<P> Some members of the Labour Party, such as Keir Hardie (1856--1915), also held republican views . </P> <P> In 1923, at the Labour Party's annual conference, two motions were proposed, supported by Ernest Thurtle and Emrys Hughes . The first was "that the Royal Family is no longer a necessary party of the British constitution", and the second was "that the hereditary principle in the British Constitution be abolished". George Lansbury responded that, although he too was a republican, he regarded the issue of the monarchy as a "distraction" from more important issues . Lansbury added that he believed the "social revolution" would eventually remove the monarchy peacefully in the future . Both of the motions were overwhelmingly defeated . Following this event, most of the Labour Party moved away from advocating republican views . In 1936, following the abdication of Edward VIII, MP James Maxton proposed a "republican amendment" to the Abdication Bill, which would have established a Republic in Britain . Maxton argued that while the Monarchy had benefited Britain in the past, it had now "outlived its usefulness ." Five MPs voted to support the bill, including Alfred Salter . However the bill was defeated by 403 votes . </P> <P> In 1991, Labour MP Tony Benn introduced the Commonwealth of Britain Bill, which called for the transformation of the United Kingdom into a "democratic, federal and secular Commonwealth of Britain", with an elected President . The monarchy would be abolished and replaced by a republic with a written constitution . It was read in Parliament a number of times until his retirement at the 2001 election, but never achieved a second reading . Benn presented an account of his proposal in Common Sense: A New Constitution for Britain . </P> <P> MORI Polls in the opening years of the 21st century showed support for retaining the monarchy stable at around 70% of people, but in 2005, at the time of the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, support for the monarchy dipped, with one poll showing that 65% of people would support keeping the monarchy if there were a referendum on the issue, with 22% saying they favoured a republic . In 2009 an ICM poll, commissioned by the BBC, found that 76% of those asked wanted the monarchy to continue after the Queen, against 18% of people who said they would favour Britain becoming a republic and 6% who said they did not know . </P>

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