petition rescind tony knighthood gets thousands

RONA: Neil, what’s your response to that? What’s wrong with harking back to tradition, and also Peter saying gongs can be for a good? It’s a lovely thing to receive, and many people are very, very proud to receive them. Look, they’re a bit anachronistic, they’re maybe a little bit silly, but I think it’s a lovely thing to do. I think that these things that exist are not so terrible. The British Empire wasn’t all bad and it wasn’t all good. Peter: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that necessarily. Rona: But Peter, is it a relic of the bygone age, harking back to the British Empire? She’s very well known as an actress, but she has been made a dame for her charity work. Sir Mick Jagger, for example, has made an awful lot of money being a Rolling Stone, but should he get a knighthood for it? Probably not.īut I think there are lots of people who’ve used their gongs for good. The problem I have is those who are given awards for simply making a lot of money. I think the honours system is something a bit separate, there are many people who are recognised for a lifetime of service. I remember so many people saying ‘what a brilliant job the NHS has done right across the United Kingdom’, and well done to them.

Peter: I think they are being recognised. Rona: Peter, is it for the elite? What about the thousands of people that have been doing amazing work during the pandemic? Where is the recognition for the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of key workers, who have kept us going through the Covid pandemic? We know it’s the civil servants, the the former politicians and the party donors who dominate the honour system. There’s an over-concentration of people who live and work in a small area of London who get honours. Neil Findlay: Of course normal people are put forward for honours, but it’s dominated by the privately educated. But isn’t it the case that a lot of non-famous people get these awards for really viable work? Isn’t that a bit of an overreaction to get rid of it altogether? Rona Dougall (Scotland Tonight presenter): Neil, a lot of knighthoods and damehoods grab a lot of publicity. So, is the system fit for purpose? That was the subject of debate on STV current affairs show Scotland Tonight on Wednesday.įeaturing the former Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay, and Peter Cardwell, political editor at Talk Radio, here’s how the discussion played out. The Queen’s recent new year list honoured more than 1000 recipients – including former prime minister Tony Blair, whose knighthood has been opposed by more than one million people in an online petition. From knighthoods to MBEs, damehoods to OBEs, the honours system is woven into the fabric of British society.

Petition rescind tony knighthood gets thousands