Republic (political organisation)
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| Formation | 1983/2006 |
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| Purpose | Political advocacy |
| Headquarters | London |
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Region served
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United Kingdom |
| Andrew Child | |
| Graham Smith | |
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Main organ
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Board of directors |
| Affiliations | Common Cause, Alliance of European Republican Movements, The Reform Foundation |
| Mission | To achieve the abolition of the British monarchy in favour of a democratic republic. |
| Website | Republic |
Republic is a British republican pressure group advocating the replacement of the United Kingdom's monarchy with a democratically elected head of state.
It is a member organisation of Common Cause and the Alliance of European Republican Movements and is currently the only organisation solely campaigning for a republican constitution for Britain.
Republic states that its mission is: "To achieve the abolition of the British monarchy in favour of a democratic republic."
Andrew Child is current Executive Chair and Graham Smith is the current Chief Executive Officer of Republic.
Originally created by a small group of republicans in London in 1983. Republic was reinvented as a campaigning pressure group in 2006, when it became formally set up as a limited company (Republic Campaign Ltd) with a board of directors and Executive Office. Republic claims a supporter base of 30,000.
CEO Graham Smith criticised hereditary power as being "absurd" and monarchy as an outdated political institution that "abuses its position, abuses public money and which gives politicians too much power."
Republic asserts that there is a lack of transparency and accountability with respect to the funding of the monarchy. The group believes the royal finances should be independently audited by the National Audit Office, like all other central government departments, and that the monarchy's exemption from the Freedom of Information Act should be removed.
Republic's response to the annual royal finance reports is reported in the media. In 2009, while Buckingham Palace claimed the total cost of the monarchy to be £41.5m, Republic estimated the figure at £334 million, once additional costs such as royal security had been taken into account. Republic's calculations do not factor in the profits of the Crown Estate, which are transferred to the national coffers in return for the civil list; they assert that the Crown Estate is the property of the monarch only in their capacity as Head of State, and thereby state property.
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