Would you accept an knighthood/damehood ?

[Taunton Blue Genie]

No, it's a ridiculous system riddled with political favoritism, political horse-trading, posturing and even corruption. And whereby one human is expected to use a deferential title when addressing another, even after they have served a prison sentence. And it is also allied with deference to royalty and the establishment which also contributes to a degree of class divide that is more apparent in this country than in many of our neighbouring countries in Europe.
Many people moan about unelected politicians but don't seem to be concerned about the peerage system and its place in the House of Lords.
And can anyone not imagine Boris not being made a peer in due course? Whatever your personal slant on politics may be, he has been an enormous embarrassment on the world stage and a political opportunist at every turn. However, he will recceive his political bauble in due course, no doubt. As will those who donate large sums of money to political parties.

[the other bob wilson]

No, it's a ridiculous system riddled with political favoritism, political horse-trading, posturing and even corruption. And whereby one human is expected to use a deferential title when addressing another, even after they have served a prison sentence. And it is also allied with deference to royalty and the establishment which also contributes to a degree of class divide that is more apparent in this country than in many of our neighbouring countries in Europe.
Many people moan about unelected politicians but don't seem to be concerned about the peerage system and its place in the House of Lords.
And can anyone not imagine Boris not being made a peer in due course? Whatever your personal slant on politics may be, he has been an enormous embarrassment on the world stage and a political opportunist at every turn. However, he will recceive his political bauble in due course, no doubt. As will those who donate large sums of money to political parties.

Nothing more to be said .

[Since62]

Nothing more to be said .

The only person who regularly refers to me as "Sir" is my wife but , strangely , she spells it "Cur"

[Harry Monk]

No, it's a ridiculous system riddled with political favoritism, political horse-trading, posturing and even corruption. And whereby one human is expected to use a deferential title when addressing another, even after they have served a prison sentence. And it is also allied with deference to royalty and the establishment which also contributes to a degree of class divide that is more apparent in this country than in many of our neighbouring countries in Europe.
Many people moan about unelected politicians but don't seem to be concerned about the peerage system and its place in the House of Lords.
And can anyone not imagine Boris not being made a peer in due course? Whatever your personal slant on politics may be, he has been an enormous embarrassment on the world stage and a political opportunist at every turn. However, he will recceive his political bauble in due course, no doubt. As will those who donate large sums of money to political parties.

Just about sums it up in nutshell.

[lardy]

No, it's a ridiculous system riddled with political favoritism, political horse-trading, posturing and even corruption. And whereby one human is expected to use a deferential title when addressing another, even after they have served a prison sentence. And it is also allied with deference to royalty and the establishment which also contributes to a degree of class divide that is more apparent in this country than in many of our neighbouring countries in Europe.
Many people moan about unelected politicians but don't seem to be concerned about the peerage system and its place in the House of Lords.
And can anyone not imagine Boris not being made a peer in due course? Whatever your personal slant on politics may be, he has been an enormous embarrassment on the world stage and a political opportunist at every turn. However, he will recceive his political bauble in due course, no doubt. As will those who donate large sums of money to political parties.

Do we still have the :bowdown: smiley?

[Since62]

No, it's a ridiculous system riddled with political favoritism, political horse-trading, posturing and even corruption. And whereby one human is expected to use a deferential title when addressing another, even after they have served a prison sentence. And it is also allied with deference to royalty and the establishment which also contributes to a degree of class divide that is more apparent in this country than in many of our neighbouring countries in Europe.
Many people moan about unelected politicians but don't seem to be concerned about the peerage system and its place in the House of Lords.
And can anyone not imagine Boris not being made a peer in due course? Whatever your personal slant on politics may be, he has been an enormous embarrassment on the world stage and a political opportunist at every turn. However, he will recceive his political bauble in due course, no doubt. As will those who donate large sums of money to political parties.

That is why I turned mine down

[surge]

No, it's a ridiculous system riddled with political favoritism, political horse-trading, posturing and even corruption. And whereby one human is expected to use a deferential title when addressing another, even after they have served a prison sentence. And it is also allied with deference to royalty and the establishment which also contributes to a degree of class divide that is more apparent in this country than in many of our neighbouring countries in Europe.
Many people moan about unelected politicians but don't seem to be concerned about the peerage system and its place in the House of Lords.
And can anyone not imagine Boris not being made a peer in due course? Whatever your personal slant on politics may be, he has been an enormous embarrassment on the world stage and a political opportunist at every turn. However, he will recceive his political bauble in due course, no doubt. As will those who donate large sums of money to political parties.

The process itself stinks but, from my opinion at least, it can give a voice to people who wouldn't want a political career, or wouldn't be given a chance at having one, but do have an important contribution to make. Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson was made a Dame in 2010 and while I cannot tell you numbers for disabled MP's in 2010 there were only 3 voted in from the 2015 class, so TGT may have been representing a group of people who otherwise had a very small voice from 2010 onwards. Compare that to Neil Hamilton who has been voted into the Senedd despite all he's done and give me a non-elected house any day.

[Harry Monk]

The process itself stinks but, from my opinion at least, it can give a voice to people who wouldn't want a political career, or wouldn't be given a chance at having one, but do have an important contribution to make. Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson was made a Dame in 2010 and while I cannot tell you numbers for disabled MP's in 2010 there were only 3 voted in from the 2015 class, so TGT may have been representing a group of people who otherwise had a very small voice from 2010 onwards. Compare that to Neil Hamilton who has been voted into the Senedd despite all he's done and give me a non-elected house any day.

This is where it gets complicated, because not all dames are in the house of lords, and certainly a knighthood doesn't give entry to the house of lords.

For exmple, while Dame Tanni is a Baroness, Dame Judy Dench is just a dame. So the title dame doesn't disnguish between someone in the house of lords or a woman with what is ostensibly a knighthood.

Still, there ain't nothinfg like a dame.