Republic on Royal Travel Expenses

The following was a press release from the Republic campaign following more revelations about UK Royals' travel expenses.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - ROYAL GRAVY TRAIN MUST STOP


Republic has repeated its calls for reform of the Royal finances after it was revealed that Prince William's Chinook flights cost the taxpayer more than £50,000, including nearly £9,000 to attend his cousin's stag night.

The Freedom of Information disclosure came on the day that the Prince of Wales was due to publish his financial report, which was due to include details of his own excessive travel costs.


Spokesperson Graham Smith said today:

"This is a disgraceful waste of public money. In the last few days we have seen the extent to which the Windsors' exravagant lifestyles are funded by hard-working British taxpayers. £22,000 for a day at the races, £19,000 for a trip to the pub and now £9,000 to drop in at a stag night."

"These revelations demonstrate the need for urgent reform of the Royal finances. The Windsors simply spend what they like, charge it to the taxpayer and then tell us about it afterwards. There is no way for us to hold them accountable."

"We expect Charles will distract attention from his own extravagant travel costs by referring to his green credentials. But last year's report revealed the carbon footprint of his household to be 450 times that of the average home. He will have to have made some very drastic lifestyle changes to make a dent in that - changes he is clearly not willing to make."

NOTES

Republic's Royal Finances Reform Charter proposes some simple reforms to improve accountability, transparency and fairness in royal finances.

For full details of the Reform Charter and further information on the
Royal finances go to http://www.republic.org.uk/royalcosts/.




WHAT IS REPUBLIC?

Republic is a rapidly growing group of like-minded individuals
dedicated to working towards the democratic replacement of the
monarchy in Britain by an elected head of state. It is
non-party-political organisation with members and supporters from all
the main parliamentary parties.

Republic works to raise awareness of the need for these changes and to encourage informed debate. It keeps members and supporters informed by means of its website (www.republic.org.uk), a glossy magazine, e-newsletters, events organised by Republic and lively local groups which are springing up throughout the country.

Republic has recently seen encouraging signs of increased interest in
its case. Membership has more than doubled throughout 2005 and has
continuned to grow in 2006. Visits to the website rise dramatically at the time of royal stories.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION :


Visit our website : www.republic.org.uk