Former Cabinet minister Lord George Foulkes has launched a blistering attack against the £100 million Sovereign Grant, arguing the royals do not offer value for money. In an address to the House of Lords, he questioned whether the institution justifies its public funding amid widespread household budget pressures.
Attack on royal finances
The Sovereign Grant sits at £99.9 million a year, comprising taxpayer funds and a portion of Crown Estate profits. This money helps fund the royals' daily operations and the ongoing refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, which has cost £369 million.
Lord Foulkes said: "When we ask the public to fund an institution to the tune of over just under £100 million a year through the Sovereign Grant, at a time when many are facing severe pressure on their household budgets, we have a duty to ask two fundamental questions - are we getting value for money, and do the actions of this institution match the values it preaches? I would argue that the answer to both is no."
Calls for transparency
On this week's episode of Pod Save the King, the Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers said there have been increased calls for the monarchy to share more details about their finances as the UK continues through a cost of living crisis.
Russell said: "I think there are further calls growing over the last few years about transparency. Where are the royals getting their money from? Why on earth are the British taxpayers putting money towards their helicopter rides, their train rides, the royal train costing £40,000 every time you want to take it out?"
The Mirror's deputy royal editor Jennifer Newton added: "I think when we take into account that it costs more to fill up your car when you go to the petrol station, it costs more to get your food shopping when you go to the supermarket, people aren't having necessarily a pay rise, but then when we see the royals getting more and more money, people might start to think, 'Well, is that... is that the right thing to do?'"
Counter argument and royal value
Russell agreed, saying: "How can you sort of sit back and have a man at the top of the shop who is worth £2 billion, and we are still paying for the fuel for their helicopter and for the royal train to leave the station? I think that is a bitter pill to swallow for a lot of people."
In a counter argument about royal expenses, Robert Hazell, Emeritus Professor of Government and the Constitution at University College London, recently outlined the demands put on the Royal Family as they continue their work. He explained that between daily engagements, overseas tours, travel costs, and security bills, the working members of the Royal Family help raise millions of pounds for charities, while also boosting the economy through international tourism.
Russell Myers said earlier this week that Lord Foulkes has sneered at the royals' 'ribbon-cutting duties', to which he said: "But ask the thousands of charities with a royal patron what that ribbon is worth. A royal visit means headlines, donations, volunteers and a morale boost no advertising budget could buy."
