Britons are surprising open to a national coup in the event of an undesirable prime minister, abolition of the monarchy or disbandment of the armed forces, according to a survey by YouGov.
The pollster asked the public whether they might support the army taking control of the country in any circumstances, which revealed a quarter of Britons thought there were scenarios in which they might consider it, whilst half thought there were none.
Unsurprisingly, Kippers proved to be the most coup-happy bunch, with 44 percent saying they could see themselves supporting a coup compared to the 40 percent who couldn’t, making them the only major national party with majority support for a coup.
Kippers were also more relaxed about the military disobeying civilian command, with almost half saying active members of the armed forces should not always obey civilian orders if they thought the instructions were misguided.
Despite widespread support for civilian control of the military, both the military and the police were more highly trusted to act in the interests of Britain than politicians.
Further details of this survey, and a copy of the full results, can be found at the pollster’s website.
Image Credit – British soldier in Saber Strike exercise, June 2014 by US Army Europe
