New Year's 2018 Honours List

New Year 2018 Honours List

Britain https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ingdom.svg.png, Antiqua and Barbuda https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...arbuda.svg.png, the Bahamas https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ahamas.svg.png, Barbados https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...rbados.svg.png, Belize https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Belize.svg.png, Grenada https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...renada.svg.png, New Zealand https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ealand.svg.png, Saint Christopher and Nevis https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Nevis.svg.png and the Solomon Islands https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...slands.svg.png are the Commonwealth realms who have released their New Year's Honours Lists for 2018

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The Commonwealth Flag

Former Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has been awarded a knighthood in the New Year's Honours

— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) December 29, 2017

Bee Gees co-founder Barry Gibb has been awarded a knighthood in the New Year's Honours for services to music and charity

— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) December 29, 2017

The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has been awarded a knighthood in the New Year's Honours for services to music and charity

— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) December 29, 2017

Children's author Michael Morpurgo has been awarded a knighthood in the New Year's Honours for services to literature and charity

— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) December 29, 2017

Other Commonwealth realms such as Australia don't do a New Year's List and instead announces them in late January for Australia Day celebrations.

Thousands of awards being handed out across the Commonwealth, ranging from Knighthoods and Damehoods to varying classes of the Order of the British Empire, the Royal Victorian Medal, Companions of Honour, Order of New Zealand etc etc etc.... the list goes on. A full list of the British honour list can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/public...ours-list-2018

There was criticism again this year that Nigel Farage didn't get a knighthood whereas Sir Nick Clegg did but my guess - and what others have said - is that he'll be honoured after March 2019. Given many British long-time serving MEPs have been given peerages and knighthoods in the past, once he's no longer an MEP I reckon that is what will happen.

So chill Nige. Better a Lord than a Knight anyway. ;)

Also, I’d give Farage a knighthood by the way. Most effective single issue politician of his generation. I suspect this will happen after March 2019 when everyone has calmed down a bit

— Tim Shipman (@ShippersUnbound) December 23, 2017

And before anyone posts it (!!!) the huge % of honours go to normal people such as charity workers, medical professionals, church workers, soldiers and so on - it's just you only hear about the most famous people, naturally.

Thoughts?

Sir Nick Clegg are you fucking serious, what has he done to deserve a knighthood

Barry Gibb well overdue one of the best producers of all time and not just in the UK

Cleggy Weggy though... are there ANY people in the country who still like him or think he's worth a job?

@Neversoft; @FlyingJesus;

It's convention that holders of the Great Offices of State (of which the Deputy PM is not but is quite close) are granted a peerage at the very least, or a Knighthood if they decline/make clear they do not want a peerage. For example, Sir Winston Churchill was offered a Dukedom (he would have been known as the Duke of London) on losing office in 1945, but he declined it so he could continue to sit in the House of Commons and instead was given a Knighthood.

All former Deputy PMs hold either a peerage and/or Knighthood as a result of being Deputy PM or in addition to other high roles they've held - for example Eden and Attlee both went on to become PM and were raised to the peerage only after they had served as PM.

Sir Nick Clegg (DPM 2010-2015)

The Lord Prescott (DPM 1997-2007)

The Lord Heseltine (DPM 1995-1997)

The Lord Howe (DPM 1989-1990)

The Lord Butler (DPM 1962-1963)

The Earl of Avon (DPM 1951-1955)

The Lord Morrison (DPM 1945-1951)

The Earl Attlee (DPM 1942-1945)


I don't mind honours being handed to people I disagree with, of which Clegg fits the bill very nicely - just as long as they're handed out fairly and across the board. My only irritant is when those who slate honours go on to accept them, such as "Lord" Kinnock.

Six currently-serving MPs got handed Knighthoods/Damehoods in this 2018 New Year's List: Sir Graham Brady MP, Sir Christopher Chope MP, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, Sir Mark Hendrick MP and Dame Cheryl Gillan MP.