Chris Grayling was robbed of a New Year’s honour

Despite having read every name on the New Year honours list twice, I was amazed not to see the words “Chris Grayling” amongst the luminaries.

Surely, being the worst transport secretary since the invention of the internal combustion engine does not preclude an award?

After all, I thought that downright incompetence or even mere mediocrity were the main attributes required to be rewarded with an upgrade on the establishment gravy train?

Robert Boston

Kingshill

A knighthood for Iain Duncan Smith is acceptable only when seen through the prism of Voldemort getting a peerage.

Catherine Britton

Zac Goldsmith, multi-millionaire son of a multi-millionaire Tory party donor, who is a failed MP, deselected by his constituents, now becomes a law-making peer.

Will other readers of this paper please join me in a people’s movement to stop this continual abuse of what is meant to be a democracy?

Richard Coombs

Holywell

The whole rotten ‘honours’ system should be scrapped and replaced so that no politician or public servant can qualify. They are rewarded enough.

Volunteers in charities, child carers, people who have acted bravely in defense of their communities etc etc should be the focus of our national gratitude , not self serving toadies like many of the current recipients.

Brian Key

How does the Queen simply swallow all this? The very act cheapens, debases, devalues awards that were handed to heroes and heroines who have done real service to society. What does it say about the value of the awards, the sincerity behind them if a peerage can be given to such a person, so detested by so many. Sorry, Ma’am, this has nothing to do with honours, except that in the last analysis it brings dishonour to monarchy.

David Ivan Wright

It truly astonishing how the Conservative MP in the Tory Party, a Brexiteer and architect Iain Duncan Smith of the troubled universal credit reforms should be given a knighthood in Queen Elizabeth two new year’s honours list, while his controversial welfare shake-up has been blamed for pushing thousands of people into poverty and deaths because of his universal credit reform, is among several political figures celebrated for their contribution to public life. But let us not forget that this Tory MP had said people living in poverty in Great Britain can live on £5 per week while he lives the lap luxury as a British MP who created universal credit reform in order to make the poorer better off.

Derek Gale

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