With the recent publication of the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, we yet again have voices calling for the word “Empire” to be removed from the name of those honours. I addressed this issue back in 2016, and do not have much else to add to what I said then. In summary, you can not rename […]
Former footballer Howard Gayle made headlines for a second time this week for declining an MBE, this time suggesting that the name of the honour should be changed to remove the reference to the British Empire. It is important to remember that the “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” is an order of chivalry, […]
In 1999, the House of Lords Act barred most hereditary peers from sitting in the upper house of Parliament, meaning a departure of members with such colourful titles: dukes, marquesses, earls and viscounts. Most members of the House of Lords are now appointed for life with the rank of baron, meaning they are referred to […]
It should have come as no surprise to the authorities that awarding Salman Rushdie a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours would cause protests from the Islamic world. Of course, this would be no reason not to reward a person deserving the honour. The United Kingdom is a country where free speech is valued. It […]
The most recent twist in the “cash for honours” saga currently afflicting the UK government has seen the the arrest of Des Smith, the man responsible for raising money for the City Academies scheme. Some people have asked why donors to the Labour party, or to the Academies, are so keen to buy themselves a […]
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