Are the top honor winners also posh and very southern?

Only 6% of the high prizes in honor of the latest New Year went to the people in the north of England and according to the BBC analysis of the cabinet office data, only 4% for people of the working class background.

More than 60% of the beneficiaries of the “Higher” Awards, such as Commander of the British Empire (CBE) and Knighthud and Demoods, lived in London and South-East England.

In response, the government says that it would run a wide range of enrollment for the events that would be represented in communities and places, especially in communities and places.

The government spokesperson said, “The Prime Minister has clarified that he wants to see representation from the length and width of Britain.”

The spokesperson said that Sir Kir honors the stormer honors system to reflect the “extraordinary contribution made in every part of this country”.

The Prime Minister, who determine strategic direction for honor, should be “honored on the basis of merit” regardless of the background “.

Cabinet office data for the most recent sets of higher honors – for CBE and more – was the Chief Executive Officer, Professor and Senior Civil Servant General recipients.

But the government wants to ensure that the honor also “reaches the under-representative communities and want to see further diversity in the types of rewarded work”.

The government says, “Honors should not be automated or accepted due to a job.”

It is planning outreach projects and public programs, including ministers, to encourage more enrollment from outside London, the PM’s desire to be “properly diverse and reflective of the UK society” To reflect.

The government spokesperson said, “We are working in under-executive areas to raise awareness about the Honors system and encourage more enrollment.”

Analysis of people awarded 142 most senior honors in the new year – CBE, Order of the Bath, Companion of Honor, Knighthuds and Demahuds – reveals an important regional and social division:

• Not a single person in the north-east of England
• Across the joint areas of the North, North-East and North-West of England, and Yorkshire and Hamber, were only 6% recipients, even though it represents 23% of the UK population
• West Midlands (8% of population) received 3% award
• London and South-East England, which is responsible for 27% of the UK population, was represented heavy with 61% high prizes.
• In Scotland and Wales, his population was part of the same respect. Northern Ireland was represented
• 4% of people have provided top honors who have grown up in working class families
• One in about 50 people offered an honor last year
• There was a lot of variety in the next rank of honor with 64% outside London and Southeast and 64% with 33% from the working-class background.

The new year list of this year was presented as an opportunity to honor the “Unsapang heroes and Community Champions” – but the alleged more reputed awards in practice seem focused on the rich people of the rich regions.

According to cabinet office data, only 4% of the “high” awards grew up in the lower socio -economic “home -who worked in jobs like delivery driver, postal workers, security guards and retail staff As defined as – about 40% of accounting for the workforce.

“It is deeply inappropriate. It is not based on merit; it is based on the top-down nature of the society. It needs to be replaced and it is old,” Norman Baker, former Home Office Minister and Honors System critic Norman Baker They say.

There is also a two-tier approach to the system of honored honors honored to various social groups, their argument. Along with 142 “high” awards in the new year, more than 1,000 OBES officers were members of the British Empire (MBES) and the British Empire Medal.

“If you are a senior civil servant, you will finish with a top honor. If you are a lollipop woman who works for 60 years in the cold outside a school, you can get an Mbe if you can get an Mbe You are lucky, “Mr. Baker said.

Private Eye magazine recently highlighted that a group of sub-postmasters who had become Obes in the post office scandal, who had become Obes, has a CBE’s high with a senior lawyer of the firm representing the post office Was the award. It was described by Kevin Hallinreke on the X as “fully shocking”, shadow secretary for levels, housing and communities.

“This is the time for a system shake-up,” says Rosie Lockwood of IPPR North Think Tank. “The Honors System is still another example of how the establishment in this country ignores people in areas like North.”

Transparency International UK, which campaigns against corruption in public life, says it should be clear who nominated recipients of respect. Is it seeking prizes for its own senior employees from government departments or businesses? How many nominations are really nominated by public or community groups?

The group’s CEO, Daniel Bruce, said, “This will not help in building confidence and confidence in the honors system, if there is any belief that the proximity to the seat of power and personal money increases your chances of getting your gong,” Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Bruce said.

Efforts have also been made to make the honor more representative with the public Invited to submit nomination,

Between the honor and the full range of respect is a more or less gender division, compared to 6%, a decade ago, people of ethnic minorities were provided 12%.

The limit of available honors is also now widespread – the first human medal recipients have been announced.

The winners have talked about the huge positive impact of such awards, not only for themselves, but also to identify the efforts of colleagues.

Anna Daniel, located in Manchester, was one of the first groups of human medalists last weekIn 2023, he was identified for his medical aid to help people survived by deadly floods in Libya.

He said that it was a “amazing surprise” to receive this medal, but it was also important to “how it exposes the importance of humanitarian aid”.

Amanda Chadwick of Manchester said that an MBE is being created, she has changed her life, as it raised awareness about her children’s donations and helped him reach more people.

Railway activist Siggi Cragwell, who originally of Barbados, said that he honored his British Empire Medal in the recognition of 62 years of working on Railways at the age of 85 last year. He was a guest of honor at the unveiling of the Windarsh ​​Memorial at Waterloo station in London.

But the title of medal has also been questioned about modernization, especially about the use of “empire”. Poet Benjamin Zafaniah rejected an OBE on his associations with colonialism.

The cabinet office says “About 2% of people refuse to accept respect” but did not give reasons.

A cabinet office spokesperson said, “Individuals reduce respect for many reasons and we respect their personal decisions to do so.”

More than 20 years ago, the House of Commons Public Administration Selection Committee called for a proposal to move away from the word “Empire”, a proposal that was later rejected by the then UK government.

Additional Reporting AV Holden and David Einians