Honours - Are they Honourable?

UK Honours are supposedly awarded for three specific things;-

• To to recognise merit in terms of achievement and service

• To recognise specific deeds

• To recognise a specific service, long or valuable service, and good conduct

The Normans started the whole thing with knighthoods & the Order of the Garter began in 1348. So there is a lot of history, which you can either think is a good, traditional, thing or an outdated, anachronistic irrelevance.

There are New Year & Birthday Honours & also Prime Ministers resignation Honours. Possible recipients are identified by public or private bodies, by government departments or members of the public. People are then selected by the Honours Committee. These are then submitted to the Prime Minister or Ministers for approval before being sent to the Sovereign for final approval. There are also Special Honours awarded by the Monarch. 

Quite a lot of people decline an honour. In 2020 it was 68 out of 2,504 offered, or 2.7%. Sometimes they are revoked, for example for conviction for crimes, breaches of military discipline, or when their conduct has been widely considered discreditable. In 2023 there were 12 revocations.

There has been ongoing dissatisfaction with the whole Honours system for years. Critics argue it is outdated and open to corrupt selections, “no more and no less than corrupt patronage”. Liz Truss’ honours list, after a singularly brief tenure as P.M. caused a furore. According to The National "she reward(ed) her local party apparatchiks, bag-carriers and assorted toadies, some of whom will retire to the House of Lords to live, like the reptilian Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, a life of pampered slothfulness at the taxpayers’ expense". Similarly Nadine Dorries had a public hissy fit at not getting an honour. The last reform of the system was 31 years ago in 1993. The root of the honours in the British Empire also seems anachronistic in the 21st century. 

As this link shows a government in power can & do  "load the dice" in the Lords. How democratic is that?

https://members.parliament.uk/parties/lords

If we are going to have a second chamber, which I think we should, then to my mind it should be democratically selected on the basis of the skills & experience individuals bring to the work of the house, the legislative process & the good of the country. There should also be minimum standards & expectations of attendance & real contribution to the work of the house. There should be a fixed number of Lords - currently there are far too many - 785. They must cost the country a fortune. The attendance figures are very low. Apparently 13% of peers rarely or never attend. In 2019 ;-

• Eighty-eight peers – about one in nine - never spoke, held a government post or participated in a committee at all.

• Forty-six peers did not register a single vote, including on Brexit, sit on a committee or hold a post. One peer claimed £25,000 without voting, while another claimed £41,000 but only voted once.

• More than 270 peers claimed more than £40,000 in allowances, with two claiming more than £70,000.

  Average Attendance by Sitting days Session Number of sitting days Average length of sitting hours:minutes Average attendance 2022-23 220 6:32 397 2021-22 156 7:45 367 2019-21 222 7:20 352

Personally I think there should be root & branch reform to reflect the work of a modern parliament. The present system isn't just "past it's sell by date", it's a costly laughing stock, which is a shame because there are Lords who do a really good job & have real expertise. 

Actually I would go further. While we are at it we should sell off the Palace of Westminster & build a modern parliament like Scotland & Wales have done, situated in the Midlands. Somewhere more representative of the UK than the South East. It could then have less adversarial chambers, either circular or semicircular. The unedifying yah booing might then cease. The present building needs constant expensive maintenance & isn't fit for purpose. 

I doubt any of that will happen in my lifetime, but I do think it might go a long way to restoring public perceptions of politics & politicians.