Resignation. An act worthy of an honour?
It’s emerged that as part of the feather-bedding and seduction that has been entered into on our behalf to persuade ministers to lose their jobs in David Cameron’s reshuffle, knighthoods have been brought into play. It is exactly a week since the commons public administration select committee complained that too many civil servants, MPs and celebrities are getting honours for simply doing their jobs.
Number ten’s response? Start dishing out knighthoods to men who aren’t any longer doing the jobs they were doing. Mr Cameron himself is signed up to the view that an honour should be for ‘exceptional; service beyond the call of duty’. So what exceptional service has Gerald Howarth MP, Edward Garnier MP, and James Paice MP, rendered? It seems their exceptional act has been to resign their ministerial jobs in return for a knighthood.
And that’s not all. Lord Ashcroft, the controversial former Tory treasurer and one-time representative of Belize to the United Nations, has been made a member of the Privy Council – that’s perceived to be an honour. Two Liberal Democrat junior ministers – Paul Burstow MP and Andrew Stunnell MP are also to be made members of the Privy Council. Again, we are not told what ‘exceptional service’ any of these new Privy Councillors have rendered.
It is no disrespect to any of these people, some of whom I have met, to ask whether this is an abuse of the honours system. A decade ago, I made a Channel 4 documentary called ‘Secrets of the Honours System’. We reported a situation bordering on farce, shrouded in opacity, and vulnerable to political manipulation. Plus ça change.
In many ways the greatest mystery is why anyone should want these name changing devices. It is hard to think of anyone in public life whose reputation has been enhanced by one of these honours.
As we reported all those years ago, there is a genuine desire amongst the populace for an honours system. We questioned whether ‘name changing’ honours, or indeed honours with the words ‘British Empire’ were relevant in the 21st Century.
As the nation moves towards honouring the epic achievements of GB Olympians and Paralympians, it is sad to report that they will have to be given the same honours for their exceptional service as those awarded to people who may simply have got them, for resigning.
You can follow Jon Snow on Twitter @jonsnowC4
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There are 20 comments on this post
I agree completely. This says so much about Cameron’s view of society: ‘Sorry to have to move you out dear chap, do become a companion of honour.’ The gap between those who govern us and those who are governed has never been greater. This is dangerous as is the growing resentment at the cloistered lives lived by the governing class and the rest of us.
If we are to maintain an honours system surely it would be better to ensure the awarding of such honours is removed completely from the control of Westminster and put in the hands of a completely independent panel.
Oneself looks forward to the offer of an honour ! – if only to turn it down !!
As I see these rewards for resignations unfold, I think of the self-serving patronage of people like Heath,Thatcher, Major, and their acolytes, Barber, Lawson, Clarke (and now again), and now Cameron, and of course Osborne. I realise that ‘they’ are all in it together, as indeed are their friends in Europe, and of course it’s the Gravy Train that they are in. We on the other hand, who are also ‘all in it together’, are suffering from ‘The Politics of the Privileged’. Indeed, we always suffer from this. It is the British way.
Our government is quite simply a disgrace, and it’s maddening that they can claim to represent us; what a travesty.
I think that this is scandalous. What have these people done to deserve a knighthood??? It has cheapened the whole of the honours system and those who have received a knighthood and deservedly so must feel cheated
Jon,
The only surprise in any of this is that they don’t throw in a free life time subscription to the Sun or the Daily Mail and weekly visits from Kelvin McKenzie and Andrew Neil.
There is no reason whatever to be respectful of these people. They are nothing but time servers and right wing commissars, exactly the kind who have slowly corrupted and made meaningless any decent concept of public life in Britain.
They couldn’t hold down a job brushing the streets never mind administering the nation’s needs and interests.
To hell with them and their organised hypocrisy.
It beggars belief that an MP gets any honour. They purport to be in public service but they have outrageous full salary pensions, after only 10 years “service”, a very healthy allowance for office staff who do much of their work, an expense system designed to ensure they spend little of their salary, benefits, like cars/drivers not given to far more senior commercial positions, and are not accountable to the electorate, or law, for any of their decisions or comments. When can the public say enough is enough. The vote, given we can vote them out, is irrelevant as they reward themselves handsomely should we oust them from office. Utterly scandalous!
Of course we should continue giving out titles: in fact I myself was hoping to be honoured as finally becoming a lady,and have more of those attributes than David Williams.
