Seumas Milne has called for the monarchy to be abolished, describing it as 'anti-democratic drag'

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Seumas Milne, the Labour leader’s strategy and communications chief, called for the monarchy to be abolished, describing it as a “reactionary and anti-democratic drag”.

Writing in a Left-wing newspaper the day after George’s birth in July 2013, Milne, 59, claimed “ending the constitutional role” of “an unelected dynasty” would be “the saving” of the royal baby.

“As in the case of every other royal event, the birth of a son to the heir but one to the throne has been reported in tones that wouldn’t be out of place in a one-party state,” wrote privately educated Milne, who went to Winchester public school and Oxford University.

Despite being the son of former BBC director general Alasdair Milne, he took aim at the corporation, adding: “Newsreaders adopt regulation rictus grins. The BBC’s flagship Today programme held a debate to mark the event between two royalists who fell over each other to laud the ‘stability’, ‘continuity’ and ‘mystery’ of the House of Windsor. The press is full of talk of ‘fairytales’ and a ‘joyful nation’.”

Declaring that “an elected head of state is embarrassingly overdue”, he accused the “media and political class” of forming “such a sycophantic ideological phalanx around the institution that dissent is treated as, at best, weird and miserabilist.”