Was £250million on the King’s Coronation money well-spent?
After more than a year of rising bills and an increase in the cost of living, millions of struggling people around the UK are shocked that £250million was spent on the Coronation.
Although the Coronation was a celebration of King Charles and brought much of the country together, some people have questioned if £250million was money well-spent when some people are facing eviction and others are being forced to miss meals in order to feed their children.
While people were having Coronation celebration parties in Grimsby, Boston, Skegness, Manchester, London and beyond, others were watching the Coronation on TV wondering how they were going to survive the next 12-months.
The Trussell Trust last week revealed that 750,000 people across the UK had been forced to use food banks for the first time in order to feed their family. It was also revealed that they had handed out more food parcels than ever before, which shows how the country is struggling.
Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, told the Big Issue the coronation was a ‘slap in the face’ for the millions struggling to make ends meet. Mr Smith was not alone in his opinion.
Azza Essakhi, 27, from Manchester told the Manchester Evening News “We’ve got teachers, nurses, train drivers, public sector workers on strike demanding more pay that they deserve. They’re told they can’t have it.
“But then we’ve got £250 million for this weekend. Then there’s also the cost of actually keeping the royal family afloat – and they are quite an extensive family.”
Azza also insisted that suggestions Charles was looking to ‘downsize’ the monarchy were yet to amount to anything. “I just think we don’t live in 1066 anymore, we don’t need a King to lead us,” Azza added.
With more than 271,000 people recorded as homeless in England, including 123,000 children according to Shelter, many believe that even half of what was spent on the King’s Coronation could have been spent helping the homeless and supplying food the foodbanks.
“The King has a reported personal fortune of £1.8bn, and given the monarch already benefits from not paying inheritance tax, it’s easy to see why so many people are not happy with this,” he said
During the past week we have received emails from different parts of the UK including Doncaster, Liverpool, Hull, Grimsby, Blackpool, and London from people who have questioned. Some of those have been supporters of the Monarchy and others want it abolished. But they all have one thing in common, and that is was £250million really needed for the King’s Coronation while people are struggling.
Labour’s Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds East, called for a House of Commons debate on the amount of public money being spent on the coronation given the difficult economic times.
With King Charles claiming he is there to support the people, and with his previous claims he will downsize the Monarchy, time will only tell if he sticks to his word.
