Britain’s government came under fire from right-wing politicians after it confirmed it had switched to using a logo bearing “UK Government” branding instead of “His Majesty’s Government” in official communications.
The British government is formally referred to as His Majesty’s (HM) government, a reference to the monarch King Charles III.
Websites and other communications have previously carried a logo with “HM Government”.
But earlier this week, a Labour government minister confirmed that “a strategic decision has been made to adopt ‘UK Government’ as the primary branding for all public-facing communications”.
The move was on Tuesday slammed by some opposition Conservative politicians who called it “disrespectful towards Britain’s history, culture, and constitutional settlement”.
“How typical that Labour should be trying to quietly obliterate tradition,” said Tory politician Alex Burghart.
Under guidance by the previous Tory government, in power until 2024, the primary logo was the Royal Coat of Arms alongside “HM Government” and was meant to be used “wherever possible”.
A government spokesperson said the step was taken to provide greater “clarity”.
“It’s the right move and reflects their true purpose — serving the people not the powerful,” anti-monarchy activist Graham Smith, who heads the pressure group Republic, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Smith pointed to “falling” support for the monarchy since the latest batch of Jeffrey Epstein files was released last month, further revealing ex-prince Andrew’s ties to the late US sex offender and plunging the royals into a new crisis.
A Savanta poll commissioned by Republic showed on Monday that support for the monarchy stood at 45 percent, lower than the 57-59 percent polled by YouGov in mid-January.
Another YouGov poll, carried out on behalf of Sky News, showed on Wednesday that 45 percent of respondents believed King Charles III had done all he could to distance himself from his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of royal titles last year over his Epstein links.
Nearly 40 percent said he should be doing more.
AFP
