UK Politics Thread (Part 1)

The moral adulterer?

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Does the Queen or future King automatically give a knighthood to Cameron and heaven forbid Johnson now, based purely on the fact that he is former PM?

No.

Youā€™d hope so, you mean.

Infidelity to morals is better than having no morals :rofl:

No, I mean that the knighthood for Blair was not one that was proposed by anyone other than the Queen herself. Although knighthoods are honours bestowed by The Queen, the majority come via the honours committee. There are a few each year which are from the personal discretion of the Queen. This year, Blairā€™s was one of them.

But that wasnā€™t the case with Thatcher or Major, for example. Those were via the Parliamentary process from what I recall.

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Iā€™d take the sharp brain of Thatcher. The avuncular/calm approach of Major. The oratory of Blair. The presbyterian work ethic of Brown. The humility of May. The charisma of Johnson.

I donā€™t remember Callaghan and wasnā€™t alive for the others.

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Disagree about the first, agree about the second.

Itā€™s only really a pattern if you can spot more than one example. If it was just Blair, it was an aberration, but if the current leadership think so, it looks like a problem.

That said, Blair did win 3 elections, so maybe he knows more than I doā€¦

Iā€™m sure itā€™s been said here before, but the whole knighthood, MBE/OBE is just utterly ridiculous when you take a step back. I get that some brilliant people get awards but surely thereā€™s a better way than pretending theyā€™re now part of some historical elite.

If modern-day Rome was to start inviting people as members of their empire, everyone would laugh, but Britain still at it

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In naming yes it is quite ridiculous, but itā€™s not so ridiculous if you think about it in the more abstract terms of recognising members of society for their contributions?

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Look great on your CV though, Member of the Roman Imperial Order of Gallantry. Iā€™m in.

Better than the Canadian Ultimate National Treasure awardā€¦.

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Donā€™t you already have that one?

Believe it or not something very similar.

Worth considering that academics view all of the Westminster systems as having a nearly steady trend through most of the post-war era towards very centralized government, at the expense of Parliament and ministerial power. Thatcher was also subject to this criticism, Gordon certainly was. The coalition complicates the signal, but even in that period the tension between the parliamentary arrangement and the centralizing force of the bureaucracy was there.

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Accept no substitutes.

Looks like Starmer is using the Premier Leagueā€™s delay tacticsā€¦

Could be interesting potential for fireworks unless Johnson tests positive last minute. I would not put it beyond him. As far as I know thereā€™s no fridges in parliament

In Japan one of the highest awards is ā€œLiving National Treasureā€. I love that.

I was fortunate enough to know one when I was a child.

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Iā€™d say thereā€™s a few on hereā€¦ :no_mouth:

Johnson might have to answer some difficult questions for a change