I lost my job following the General Election of May 2015 after nearly 35 years of working in and around politics. MPs are not generally held in high esteem but in my experience, they are overwhelmingly decently motivated.
An exception is the blind spot of political parties, including on occasion the Lib Dems, for the political honours system.
Lynton Crosby, said to have been paid £500,000 for his work on behalf of the Tories and with no long term commitment to the UK was the outrage six months ago. Now we have David Cameron’s resignation list. And so it goes on. The other parties condemn but then go on to do the same.
Way down the honours list you find British Empire Medals. BEMs are given to individuals for dedication and hard work in their communities, typically for unpaid voluntary work, sometimes over decades. Not glamorous or high profile and certainly not profitable. Recently a 99 year old received a BEM for 50 years of service to her community. Another elderly recipient was an Auschwitz survivor who volunteers with the Holocaust Memorial Trust. Ordinary people giving their time altruistically and sometimes extraordinarily, for no financial reward.
Lynton Crosby was knighted by royalty but there is no trip to Buckingham Palace for BEMs which are presented by a Lord Lieutenant, typically at the local town hall.
Should Liberal Democrats continue to participate in the political honours system? I argue we should never honour anyone who got paid for their job, however hard they worked, and even if it was for us.
In a more just society, BEM recipients would top the honours list rather than hold it up from the bottom. At a time when respect for politicians could hardly be lower I would like to see this Party championing root and branch reform of political honours. But we should also set an example. If Tim Farron gets the opportunity to honour someone, give them a BEM. They’ll be in the best of company.
* Sandra is a member of Twickenham Liberal Democrats. She has worked for several MPs and is a former councillor.
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9 Comments
Sandra , your analysis is superb , your service valuable , your solution, wrong.
I totally agree with everything you say until you say only those not paid should be honoured. Sometimes, achievement for the wider good is , even within a profession, significant enough to be honoured. I approve of knighthoods and damehoods , there is nothing wrong with a Sir Derek Jacobi , or Dame Judi Dench , much wrong with a Sir Mick Jagger , yet Sir Elton John , wonderful! Why ? Service rather than merely self agrandisement . There is a fine line , but it goes beyond taste.
Regarding political honours we must improve them but not boycott them.We shall end up with egg on our face if we do . We need more Baroness Floella Benjamins , not less , trying to be holier than thou ends up with the cant of the type we see in the debacle over the newly enobled, Baroness , Shami!
The Honours System does need a radical overhaul. It panders to vanity, political influence and money. Politicians nowadays seem to believe they benefit from reflected glory in being seen to associate with some ‘popular’ ‘celebrity’. Blair was notorious for it but he wasn’t the first. I’m afraid I find the notion of ‘Sir’ Elton Hercules John ludicrous. In reality Mr Reginald Kenneth Dwight (his real name) should be happy with his huge income and that section of the population that are his fans.
I agree with Sandra’s suggestion to Tim – but, please, not the British Empire Medal. The image of the medal – a sun that never sets on Britannia and the inscription “For God and the Empire” – are positively archaic in modern Britain.
The French have a better system with the ‘Legion d’Honneur’ – something recently granted to surviving British Normandy Veterans which I know has given recognition and joy.
A difficulty is that this party has form in recent years…………… and also back in Lloyud George’s notorious activities… and before him the Liberal Chief Whips used the system as bait for donations and loyal behaviour.
I don’t believe that creating great art or great sporting moments should be enough to be awarded a Queen’s honour while so many seem to be rewarded for having high-powered friends and helping create diversive and sometimes destructive policy. There are those who work tirelessly for their community or are thrusted into a position of responsibility or attention and handle themselves with great distinction, there are enough people to honour without so much money being spent on undeserving characters or not honour anyone who is paid.
David Raw
I could agree with much of your comment but not on Sir Elton , if you research the level, extent and worth of his effort over decades on HIV aids , at a time when there was a stigma to being out and gay , quite apart from involved in the cause he championed , for that he deserves a peerage , believe me , I have met people who know him , a really good man. It is the main reason Dame Elizabeth Taylor also deserved the title , more than for her admittedly great acting ability !
It’s not really sick, certainly not fatally. It’s behaving more or less as it always has; the (slightly) surprising thing is that anyone has any respect for it at all. I suggest abolishing the whole dam’ thing as a sickening waste; and until that can be done (and the Lords abolished too), let the Lib Dems nominate working members of the Lords as necessary and boycott the rest, and let the rest of us treat anyone we don’t already know who has an “honour” as less likely to be worthy of our respect than anyone else, until proven otherwise.
I got my “gong” for services to the County in which I live and work. It did not come from the Lib Dems, and had nothing to do with 3 decades of elected membership at various levels of local government. At the investiture, I met a wide range of people, nearly all of whom were surprised to have been nominated, let alone being awarded anything. I was humbled by the years of work and sacrifice that so many had made, and felt that the honour was to be considered as being good enough to be in their company. The event meant a lot to my wife and our guests, for they had supported my work for many years,
and they, too, felt “special” even if it was for just the day. What was depressing was the small number of “time servers” who were being rewarded for “xxx years of undetected crime” (my summary of decades of doing what you were paid to do). That said, they were the minority and those that nominated them are the cause of public resentment.
Richard Boyd: Perhaps a namesake, did you ever work in lifers in Prison Service HQ?
Richard Underhill
Sorry, I did not. I did work alongside Lord Hanningfield when he led the Tory opposition on Essex CC during the 1993-97 joint LibLab administration. Does that count?
Thanks for the various comments. I was aiming my criticisms specifically at the political honours system. I do not have a particular problem with Dame Judi or Sir Elton although I am mystified by the complete honours hierarchy which reminds me too much of the upper and lower orders.
I am unhappy that the Liberal Democrats continue to participate in the current political honours system with – from what I have observed – little or no criticism except to pop up with a pithy comment when there is a particularly bad example such as the Cameron resignation honours. I see no will to change the status quo.
The currently rather overburdened Paul Flynn MP who is a member of the Public Administration Select Committee has written this article in which I believe he absolutely nails the problem. The British Citizen’s Medal seems the perfect solution. I hope this Party might champion it one day although that seems rather off at the moment.
http://paulflynnmp.typepad.com/my_weblog/2016/08/how-to-reform-corrupted-honours-system.html