I like the tradition . It is very relevant to the 21st century where variety and colour of tradition, persae, makes for the most interesting and exciting of mosaics. Its hard work coping with difference, but we are in it for the long haul, so lets Not go grey suits and all the same.
You do have a point about who is chosen for the honours list and I will be writing to my boss Lilibet to see if she will consider my proposal.
If there is an honour for showing restraint at the profligacy of politicians, I think we, the good old barmy British gullible public should get it. It could be called the Ribbon Of Foolish Lackeys Meek And Otherwise or ROFLMAO for short.
Cameron is following the maxim PRIZES FOR ALL with his rewarding some sacked Ministers with a K !
I’ve said it before and I say it again: I think an updated version of that Dispatches programme – ‘Secrets of the Honours System’ – would be appropriate and very much welcome, to remind people what it’s all about and what actually happens behind the scenes.
I wish we didn’t have titles, full stop. Admittedly, they are merely a reflection of the real world and existing hierarchic society we sadly live in. They are ornamental perks, there to create further alienation, even though they in themselves don’t really mean anything. It’s just another brick in the class society wall.
I admire people who get offered an honour and refuse it, like L.S. Lowry, Benjamin Zephaniah – and indeed your good self.
That’s inverse snobbery Britt. It makes them stand out as something special and above all others who accept the ‘norm’.
Quite frankly jon i have never never felt so bitter about a serving government as i do about this one the whole damn lot of them are not worth a bottle top … i will have to watch my language as im feeling so angry.
They are ripping the fabric of our society to peices im a serving police officer and my wife is a nurse in the nhs in my capacity i see services run down in all sectors from my own to mental health social services fire ambulance schools youth provision .
We used to have a good youth provision in my area now workers are cut and centres are closing disgraceful.
The biggest thing for me is the re instatement of David Laws this week sheer arrogance he has been guilty of expenses fraud and left govt two years ago and has now come back to be feted as an all sins forgiven education minister.
What the hell is going on if i was guilty of expenses fraud in the police i would be sacked and possibly sent down rightly so.
So what makes him different ahh hes nick camerons little mate enough said the lot need to go and rot.
When you think that being a politician usually means “underachieving” (regardless of your political party affiliation) rather than doing anything “exceptional; beyond the call of duty”, well… the system is all upside down.
Sara, for the last 30 years we have lived in an upside down society, where under achievers make it on the back of those who do the hard work, get results which are twisted , or in users terms ‘ Playing for the other side’ . Then the ‘systems favourites’ are accreditied with all the toil, both physical and intellectual ,whilst in actuality they do very little except conceitedly, loud mouthedly and brazenly say all the work and credit belongs to them.
The bufoons are eventually found out,( they cant keep it up …the work does not belong to them) but unfortunately the damage is done and the same thing happens again because of the blinkered, arrogance of the stupid called powerful and clever.
Civil servants do not got honours “simply” doing their jobs, but for doing their jobs well, unlike sports men and women, where it seems to be “win one, get one free”
Why are we surprised that politicians, who are mostly unqualified for and pretty appalling at their jobs, think they are more deserving of honours than the rest of us.
We let them get away with the expenses scandal, the current crop in govt have been brought up to believe they have an automatic right to power over the mere mortals in the street and we allow them to believe we accept their pr spin and lies as ‘difficult’ truths. No wonder they treat us as fools and impose their arrogant, 19th century views upon us whilst protecting their own clique.
Honours should be separate from politics (as should the Olympics- how revolting watching Cameron bask in the reflected glory) but until we stand together and demand our whole political system is dramatically reformed to reflect the needs of 21st century Britons we will continue to see politicians and their paymasters suck the lifeblood from the country and pass it around amongst themselves.
of course the Honours system is a disgrace.Ever since that great Liberal LLoyd George sold them to bolster his fortune.Cameron is no different from all the Prime Ministers that have gone before him.It is yet another reason that the house of Lords needs to be reformed.It is full of useless ex MP’s businessmen who have paid their party dues.Clergy with more power than they could ever hope for in their Churches.
By all means have the lesser honours for outstanding achievers in all walks of life, but that would rarely incude MP’s or Civil Servants for merely doing their job
Where have you been Adrain .. I thought the Derbyshire hills had swallowed you up,or an oyster had made a pearl around that gritty irritation.