Councillor Matt Cooper: ‘We should exercise our right to tell the monarchy what we want of them'
Speech: Royal family's wealth 'gained off the back of the suffering of billions of people'
Tuesday, 13th September 2022 — By Richard Osley
Matt Cooper speaking at last night’s (Monday’s) meeting
LABOUR councillor Matt Cooper struck a different chord from many of the speakers at an all-member meeting held to celebrate the Queen’s life, when he called on the royal family to listen to what the people want from a monarchy.
He was the only councillor to raise concerns about how wealth and power had been inherited.
Cllr Cooper was speaking as Camden Council held at a session of tributes from councillors, aldermen, members of the public and Town Hall staff.
Here’s what Cllr Cooper said
“I just wanted to talk a little bit about public service, which is something that is often mentioned when talking about the royal family, and the sort of challenging nuance of public service for the royal family. They’re a family which we should say… a lot of their wealth, both personal and estate, is gained off the backs of the suffering of billions of people.
However, I do subscribe to the view that the royal family shouldn’t be apolitical because some of their most powerful moments have been when they’ve been radical. And you think back to when Princess Diana shook the hands of AIDS victims, she completely changed the conversation and helped save lives in fighting AIDS.
And you look at when the Queen allegedly had huge arguments with Margaret Thatcher about whether or not Britain should support apartheid South Africa and the Queen’s long record of championing the Commonwealth. These are things which aren’t apolitical, they’re not neutral moves but they’re the kinds of things that happen because people speak out and people call for action and people demand better.
One of the things which Nash said in his speech [at the proclamation ceremony in Russell Square for King Charles III], the other day, was a very odd statement [in the script] about how the monarchy rules through consent of tongue and heart.
And I thought the tongue bit was quite interesting because it’s a reminder that we should, even though we can’t elect our head of state, keep talking. We should keep demanding better. And we should use the opportunity in this country to exercise our right to tell the monarchy what we want of them and to make sure that they are on our side all the time.”
