BACK IN THE USSR..
Yet more contention about the UK`s (dis)honours system today. The Parliamentary Public Administration Select Committee has reported that too many civil servants, politicians and celebrities are receiving honours - a statement of the bleedin` obvious if ever there was one - and are calling for a rise in honours for volunteers in the community and for increased transparency in the way honours are doled out.
The contention arises, I suspect, because of the number of Olympic athletes who might be honoured in the New Year Honours list, as well as a whole host of people who worked to make the Games such a success. Well, maybe this gives an opportunity to overhaul the entire honours system and start again.
Now, back in the days of the USSR they had a quite separate system for honouring sports people whereby the honorary title of Honoured Master of Sport was awarded to those who had achieved outstanding success in national and international competitions and those who had become Olympic or World Champions. So, although I suspect some political resistance to copying anything from the old USSR days, it would neatly overcome the log jam of honouring all our own medallists.
Of course, setting up a separate system for sport would also make it necessary to do the same for other `walks of life.` So I would expect to see honorary titles dished out for Honoured Master of Political Intrigue, Honoured Master of Time Serving Bureaucracy and Honoured Master of Possibly Entertaining People Whilst Stashing Cash Away In An Off-Shore Tax Haven.
Well, something needs to happen.
The contention arises, I suspect, because of the number of Olympic athletes who might be honoured in the New Year Honours list, as well as a whole host of people who worked to make the Games such a success. Well, maybe this gives an opportunity to overhaul the entire honours system and start again.
Now, back in the days of the USSR they had a quite separate system for honouring sports people whereby the honorary title of Honoured Master of Sport was awarded to those who had achieved outstanding success in national and international competitions and those who had become Olympic or World Champions. So, although I suspect some political resistance to copying anything from the old USSR days, it would neatly overcome the log jam of honouring all our own medallists.
Of course, setting up a separate system for sport would also make it necessary to do the same for other `walks of life.` So I would expect to see honorary titles dished out for Honoured Master of Political Intrigue, Honoured Master of Time Serving Bureaucracy and Honoured Master of Possibly Entertaining People Whilst Stashing Cash Away In An Off-Shore Tax Haven.
Well, something needs to happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment