At least it's not Blair

I doubt Blair or Brown will get a gong until Labour are in power and if it Corbyn not even then.

The Honours system should be scrapped. Other countries seem to get by fine without it. My issue with it is that it is mainly for politicians and time serving civil servants. To keep the public happy they throw in a few celebs and the odd dustman. So Joe Average hauls trash for 30 years and if he is really lucky someone nominates him for an MBE. Meanwhile Tarquin spends the same time in the civil service, good salary great pension, trebles all around and he is guaranteed a knighthood.

All we are doing is recognising people who don't need it:
- Politicians always tell us they are they are not in it for themselves. Prove it you don't need a Lordship.
- Civil servants, just because you have served time why should you get a gong. The rest of us don't.
- Armed Forces. I support out troops and those that are heroic deserve their bravery awards. Rewarding General Sir Tufton Bufton (AKA Danny H) for courage at the Whitehall drinks cabinet is not the same thing.
- Celebs / Sports people. If you are any good you will be recognised by your own kind, Oscars, gold medals etc. If you haven't been recognised then your no good.

I said they should be scrapped because last time they were reformed nothing really changed. Now if you said all the groups above are excluded and awards only go to people earning less than the average wage such as carers, charity volunteers, cleaners, teachers, nurses etc. I would be OK with that. However we know that the elite will some how slip in somewhere so better to scrap.

As for Nick Clegg he is no better or worse than the rest of them so he doesn't offend me.

All we are doing is recognising people who don't need it:
- Politicians always tell us they are they are not in it for themselves. Prove it you don't need a Lordship.
- Civil servants, just because you have served time why should you get a gong. The rest of us don't.
- Armed Forces. I support out troops and those that are heroic deserve their bravery awards. Rewarding General Sir Tufton Bufton for courage at the Whitehall drinks cabinet is not the same thing.
- Celebs / Sports people. If you are any good you will be recognised by your own kind, Oscars, gold medals etc. If you haven't been recognised then your no good.

I doubt Blair or Brown will get a gong until Labour are in power and if it Corbyn not even then.

The Honours system should be scrapped. Other countries seem to get by fine without it. My issue with it is that it is mainly for politicians and time serving civil servants. To keep the public happy they throw in a few celebs and the odd dustman. So Joe Average hauls trash for 30 years and if he is really lucky someone nominates him for an MBE. Meanwhile Tarquin spends the same time in the civil service, good salary great pension, trebles all around and he is guaranteed a knighthood.

All we are doing is recognising people who don't need it:
- Politicians always tell us they are they are not in it for themselves. Prove it you don't need a Lordship.
- Civil servants, just because you have served time why should you get a gong. The rest of us don't.
- Armed Forces. I support out troops and those that are heroic deserve their bravery awards. Rewarding General Sir Tufton Bufton for courage at the Whitehall drinks cabinet is not the same thing.
- Celebs / Sports people. If you are any good you will be recognised by your own kind, Oscars, gold medals etc. If you haven't been recognised then your no good.

I said they should be scrapped because last time they were reformed nothing really changed. Now if you said all the groups above are excluded and awards only go to people earning less than the average wage such as carers, charity volunteers, cleaners, teachers, nurses etc. I would be OK with that. However we know that the elite will some how slip in somewhere so better to scrap.

As for Nick Clegg he is no better or worse than the rest of them so he doesn't offend me.

Nobody goes in to politics with the thought that if they do well they may end up with a knighthood or peerage.

Senior civil servants tend to earn less than their equivalents in commerce and industry and perhaps an honour could be seen as recognition that they didn't disappear and chase the dollar.

If you don't think that generals are as integral a part to success on the battlefield as the boots on the ground just cast your mind back to WW1 when the poor quality of leadership was partly responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of our troops.

Celebrities and sportsmen etc do far more than earn healthy wage packets and peer recognition as they can contribute to the country's feelgood factor which has great economic benefits and people like Ringo Starr are knighted for services to charity and not for his skill at drumming