Home News Columnists Ken Oxley

Right royal rumpus over MPs’ oath of allegiance

Aug 10 2008 by Ken Oxley, Sunday Sun

SUPPORTERS of the monarchy are getting themselves into a right royal rumpus over a campaign by renegade MPs to scrap the tradition of swearing an oath to the Queen.

MPs and peers have been forced to pledge allegiance to the reigning monarch when joining Parliament since the Middle Ages.

But now a group of modernisers, led by Lib Dem Norman Baker, say it’s time for a change.

Predictably, monarchists are up in arms claiming such a move would amount to “constitutional vandalism”.

What nonsense! MPs are elected by the people to serve the people . . . the Queen is merely a figurehead who barely enters into the equation.

Mr Baker’s suggestion — that MPs swear allegiance to their constituents instead — is an excellent one.

Whether they would actually honour such a promise — rather than let us down like they usually do — remains to be seen.

But acknowledging who they truly represent would be a step in the right direction.

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