Why apologise?
The LibDem leader joins the Hallelujah chorus of derision at Gove's deluded suggestion. This is probably the most perceptive thing that Nick Clegg has ever said.
He joked that it was a case of "the haves and the have yachts" - before apologising for the poor quality of his quip.
Honours slip deeper into disrepute
From Sunday Times
|
A peer is being paid by a company that helps clients to secretly win honours, including OBEs and knighthoods, and offers to secure seats in the House of Lords. Baron Mackenzie of Framwellgate is the chairman of Awards Intelligence, a firm that charges individuals £3,900 to help them gain an honour or a peerage. For a fee of £2,500 the firm will also help clients to land a position on the board of a public body or government advisory committee. |
|
Mackenzie, a retired senior policeman and a former government adviser on law and order, has said the company could "significantly increase" an individual's chances of success. This weekend, however, he stood accused by critics of damaging the reputation of the House of Lords and tarnishing the honours system. Awards Intelligence appointed Mackenzie as nonexecutive chairman and special adviser last year. It describes him as a "highly skilled media operator". According to its website, the company offers a "discreet" and "bespoke" service to help clients "receive the recognition you deserve". For those hoping to become a so-called "people's peer", it offers to fill in an application form, produce a CV and draft at least two letters of support for referees, which are all supplied to the House of Lords appointments commission. For those seeking a Queen's honour, including an OBE, CBE, MBE or knighthood, it will draft a nomination form, to be signed by an individual or organisation, and up to five letters of support for third parties. These will then be sent to the honours and appointments secretariat at the Cabinet Office. The firm's website claims: "We have probably drafted and won more Queen's honours, House of Lords and business awards nominations than anyone else in the world." The company also claims to be able to help clients obtain jobs with regulators, advisory bodies and on the boards of National Health Service trusts and national museums Mackenzie, 68, who was a senior officer in the Durham police, is a former president of the Police Superintendents'' Association and a graduate of the FBI academy in Virginia. He became a Labour peer in 1998, and has had his judgment questioned before. In March 2003, he apologised after it was revealed in the tabloid press that he had invited an Algerian prostitute back to his flat after taking her on a tour of the Lords. Six years later it was reported that he had failed to declare properly links with a firm owned by a Russian oligarch, which earned him more than £600,000.
|
The haves and the have-yachts is a pretty good description of the Cabinet.
Hope some talented cartoonist draws them in the damn boat with the caption "We're all in this together"
Posted by: D.G. | January 17, 2012 at 05:10 PM