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'Queen should not head church'
19/09/2000 14:57 - (SA)
Bournemouth, England - Queen Elizabeth
should no longer head the Church of England, the Liberal
Democrats said on Monday. Party activists at their annual conference voted
unanimously for the motion - which said "the head of state
should be barred from holding a position of high authority
within any denomination, church or faith". The LibDems are notoriously less self-controlled than their
major party rivals. Rank-and-file members at the annual
conference often vote through measures that make the leadership
shudder. This particular idea, which would overturn 500 years of
tradition in the church, will be leapt upon by the media. Home Affairs spokesperson Simon Hughes insisted the public was
"ready to move on". Earlier, the outspoken Hughes departed from the script,
telling a fringe meeting that the party now had a policy slate
which put it well to the left of the ruling Labour Party. "We are the only people who actually believe in giving to
the poor, explicitly, and taking from the rich, explicitly," he
said. On taking the LibDem leadership last year, Charles Kennedy
insisted there was no future for his party trying to stake out
left-wing ground.
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