New Year Honours list

[benoli]

The New Year Honours list has been published
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7804822.stm
I congratulate the Olympians in their success and well deserved rewards

but why has Lewis Hamilton got an MBE so soon, how long did it take Stirling Moss ?

[IforB]

Whilst I have the utmost respect and admiration for Sir Stirling, Hamilton has actually won an F1 Drivers Title. That is easily deserving of an MBE in my book.

[benjdr]

How does Hoy deserve a Knightwood while Ben Ainslie only gets a CBE.
Winning 3 golds in one games is great and all (he's good at cycling so enters 3 cycling events), but it's not comparable to Ainslie's achievements over a number of years.

[ewenm]

benjdr said:

How does Hoy deserve a Knightwood while Ben Ainslie only gets a CBE.
Winning 3 golds in one games is great and all (he's good at cycling so enters 3 cycling events), but it's not comparable to Ainslie's achievements over a number of years.

Hoy has dominated the sport for a few years now.

[kit80]

Why am I not on there

Want my bribe back.

[benjdr]

ewenm said:

benjdr said:

How does Hoy deserve a Knightwood while Ben Ainslie only gets a CBE.
Winning 3 golds in one games is great and all (he's good at cycling so enters 3 cycling events), but it's not comparable to Ainslie's achievements over a number of years.

Hoy has dominated the sport for a few years now.

Fair play but I think Ainslie matches his dominance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Ainslie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hoy

[GavinPearson]

I was really PLEASED to see that Bruce Forsyth was not on the list. I simply can't stand him.

[Uncle Fester]

kit80 said:

Why am I not on there

Want my bribe back.

Surely it was a loan to a political party, not a bribe?

[donutsina911]

Here's the proper list of honours:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/dec/30/new-years...

[ypauly]

I think they are given away far too easily nowadays

almost makes them not worth having

[Puff Puff]

ypauly said:

I think they are given away far too easily nowadays

almost makes them not worth having

Why do you think that?

[Pupp]

Puff Puff said:

ypauly said:

I think they are given away far too easily nowadays

almost makes them not worth having

Why do you think that?

Interesting theory but extremely difficult to test... last year I asked the Cabinet Offcie to tell me exactly why the Chief Exec of a local District Council had been honoured. Simply not in the public domain and no right to know beyond the bland one-liner (ie 'services to local govt')

[Silver993tt]

ypauly said:

I think they are given away far too easily nowadays

almost makes them not worth having

especially for the "Olympians"......so, millions were spent on new facilities, coaches etc. Nothing less than success should be expected for that kind of investment but to start a whole load of back slapping and congratulating is pathetic.

If anyone should be honoured, it should be only those that served the community WITHOUT huge financial support. There are thousands of people in everyday life who would qualify but as usual the media isn't interested. So more appropriately, maybe they should be called "I've done everything to get into the media" awards?

[tvrforever]

Good ones :-
OBE Terry Pratchett
OBE John Madejski
MBE Christopher Martin-Jenkins

Questions
CBE Ben Ainslie - this should be a KBE! (if Hoy gets one then so should Ainslie)
CBE Priscilla Snowball - presumably for having the most made-up name they could get on the list?

And just why did Peter Alliss refuse an OBE?

Far too many local councillors & civil servants for my liking, paper shuffling and money wasting shouldn't get rewards... Whereas far too few 'unknowns' on the list that work their socks off to help others...

Edited by tvrforever on Wednesday 31st December 09:05

[MrV]

benjdr said:

How does Hoy deserve a Knightwood while Ben Ainslie only gets a CBE.
Winning 3 golds in one games is great and all (he's good at cycling so enters 3 cycling events), but it's not comparable to Ainslie's achievements over a number of years.

Hoy already has the MBE so I guess its the next step up on the award list

[Simond001]

to be fair the Olympians worked a bit harder for the gong than the royal Chauffuer.

I disagree with civil servants getting rewarded in this way for doing what the public purse pays them to do.

[spaximus]

The whole system should be scrapped as it is. Just because someone can run, swim,cycle or drive fast does not compare with Doctors who push medical knowledeg. Or the forces who risk their lives. Anyone who truly deserves awards rarly get one as they do not have anyone to lobby for their cause, whereas Knighthoods are given out just for doing the job they are paid to do in the civil service for example.

Anyone in entertainment shouldn't get one again not comprable to real deserving people who seek no reward excetp to know they made a differance to someones live.

[Silver993tt]

Those running small businesses providing their employees with an income during these hard times should definetly be honoured. They take all of the risk with their own money (no lottery handouts in sight) and provide incomes for thousands of families. However, they don't make any headlines so they don't count.

[MTJones]

benjdr said:

ewenm said:

benjdr said:

How does Hoy deserve a Knightwood while Ben Ainslie only gets a CBE.
Winning 3 golds in one games is great and all (he's good at cycling so enters 3 cycling events), but it's not comparable to Ainslie's achievements over a number of years.

Hoy has dominated the sport for a few years now.

Fair play but I think Ainslie matches his dominance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Ainslie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hoy

Agreed, I think they both deserve a KBE, both totally dominant in their respective sports over a long period but Ben can only enter for one event per Olympics compared to the swimmers / cyclists etc.
On a positive note I'm sure Ben will continue his progression up the honours list MBE - OBE - CBE .... with another Gold in Weymouth 2012

[AndrewTait]

Whilst I can see the reasoning for long standing entertainers (including sports stars and writers) getting recognision (Robert Plant, Terry Pratchett etc.), and those who truely help without personal gain for the benefit of others, there are too many people on the list getting awarded honours for the jobs they get paid to do.

If you are getting an honour for your job, then it should be for something truely ground breaking. Brand new surgical techniques, ground breaking discoveries in the world of science, introduction of new methods in engineering saving many jobs in manufacturing industry and so on.

Chief police officers getting honours 'for services to the police' is not good enough. Lewis Hamilton for screwing things up, and only winning the title in the last corner - not good enough, olymians, to some degree if a pattern of success has been recorded.