On Wednesday’s episode of Good Morning Britain, Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh were joined by Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams and Republic’s CEO Graham Smith for a debate
On the latest episode of Good Morning Britain (9 April), sparks flew as the panel debated the Royal Family’s funding.
Hosts Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh welcomed Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams and Republic’s Graham Smith to programme for a heated debate.
Republic, the campaign group pushing for the monarchy to be replaced by a parliamentary republic, was represented by its CEO in the fiery discussion.
The panel discussed King Charles and Queen Camilla’s taxpayer-funded trip to Italy, courtesy of the sovereign grant meant for Royal duties that is set to jump from £86.3m to a whopping £132m.
Richard supported the idea that the Royals are a national treasure, especially during tough economic times. He praised their globe-trotting endeavours, such as King Charles’ meeting with President Trump stateside.
But Graham opposed it completely, hitting back: “The idea that the monarchy brings anything into the economy has been debunked. That’s not ‘true’,” as reported by the Manchester Evening News.
A GMB poll asked viewers whether royal trips should continue to be funded by the public purse.
Ranvir revealed that a hefty 72 percent of those who responded reckon it’s time to slash the funding, while a contrasting 28 percent think it should continue.
The topic sparked an on-air squabble between Richard and Ed, with the Royal pundit asserting: “The trips will always go on because you’ve got to have diplomacy. You’ve got to cultivate your friends.”
Ed, however, interrupted to highlight the viewers’ support for Graham’s viewpoint, exclaiming: “You’ve lost the debate, you’ve lost the debate! Graham won, it’s where we are! Can we move on?”
On social media, opinions were split, as one user suggested: “Time to knock this unnecessary expenditure on the head,” while another declared: “Royalty has had its day. Scrap the lot.”
Meanwhile, others saw value in Royal events, with a comment noting: “The proof is the royal events filmed in the UK. There are always American people interviewed at royal events who say they came over specifically for the royal event because they love the royal family. This intern brings in revenue as they spend when they are here.”
Good Morning Britain airs on weekdays on ITV1 from 6am
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
