No, that isn’t an error.
Norman Lamb has just been made a member of the Privy Council, which entitles him to be given the Right Hon treatment. That privilege is automatically bestowed on Cabinet ministers, the Leader of the Opposition and senior judges, but other ministers are added from time to time.
From my research (ie a quick look at Wikipedia), I have discovered that the Privy Council advises the monarch, and in the past was the most powerful body in the country. Today, its powers have been transferred to the Cabinet, which technically is a committee of the Privy Council.
Membership is for life and at present there are 600 members of the Privy Council. They only meet in full on the death of a monarch, or, intriguingly, when the Monarch gets engaged, which last happened in 1939.
Usually only four members attend the monthly meetings with the Queen, but the four are selected on the basis of their expertise on the issues on the agenda.
Congratulations to Norman, and we hope the responsibilities are not too arduous.
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20 Comments
Let’s hope that Norman doesn’t end up blowing his own trumpet over his appointment!
Tu ba or not Tu ba?
That is the question.
See my post on the Greg Mulholland thread lower down
Looks like a tenor or flugel horn to me…
This really is a left-over from a feudal age that ought to be long-gone. It is one of those ‘sheep’ and goats’ things’.
Funny thing is, I’ve always assumed Norman was ‘Rt Hon’ already.
Disagreed with Tiny Benn about many, many things. But his jaundiced view of The Privy Council was entirely appropriate. Another one of those Westminster-cum-Disneyland bits of nonsense which have no place in a democratic assembly of the 21st Century.
Tom Brake was made a member of the Privy Council before he was made a Minister. I think Alan Beith was made one some years ago as was Ming. As Alan was on the Intelligence and Security Committee presumably it meant he could see papers under ‘Privy Council rules’.
Last Friday (18th July) Annette Brook and Viscount John Thurso were appointed to the Privy Council
Morgan Inwood – thanks for telling us about Annette Brook and John Thurso. Their names hadn’t crossed our radar.
Mary Reid – see my earlier post on the Greg Mulholland thread. I did not know where to put this information (Brooke/Thurso) at that point !
@JohnTilley
I love the idea of Tiny Benn, with a plastic pipe that blew only bubbles and a copy of Marx for Minors and Miners tucked into his satchel.
Hope your recovery is going well, John.
Six LDs were appointed last week.
Six LDs were appointed last week
http://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/orders-approved-at-privy-council-16-july-2014.pdf
Yes, I discovered recently about the Cabinet being technically a committee of the Privy Council. It raises the intriguing point that, as Lord President of the Council, Clegg is presumably “technically” Cameron’s boss 🙂
But it’s very existence is proof that we still have battles the go back a thousand years to fight before we can call ourselves a “democracy”!
ATF
It was typo but Tiny Benn amused me too.
Thanks for kind words.
Good to see Lynne Featherstone and Annette Brooke joining the Privy Council along with John Thurso, Norman Baker, Steve Webb and Norman Lamb from the Lib Dem benches.
Thank you Paul Harding for that link. I was particularly intrigued by the existence of a Hospital for Poor French Protestants and its need to ask the Privy Council for new rules!
@Jock Coates the office of Lord Treasurer (although this is an office held in Commission hence the PM is 1st Lord of the Treasury and not Lord Treasurer) is a higher ranking Officer of State than the Lord President though. The Lord Chancellor is higher in the order of precedence than both of them.
It must be a reasonable percentage of the PLDP that are now privy councilors.
I don’t think you can be right about 1939 as Edward VIII had abdicated by then and his younger brother had married before becoming king. Something else did happen in 1939 but I can’t remember what.
I disagree with those who would abolish the Privy Council just because it’s pointless and a leftover from the past – not actually from feudal society and the middle ages, but from Tudors and Stuarts. Let’s keep it just because it’s pointless and sounds like a meeting in a toilet. Abolish “Rt Hon”, though, along with all other titles of distinction like Lord and Dame.
Actually, the Privy Council is not 100% pointless. It could be useful advising the monarch in a constitutional crisis and as it includes people like ex-party-leaders, wouldn’t be entirely at the government’s beck and call. I believe when Paddy Ashdown advised David Cameron not to appoint that crooked journo it was suggested that as a Privy Councillor he might have had confidential briefings from the security services, though it may well be they’d feed him stuff anyway.
In the Commons priority is given on speaking.
Nancy Seear told us that they met to approve the marriage of Princess Diana.
http://www.markpack.org.uk/19035/baroness-nancy-seear/
Norman Lamb MP was on BBC1 Breakfast today talking about mental health issues. His son was interviewed via video-link. As a Minister in the coalition Norman Lamb campaigned to achieve parity for mental health with physical health, which is now policy but delivery is dependent on sufficient money, which is lacking.