The Nation's Pariah
David Prever thinks the whole honour system needs a revamp.
3 Feb 2012, 10:19
Mr Frederick Goodwin
Did anybody ask The Queen for her view before the de-knighting debacle? The honours are awarded in her name after all. It was Her Majesty that bestowed a title on plain old Fred Goodwin, and it will be Her Majesty who now, politely I’m sure, asks for it back again.
As with so many matters when the state and crown interact, the monarch is deemed to have no view, and is reduced to no more than a visiting dignitary at a school prize giving. In this instance she’s advised by the highest court in the land - The Honours Forfeiture Committee – made up entirely of civil servants, it seems. And when did anybody really care what they think?
The real story here is not Fred Goodwin - this week’s national pariah, they’ll be another along next week, no doubt - but the mediaeval system of handing out honours and medals. The question is not whether he should have been stripped of the title, but why we persist with the farce of awards too often based on subjective worth?
As has been said many times in the last 24 hours, if the committee is serious, why stop with Fred Goodwin? Notions of fairness are now more confused than ever. If it was unfair that he kept his title, it’s just as unfair that other, equally culpable honourees kept their thistles, garters and gongs. And that’s why, for some, the committee’s actions felt so wrong when it should have been so right. Instead they behaved like a poor parent confiscating a toy from just one unruly child, letting the others off the hook.
‘Value’ is today’s big issue. In the private sector, whether in banking, sport, entertainment or industry, there will always be someone with a pay packet seemingly disproportionate to the value they bring. That will never change, however loud the leader of the opposition barks.
But there is a way to restore some calm to a country that’s descending into a green-eyed angry, unhappy place. In her Jubilee year, The Queen could convert even die-hard republicans with a gesture that changed, forever, the process of Royal recognition. John Major made some inroads in 1993, but the reforms fell short.
The honours system is a meaningless meritocracy that nobody understands. It could easily be future-proofed by only offering a gong for truly outstanding achievement, restoring a belief in fairness and social ‘value.’
There is already a de facto replacement. Look no further than www.prideofbritain.com supported by Prince Charles and the prime minister. Their aim is to ‘celebrate the achievements of remarkable people who make our world a better place…’
Borrowing the Pride of Britain benchmarks would be a perfect starting point for a revised system of patronage. And it would ultimately succeed in stripping The Honours Forfeiture Committee of their rather unpleasant role too.
Comments (2)
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I think that it is self-evident that, through awarding knighthoods and other gongs simply for doing the job that people are amply paid for, the honours system has become somewhat devalued. Added to that is the 'Hello' factor - the handing out of baubles to thespians and other celebrities.
Most corrosive of all is the number of Civil Servants who appear in the twice-yearly honours lists. It will not have escaped notice that, of the five members of this obscure committee, there is one Dame and three Knights of the realm. While I am sure that they are all good at their respective jobs, where is the evidence that any of them have achieved anything outstanding or made an exceptional contribution to the life of the nation? And what about political honours - whereby backbench MPs get a Knighthood and retiring ministers get shuffled off to the Lords? Surely this source of political preferment is dodgy at best and debasing of the honours system as a whole.
In my view, honours should be awarded only for achievements, service above and beyond the job description. The honours list would be better for being much shorter, more transparent, with reasons for preferment being published; and less short term - not just to capture that day's blogposts or next day's headlines.
I don't envy the Queen's role in the overall system - I wonder if she winces at some of the people she has to 'honour' at investitures? As she is the model of probity, we will never know.
03/02/2012 11:10Much more of this and people will care even less who gets 'honoured'. I like Wogan's idea of an O.B. E. lunch.. one bottle each.
03/02/2012 13:37