Operation London Bridge: the secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death | Hacker News Reader

Operation London Bridge: the secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death

theguardian.com

57 pointslumisota28 comments

Ah the Guardian. Never missing a trick to slyly insert some anti-Brexit propaganda in unrelated stories:

But her kingdom is in turmoil, and her subjects are in denial that her reign will ever end

Her kingdom is not in turmoil unless, I suppose, you work for the Guardian in which case the one-two punch of Labour's credibility collapse and Brexit mean you think the world is ending. But lots of people don't see that as turmoil at all.

The Scottish government is seeking a second independence referendum, and Sinn Féin (Irish republican party) has gained its highest vote share in Northern Ireland -- is this not a kingdom in turmoil?

No, not really. Sturgeon has to demand a second, and a third and a fourth referendum whenever she can as she defines herself as "independence or out" and that's what her most loyal supporters demand. But it's unlikely such a rerun would happen for several years, and things might be quite different by then.

I guess it also depends on if you see devolution as turmoil. I wouldn't consider an independent Scotland or leaving the EU as "turmoil" - just a rearrangement of politics to be more local, which is likely good in the long run.

If "kingdom" in your Guardian quote refers to the United Kingdom, then it is surely in turmoil when a non-trivial number of people (say ~50% in Scotland, ~25% in Northern Ireland) don't wish to be a part of it.

44% in Scotland and not much appetite for a rerun according to the polls.

But I suppose if you want to define it that way, you can, as long as you're consistent: by that definition virtually all of Europe is in turmoil (well, the EU). Not sure people living there would recognise the description though. Things feel quite calm really.

I don't mean (and I don't read from the Guardian quote) that the people are in turmoil; but the institutions we're talking about (the UK and the EU) are.

People who can spot easily foreseeable problems - an essential hacker skill - know turmoil when they see it coming. The big question is the 3.3 million EU citizens in the UK; the government has repeatedly refused to guarantee their right to stay, while also making statements that they're willing to drop out of any dealmaking process with the EU.

The outcome of those policies would be that 5% of the population suddenly become illegal immigrants and their employers are legally obliged to fire them and the Home Office will start deporting them. This is going to be a mess. There may be riots.

Not to mention that all sorts of UK-EU scientific collaboration which operates on 3 or 5 year timescales has already suffered, because they can't plan beyond Brexit day.

I'm curious about the technicalities of the “radio alert transmission system” (RATS), which indeed sounds like a cold war-era system, but I couldn't find much around. Any idea?

You have to admit that a radio announcement that starts with “This is the BBC from London” is a creepy reminder of old times.

As an American I have no barometer for this.

Anyone here from the UK, will the public at large really be as affected as the article claims?

It will be a big thing over here. A lot of the older generation (60+) will have strong positive feelings toward the monarchy, those in the 30-60 age range will not have known another monarch so even if they are not royalists i expect it will have some impact. She has not been a terrible monarch so in general there is little anti-royal sentiment. Personally I'm looking forward to an extra day off work (or 2 if possible). I expect the worst aspect for most people will be Charles becoming king.

As a Brit, I personally would rather the UK were a republic.

I have no love or even respect for the royal family and all they represent. When the queen snuffs it, I'll likely give it a few seconds of thought before going on with my day.

Unfortunately there are a lot of royalists here even among the poorest in society who will no doubt be weeping in the streets as if aristocratic classes cared even one iota whether they lived or died.

We are a bizarre country with a huge section of the population that cannot let go of our royal/imperial/colonial past and all the exceptionalism that connotates.

I'm no monarchist, but how exactly do you think an alternative head of state will be different from the current royal family?

Effectively they are all ceremonial titles, who host other heads of state during grandiose state visits, do a bit of charity work and have the theoretical power to dismiss the government. At least the monarchy brings in a bit of tourist coin along the way

Lots of people will be sad, but not because they're royalists or monarchists, just because the Queen has such a long and essentially spotless history. In a world where celebrities and politicians are all pretty much expected to have a lifetime of scandal and dishonour, she stands nearly alone in having managed to avoid controversy and dishonour for, well, at least as long as I've been alive. Very few people manage that, and in this, she represents a sort of British ideal.

However, once the Queen is gone, the issue of whether to keep the Royal family will I'm sure become the next referendum issue (unless there's another scottish indyref first).

Perhaps we'll get a triple score.

Brext, scottish independence, and a new monarch at the same time.

Interesting times indeed.

Not at the same time. I think the queen's got a few more years in her yet - her mother lived to 101 and I can see her doing the same.

Tangent: a triple score is a hat trick. The term was originally assocatiated with cricket, though in the U.S. and Canada you hear it most often in hockey. I mention this only because I would have expected someone from the U.K. to use the term. :-)

Sport is not my strong point, and I was thinking of Scrabble anyway.

Depends.

Perhaps not so much if they read HackerNews and watch Netflix.

But will it pop my bubble?

Personally, I'll be sad when the queen dies because she's been a stable fixture throughout my entire life.

I'm not fond of the royal family and we could do without the monarchy altogether. But the Queen was born in a different era with different values. Although I don't share the values of that era, she's carried out what she sees as her duty with dignity and dedication. She deserves a respectful send-off, but her death should mark the end of the era of royalty and aristocracy.

I'm old enough to remember the death of Diana. That was huge. Took over all four channels(+) for a week. Has taken over the Daily Express for the past 20 years. The Queen Mother's death was also a pretty big event. The Royal family are very popular especially among people who, shall we say, aren't liberal-internationalist.

The death of the Queen happening in the next few years before Brexit and possibly the breakup of the UK seems unlikely but would really accelerate the sense of chaos.

(+) I had to go back and check this; Channel 5 was actually launched 6 months earlier, but we couldn't receive it in our house at the time.

So how can we disrupt this?

What exactly do you want to disrupt (her death or the pageantry following her death) and why do you want to disrupt it?

The most obvious way would be to find a route to immortality and provide it to the Queen however I'm not sure of the value of that.

Mass regicide.

Where will we find enough monarchs?

Europe has a few dotted around.

Fund a monarch bootcamp?

Genius!

It's a pity that HN can't appreciate self-deprecating humour like this.

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