Memorandum by C J A Cope (HON 35)
I understand that the public is invited to write
to the committee with its views concerning the honours system.
I write as a solicitor, who has been qualified for 28 years. I
am also a member of the Academy of Experts. I hold no honours.
I have some suggestions for your committee.
Firstly, it seems to me that there are far too many orders which
no longer seem to be applicable in the 21st century. My understanding
is that there are, at present, five separate orders, namely:
1. The Order of the Bath.
2. The Order of the British Empire.
3. The Order of St Michael & St George.
4. The Royal Victorian Order.
5. The Orders of the Garter/Thistle.
As the Royal Victorian Order is in the personal
remit of the Queen, I doubt whether your committee can make any
recommendations with regard to the future of the Royal Victorian
Order.
I would suggest that the Order of the Bath and
the Order of St Michael & St George should now be discontinued
and that no further honours should be bestowed under either order.
That would then leave just two orders which
can be bestowed by the state, namely the Order of the British
Empire and the Order of the Garter/Thistle.
My second suggestion concerns the Order of the
British Empire. I think that most people would accept that the
wording of this order has now become something of an anachronism.
We no longer have an empire. Whether or not reference to the former
empire causes offence to certain people is not, to my mind, of
any particular relevance.
The British Empire was largely abandoned in
the 1950s and 1960s. Some 40 years have elapsed. It seems to me
that rather than create an entirely new order, as some have suggested,
it would make much more sense for the Order of the British Empire
to be re-named either the Order of British Endeavour or the Order
of British Enterprise. Most people are honoured either for their
endeavours or for their enterprise. If these minor changes were
to be introduced, the committee could thereby ensure the continuation
of the MBE, the OBE, the CBE and the KBE.
The British Empire Medal seems to be awarded
for similar reasons as an MBE and I would have thought that the
BEM should also be phased out.
Lastly, there are the Grand Knight honours,
namely GCB, GBE and GCMG. These are effectively double knighthoods.
I do not think that they have any place in the 21st century and
I would suggest that the Grand Knight honour should also be abolished.
This would then leave the MBE, OBE, CBE, KBE,
KG and KT. That surely is more than sufficient for the new century.
February 2004
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