BY PERCY THORLEY
When I was at school, many decades ago, it was considered a cardinal sin to ever deploy the word “nice” in an English essay or composition.
It is a word of no real intent. One hears it all the time – “I will have a nice cup of tea” or “That Andy Burnham seems like a nice chap”. From such sentences we deduce nothing of import. Nice does not describe the tea any more than nice tells us anything in particular about Mr Burnham. After all, who does not want a nice cup of tea?
The word honourable is of a different stripe altogether. It is laden with seriousness, freighted with meaning and has the precision of a missile.
A dictionary definition suggests someone or something that is honest, ethical, and worthy of deep respect. Merriam Webster goes further with adjectives such as illustrious, creditable conduct, integrity, decent and further suggests a “reputation that is not tarnished or sullied”.
It was whilst pondering this word and its virtuosity that I found myself wondering how a shower of self serving charlatans in the Palace of Westminster have the gall to be titled Honourable. To be fair it is not they who entitle themselves but rather the title is bestowed upon them when entering the House of Commons.
To win a seat in an election is sufficient to grant you the title Honourable once sworn into parliament. You may have achieved nothing in your life up to this point. You may have a criminal record. You may be cunning, devious and have the morals of a sewer rat but at that magical moment of affirming your allegiance to the monarch, you are clothed with the title Honourable.
To climb the greasy pole of industry requires an intellect and a set of abilities appropriate to the industry. Cunning, deviousness and a lack of integrity may be as essential to success as an expensive MBA. But at no point does the successful business man or woman get to be called Honourable.
Now it would of course be wrong to suggest that every member of parliament is unworthy and without moral fibre. I doubt any fair minded person would deny the Right Honourable Sir Jacob Rees Mogg MP the right to bear such a title. And of course there will be others of high standing irrespective of their party affiliation.
However, there are enough charlatans in Westminster to bring the whole notion of the term Honourable into disrepute.
Take for example the Right Honourable Louise Haigh MP (Labour, Sheffield Heeley) who was appointed Transport Secretary by Starmer before having to resign in November 2024, when it became public that she had been convicted of fraud.
Consider the Right Honourable Jonathan Reynolds MP (Labour, Stalybridge and Hyde) who claimed, erroneously, on both his website and LinkedIn that he was a solicitor and had worked as such prior to becoming an MP. The fact that this was not true and that he had been merely a trainee solicitor was subsequently corrected on his parliamentary record whilst apologising for the “administrative error”.
And then we have the Right Honourable Rachel Reeves MP (Labour, Leeds West and Pudsey) who became known as Rachel from Accounts due to her CV being at some variance with the truth of her career. She seemed confused as to how long she had spent at the Bank of England and her exact role at HBOS. None of this prevented her from being elevated to the second highest office in the land.
And let us not forget our Ange. The Right Honourable Angela Rayner MP (Labour, Ashton-under-Lyme) who has managed to acquire a little property empire and possibly a net worth of circa 3 million whilst also managing to avoid paying stamp duty on a property purchase.
All four of the above have several things in common. They are all Labour MPs. They all are or have been members of the current Labour government and thus, by right, are members of the Privy Council and thereby bear the honorific title Right before the Honourable.
This is not intended to be partisan. There are as many rogues within the other parties, however, there is something nauseatingly sanctimonious about the way the Left deport themselves. Their sense of self righteousness and holier than thou attitude which always expresses itself in its vile abuse of those on the Right.
Honourable does not seem a fitting title for such people of dubious character.
In 1961 The Right Honourable John Dennis Profumo MP did something silly. He had an affair with the beautiful 19 year old model Christine Keeler. In itself this was not remarkable as honourable gentlemen from Westminster have often paid scant regard to their marriage vows.
What caused the trouble was Miss Keeler’s generosity with her sexual favours, for not only was she bedding John Profumo but was also bedding the senior Soviet naval attaché, Yevgeny Ivanov. This of course gave rise to fears of security breaches.
None of this, however, was the cause of Profumo’s undoing. It was the lie he told to the House of Commons to the effect that there had been no impropriety of behaviour between himself and Miss Keeler that caused his downfall. He resigned from the government and his seat once rumbled by the press.
There is, however, an interesting twist to this tale of dishonour. Upon resigning, Profumo was invited to work for Toynbee Hall, a charity based in East London, as a fund raiser. This he did for the rest of his life without remuneration. In fact he was very successful at fund raising and earned back his self respect and a CBE for his charitable work.
Such is the state of human affairs that we are all sinners. We may endeavour to live by a set of high precepts but fail. But in failing we can, like John Profumo, attempt to regain our honourable status.
There is, however, one issue that tarnishes almost every sitting MP with, perhaps, one or two exceptions, most notably Rupert Lowe.
For some 50 years, young white working class girls in cities and towns from London to Oxford, from Telford to Rochdale and many more besides, have been raped, trafficked, abused, tortured and assaulted by Pakistani gangs of men. The State has worked tirelessly to avoid doing anything about it. Both sides of the House have done their best to avoid any public enquiry into this most shocking scandal. In fact it would be reasonable to suggest that this is the largest domestic scandal in British history with estimates ranging from a quarter of a million to one million girls affected.
The complicity of the State at all levels, from parliament to social workers, police and the medical profession, is nothing short of scandalous. Rupert Lowe, acting alone, crowd funded an enquiry into this scandal as the government has consistently avoided holding an enquiry.
How can any sitting MP be worthy of the title Honourable if, whilst knowing of the appalling nature of the crimes committed against these young girls, they persisted in keeping quiet for so long?
I, therefore, refuse to see our sitting MPs as Honourable. Such a high minded title must be earned – not in moments, but over years of service and personal sacrifice.
There is, perhaps, only one point at which the word may, with justification, be applied to those who have governed our affairs. And then only after deep reflection as to their conduct in life and in office.
And that is during their eulogy.
Percy Thorley is an entrepreneur from Berkshire. He is in the feed business.