Memorandum by Mr Luke Magee (HON 23)
I would start by saying that I agree that the
honours system needs overhauling. Firstly I think that our non-political
Head of State should remain the font of honour but that Her Majesty
should award honours on the advice of an independent and impartial
committee. The Government should be able to make suggestions to
the committee but they should be no more than that. The number
of honours seems to me to be correct, they seem to cover the whole
UK and each region has a few people reported in the local press
each time a list is published. Reducing the numbers would simply
make the process more remote and less relevant. The type of honours
also need some work. Personally ! I like the historical nature
of our honours but they seem overcomplicated. I also like the
titles Sir and Dame, everyone in the world knows what they mean,
the same cannot be said of the Order of Canada or the Danish Order
of the Elephant. I would rationalise them like this:
For contributions to the UK as a whole—The
Order of Britain—Two ranks, Sir/Dame and Member.
For gallantry—Military—Victoria
Cross and Victoria Medal.
For gallantry—Civilian—George Cross
and George Medal.
Royal Honours—Given by the Queen personally—Royal
Victorian Order.
Government Honours—Given by the Government
to foreigners—The Order of the Bath.
I would then suggest some regional honours—The
Order of the Thistle—awarded in Scotland.
The Order of the Garter—awarded in England
and the UKOTs.
The Order of St David—awarded in Wales.
The Order of St Patrick—awarded in Northern
Ireland.
Refusing an honour should no longer be seen
as an embarrassing, or brave, act. In a democratic constitutional
monarchy the right to snub your Head of State should be cherished
as much as being loyal is. Lastly I would suggest that the press
releases for the honours list highlight selected unknowns rather
than the already famous. A lot of the current criticism of the
honours seems to derive from the way only the famous few are reported
rather than the actual awards when seen in their totality.
February 2004
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