And the abolition of the House of Lords is now on the political agenda, an institution which only exists because of the monarchy. Yet we should count ourselves lucky to have a non-political head of state. It means the Parliament we vote for is sovereign. As head of the Church of England, King Charles unites church with state. There are those who say that is outdated and we should be a secular nation like America or France. But their constitutions were born of bloody revolutions, while ours was formed by largely peaceful evolution. We tamper with the world’s best democracy at our peril. It’s what puts the Great in Britain.

Drug gag dope

We know James Cleverly cannot control his mouth. But now it seems his eyes are not up to much, either. Only that could explain why the Home Secretary did not read the report by his own office warning drink spiking is sometimes done because it is seen as “funny” or a “joke” – but that it is nothing of the kind.

Had he done so, he might not have cracked that sick gag about giving his wife date rape drug Rohypnol the day it was published. And if he read the report but ignored it, that makes his comments even worse. Anyone who became a victim of spiking over Christmas would not have found Mr Cleverly’s joke funny either. Yet Rishi Sunak says he considers the matter closed. Wrong, Prime Minister. It is not a minor thing to be brushed under the carpet. It is one of the many reasons you and Mr Cleverly will not be in office soon.

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Sobering truth

Whether you welcome in the New Year at a raucous party tonight or by quietly watching the clock tick past midnight at home, we hope 2024 brings you all you wish for. But either way, you won’t be celebrating with champagne in pints, as Mr Sunak promised, because bottles in that size are not available – and will not be until at least 2028. Which is apt for a weak PM who has lost his bottle.

Voice of the Mirror