ANTI: CROMWELL

Do you know what I’ll be doing tomorrow morning? Bombing down the open motorway in my car to visit my loved ones while the rest of the country is slavishly and disgracefully glued to their television screens.

It’s not because most wedding ceremonies are dull (which they are). Nor is it because the bride and groom are quite obviously two of the most boring celebrities you could ever be asked to care about.

The reason I refuse to be sucked in to this abominable outpouring of misguided patriotism is because I find it undermines everything that is great about modern Britain.

Yes, I am a staunch Republican. The very idea of being a subject to a monarch is, I believe, the worst kind of anachronism because it fosters a culture in which we defer to a single group of people based on their birthright – which itself is assumed to be bestowed by a divine power.

I fail to see how the media’s gushing coverage of this unedifying spectacle does nothing more than to perpetuate the centuries-old propaganda that a populace deserves to be ruled over without question or accountability.

Just think how this impacts on our national psyche. Our current Government is pushing through the biggest programme of spending cuts that most of us have seen or will ever see.

Ask yourself: what have you really done to challenge your local council or MP about what your elected masters are doing in your name?

Indeed, have you ever attended a public meeting about a local issue? Or written a letter to a newspaper? Or even voted?

I imagine the reason you don’t is because you assume your puny, isolated voice will not be heard because those in charge will carry on regardless.

Admit it: we are born at the bottom end of a pre-ordained social hierarchy in which a privileged elite choose how the rest of us live.

And yet, all the fantastic achievements of this great country have been accomplished because of the power of democracy.

It was democracy which gave rise to women equal rights. It was democracy which gave workers the vote for fairer working conditions. It was democracy which brought peace to Europe after centuries of bloodshed. And it is democracy which people are literally dying for in the Middle East right now.

That’s what patriotism is about: support for the things which make our country stronger. Not endorsing a glorified photo-opportunity orchestrated by the Windsor family, whose own stained history includes supporting the Nazis in the 1930s.

My message to all those nutters who have camped out all week outside Westminster Abbey: why don’t you focus all that energy and dedication into asking how things can get better in Britain. Stop vicariously revelling in a fantasy life of Royalty that you will never have!

PRO: SAXE COBURG

It was inevitable.

As royal wedding fever swept the nation this week ahead of tomorrow's nuptials between Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton, the doubters had to crawl out from under whichever sceptical stone they live under, to have a moan.

This nation loves to put people on a pedestal and then knock them off. We do it for footballers, celebrities, politicians and now, royalty.

Now, I'm no staunch royal supporter, I wear no union flag hat, I will not be flying bunting or attending any street party in the name of celebration, merely supping a few pints in my own tradition, not that of any royal family.

No, my problem with the sceptics in the corner is this; just what is there to moan about?

Let’s investigate...

Taxpayers footing some of the bill
I concede they are, but are Prince William or Kate Middleton creaming off the profits of merchandise makers, hoteliers charging over the odds for rooms, landlords hosting royal wedding events in their pubs, or any other income? No.

Congestion in London
Fair enough, but as a London dweller myself, I am heading out of the city for the weekend. Problem solved.

Over exposure in the media
No one's fault but our own, unfortunately. You may be sick of reading about every nook and cranny of the arrangements, the couple's movements, or what their great-great-aunt is wearing on the big day, but no one runs coverage they think is unpopular, so you can't escape the fact that more people want to read it than not.

And what about the exposure this gives to London? There are not too many better sights than The Mall on occasions such as this.

The capital suddenly assumes an air of importance, of grandeur, an air that represents Britain and all of her inhabitants.

These images, images of a joyful, caring Britain wishing a young, blooming couple - one of whom happens to have been born into the royal family - the best on their big day, do us all proud.

And how can anyone be sceptical about that?

What do you think? Have your say below and vote in our poll too...