Another year, another Honours List.
I'm not against the concept of the Honours List, except when it's in the gift of Prime Ministers who were kicked out after a few weeks.
What I don't like is the type of person to whom the majority of the honours are given.
The Government website says that "The New Year Honours List for 2025 recognises the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the UK.
The honours system recognises people who have:
- made achievements in public life
- committed themselves to serving and helping the UK"
I'm sure that a great many people fit into those categories, and I know that a growing proportion of the honours are given to people who have been nominated by the public; the ones that concern me are the others, the ones that are given for next to no achievement, short periods of effort or some of the "services to..."
Looking at the 2025 list here are a few examples:
- Group Chief Executive, a Bank. For services to Financial Services and to Net Zero (or, Being very well-paid for a number of years and probably firing thousands of staff)
- Novelist. For services to Literature (Writing some bestselling books and making a fortune)
- Actress. For services to Drama (Doing some acting for money)
- Sports Broadcaster. For services to Motor Racing and to Sports Broadcasting (Being a minor racing driver and shouting on telly)
- Member of Parliament. For Political and Public Service (Being an MP for less than 20 years which brings a whole list of benefits - for them - and a massive pension)
These are just examples. There are others of course, such as "services to Publishing", "services to Business", "services to Sport", "services to Automotive Manufacturing", all of which appear to mean "doing a well-paid job for an indeterminate amount of time".
Compare and contrast with "Michael Bennion, aged 72, receives an MBE for services to Scouting and to Young People after supporting hundreds of young people during his 54 years as a Scout Leader." 54 years with no financial remuneration since the age of 18, while presumably also holding down a paid job for most if not all of those years.
By all means keep the option for someone in Government to unilaterally decide that a person should get an honour (whether it's to make sure that they get it before they die or to pander to public opinion - or both in the case of Bruce Forsyth) but at least try to give them to people for a real reason.
