Sir Gavin Williamson
Here, in Merrie Olde Englande, there are several national honours that are theoretically available to all citizens. At the lowest level and for good service in a wide range of fields you might receive The British Empire Medal (B.E.M.). Moving up, a more prestigious honour is the M.B.E. (Member of the British Empire) and above that is the O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire). Above that is the C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire).
Beyond these medals, a man may receive a knighthood and a woman may be awarded a damehood. This gives the bearer the right to be addressed as a "sir" - for example Sir Ian McKellen - who received his knighthood for services to theatre arts - similar to Dame Helen Mirren.
Above this level your have barons and baronesses - a noble honour indeed but not all baronetcies get you a seat in the upper house of parliament - The House of Lords. That place is occupied by unelected hereditary peers, bishops and nominated "Lords" and "Ladies" known as life peers who do not pass their titles on to their children.
It is all very complicated and not always transparent. Some honours are nominally awarded by the monarch and others are political honours. When a prime minister resigns, he or she has the opportunity to make a list of "Resignation Honours". Even the hapless Liz Truss, who was in office for only forty five days during which she exploded our country's economy, may yet get to honour her own chosen citizens.
Johnson was the PM before Truss. He seemed to delight in awarding honours to his chums and supporters - ignoring wise advice and the usual protocols of the honours system. He even had the gall to make his younger brother Joseph a "Lord" - he now sits in The House of Lords as The Lord Johnson of Marylebone. Quite sickening.
But what is more sickening is Johnson's honouring of two especially undeserving men. Firstly - a loyal but ineffectual Conservative politician called Gavin Williamson who ran Johnson's leadership campaign in 2019. Secondly - the forty two year old wealthy son of a Russian KGB agent - Evgeny Lebedev.
Forty six year old Williamson became a "Sir" and a Knight Bachelor for his political "service". And Lebedev became a life peer - Baron Lebedev, of Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and of Siberia in the Russian Federation. Johnson partied at Lebedev's holiday mansion in Italy on more than one occasion.
Giving these two undeserving men such prestigious honours stinks of corruption and cronyism and insults every hard working and decent citizen on this island and indeed all those who gained their honours on merit. But that is what one might have expected from Johnson. Several of his other nominations are also highly questionable. Perhaps it is really time to scrap The House of Lords and revise The Honours System so that only truly deserving people are honoured.
Lord Lebedev with his pet wolf, Boris
Apparently Boris Johnson really is as stupid as he looks. Good to know.
ReplyDeleteDon't they say - Never judge a book by its cover... Trouble is Johnson is not a book - he's a self-obsessed clown.
DeleteI had completely forgotten about your House of Lords and am not quite sure how it fits into your system though I have heard the term probably back in my gradeschool history days.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. President can only issue two or three to civilians but only the Freedom Medal is ever reported upon and is handed out much like the ones you describe. Similar to yours, since there is little discretion on the merits, they are often politicized by which president is presenting them.
I feel that our honours system is a throw back to the past. It's mostly about privilege. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
DeleteYou can't even say people shouldn't receive awards for just doing their paid job as there isn't a mention of job in Lebedev's case. I'm stopping reading about him. I feel sick.
ReplyDeleteDoes the last picture remind you of yourself and "R" in your younger days?
DeleteFor a deserving ordinary person, they say it can help to join the freemasons to get an OBE.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's why I didn't get one.
DeleteCDM- Cadbury's Dairy Milk. I hate any kind of heirachy. Wish Keir Starmer would denounce his Sir.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the knighthood does him any favours.
DeleteEverything I know about the House of Lords I learned from the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" which is to say, nothing at all. I also know that there is a Sir Michael Jagger and a Sir Paul McCartney. Keith Richards has not been knighted and says he would not be if they asked him. He does not want to be Sir Richards. He wants to be King Richards.
ReplyDeleteMick accepted his knighthood. Keith once said, “I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs from the establishment when they did their very best to throw us in jail and kill us at one time.” It's not clear if he was ever offered a knighthood.
DeleteJohnson was merely continuing the tradition so nobly demonstrated by one Tony Blair, whose appointments to the upper House were anything but honourable in most cases. The HoL has been used as a parking lot for second rate party hacks and failed MPs for decades, and Blair's reforms only reinforced the trend. In many respects the former hereditary peers were less of a blot on the landscape, and certainly the Law Lords were a whole lot better than Blair's appalling Supreme Court.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Billy Bunter, Tony Blair did not issue a Prime Minister's Honours Resignation List - nor did Gordon Brown.
DeleteI think that Cameron must be up there with the worst for resignation honours, rewarding Samantha's hair stylist?
DeleteIt appears that this system has broken down. There are no checks and balances.
ReplyDeleteThere are some but Johnson chose to ignore them.
DeleteIt seems rather anachronistic.
ReplyDeletePeople who have English as a second language do not use words like "anachronistic". Most folk whose first language is English wouldn't know what it means!
DeleteWe are English. We are not good at second languages. I know many people for whom English is a second language. Most of them have better vocabularies than a large number of native English speakers. I would suggest that Meike is a dual linguist rather than a person with a 'second' language.
DeleteMaybe it's time to scrap the idea of titles altogether. How many Earls and Barons does a country need? and what good does it do them to be able to say I am a (whatever title)?
ReplyDeleteWell it can do them a lot of good financially. I hereby declare you to be Baroness River of Adelaide.
DeleteThank you. I am already an honorary "Lady" simply by owning 11 square feet of land in a Scottish conservation park.
DeleteWhat happens when there are too many Lord and Ladies to fit inside the chamber? The honour is of course downgraded by the measure of the person. I remember we had a 'Lady' in our village and Paul saying - I will never, never call her by the title. They can pick up something like £300 a day if they attend, that is shocking!
ReplyDeleteAll they have to do is sign in and then leave. They don't have to enter the chamber. That could be £1500 a week for doing nothing.
DeleteThe process is outdated and, in my opinion, unfair and ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to honour people but there must be a better way.
DeleteAs you said, this is what one might have expected from Johnson. Haven't people been calling for the abolition of the House of Lords for years? It does seem hopelessly old-fashioned and preserves power for the gray-haired aristocracy (or what passes for aristocracy nowadays).
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more with most of the comments - an outdated practise and just a good excuse for the old pals act.
ReplyDelete