Join CEO of Republic, Graham Smith, the historian Count Nicolai Tolstoy, co-founder of Agora, William Hagerup, and the legal activist Alex Smith, in a debate about the Monarchy. Is it time to replace the UK Monarchy with an elected Head of State?

Should Britain sweep away centuries of royal tradition and replace the Crown with an elected head of state? Supporters say it’s time to drag the constitution into the 21st century — arguing that no public office should be handed down by birth, and that an elected president would finally give the people a direct say at the very top.

But critics warn that scrapping the monarchy would gamble with one of the nation’s last great stabilising forces. The King stands above party politics, they argue — a symbol of continuity in turbulent times. Would an elected head of state simply become another politician, dividing rather than uniting the country?

Expect great arguments on either side and plenty of room for YOU to put your opinion across as we ask: is the Crown the glue that holds Britain together — or an outdated relic ready for retirement?

We invite you to test the motion, challenge assumptions, and share your views during the Q&A.

Proposition: 

Graham Smith

Graham Smith has been the CEO and lead campaigner for the anti-monarchy group Republic since May 2005. He's been involved in the campaign since late 2003. For more than 20 years Graham has worked to realise what he sees as a fairer, more democratic Britain, through the abolition of the monarchy and the opportunities that creates. In June 2023 Penguin published his first book, Abolish The Monarchy. Why We Should and How We Will.

Mr Smith is a frequent media commentator on constitutional issues and has appeared on national broadcasters including the BBC, as well as on political programmes and podcasts such as The Owen Jones Podcast and the New Statesman Podcast, as well as the Objectivist podcast, The Daily Objective, where he has argued for the abolition of the monarchy.

He also hosts and co-hosts Republic’s own podcasts, including Abolish the Monarchy and From Below the Balcony, in which he interviews politicians, journalists and campaigners about the future of the British constitution and the case for an elected head of state.

Alex Smith

Alex Smith (no relation to Graham) studied Law at the University of Warwick. He is a leasehold law adviser, community campaigner, volunteer, and a former civil servant, where he co-ordinated legislation for two government departments. He has undertaken research and drafted a number of research papers for the Independent Business Network, representing small businesses. Alex is a strong advocate for free speech and open debate and regularly participates in debates and forums discussing politics, topical and cultural issues. He supports the dialectic and Socratic methods to advance critical thinking.

Opposition:

Count Nicolai Tolstoy

Count Nicolai Tolstoy is a Russian–British historian, writer and monarchist, and the current nominal head of the House of Tolstoy. He was educated at Wellington College, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Trinity College Dublin. Tolstoy is Chancellor of the International Monarchist League and has long supported constitutional monarchy and European royal traditions. He has also been involved with the UK Independence Party. His works include Victims of Yalta and The Minister and the Massacres, alongside studies of Russian émigrés and imperial Russia, reflecting his enduring engagement with dynastic history, legitimacy and the moral responsibilities of states.

William Hagerup

Mr William Hagerup began his journey as a political campaigner and debater at the age of 16 in his native Norway, where he studied at the University of Trondheim in Norway and later at King’s College London. Mr Hagerup is a libertarian conservative who believes the Constitutional Monarchy is the best way to combine individual liberty with a shared national story and traditions that unites us. He is the author of two books, his autobiographical novel In Good Faith, and The Really Practical Guide to Debating: How to Win Every Argument You Don’t Lose, the latter published in December 2025.