4 ms·

As a Brit, I think I would rather have a hereditary peerage I could leave to my family than be Prime Minister. Not sure if that is typical though.

tialaramex 3y ago
Although it remains technically possible to issue hereditary peerages (and indeed because Parliament is sovereign even if it was no longer possible they can just change the rules) there haven't been any issued to non-Royals in my lifetime and it's unlikely that under any foreseeable circumstances more would be created. Forth years ago maybe if you married into royalty somebody (well, Liz) would green light a hereditary peerage for that, but today that's frowned upon. I'd guess the other plausible route might be to do something so incredibly famous and heroic that a George Cross is seen as inadequate. Maybe a mad terrorist with a dirty bomb threatens to detonate it inside a central London orphanage, live on TV and you single handedly defeat them despite being unarmed? I dunno though, I think a week later people would be like, "The medal is fine, and he can go on a celebrity cooking show or something, we don't need a new peerage".
- gadders 3y ago
  Yeah. It's very unlikely to get something these days. The last person I can think of that got a hereditary title (not necessary the last person to get one, just one that I remember) is Dennis Thatcher getting a baronetcy. And wikipedia tells me: "It is the only baronetcy to have been granted since 1964, and is one of only three extant hereditary titles awarded outside the British royal family since 1965." Anyway, I'll keep up my gym going etc just in case I am inside an orphanage when it comes under attack. I'm not sure though whether the fact that new hereditary titles not being created is more or less egalitarian? It now means unless your family did something 800 years ago you're out of luck.
  - balderdash 3y ago
    Something of a nit, but I thing Baronets are a bit of hybrid in that they are not peers, but it’s a hereditary title
    - gadders 3y ago
      Agreed, not a peerage but I'd take it.
  - tialaramex 3y ago
    Because most of the peerages automatically extinguish in certain situations (e.g. no male heir, no heir at all, or sometimes if their holder is King / Queen), they will gradually die out over a long period. This is also a sign that they're not a modern (or even modernised) institution.
bell-cot 3y ago
Don't take this the wrong way, but...is that more because you wouldn't want to be associated with the rubbish recent crop of PM's, or more because you wouldn't want to be responsible for cleaning up the b*oody mess they've made?
- gadders 3y ago
  Honestly, I think it is rather because (being a parent) I'd like to leave something to my family for generations, rather than just me be famous for being the PM.
  - notahacker 3y ago
    As the PM, you could lead a government that passed all sorts of things that benefited your family, possibly for many generations As a hereditary peer you'd get to be one of a few hundred people that could vote to veto some stuff which the Commons could then override if they felt strongly enough to persist with it. And lunch expenses, I guess. I don't think the few remaining hereditary peerages will outlast this generation either...
    - gadders 3y ago
      Actually, after googling the Thatcher Baronetcy above, I could be Prime Minister and then grant myself a hereditary honour when I leave office. Best of both worlds!

tialaramex 3y ago

Although it remains technically possible to issue hereditary peerages (and indeed because Parliament is sovereign even if it was no longer possible they can just change the rules) there haven't been any issued to non-Royals in my lifetime and it's unlikely that under any foreseeable circumstances more would be created. Forth years ago maybe if you married into royalty somebody (well, Liz) would green light a hereditary peerage for that, but today that's frowned upon. I'd guess the other plausible route might be to do something so incredibly famous and heroic that a George Cross is seen as inadequate. Maybe a mad terrorist with a dirty bomb threatens to detonate it inside a central London orphanage, live on TV and you single handedly defeat them despite being unarmed? I dunno though, I think a week later people would be like, "The medal is fine, and he can go on a celebrity cooking show or something, we don't need a new peerage".

gadders 3y ago
Yeah. It's very unlikely to get something these days. The last person I can think of that got a hereditary title (not necessary the last person to get one, just one that I remember) is Dennis Thatcher getting a baronetcy. And wikipedia tells me: "It is the only baronetcy to have been granted since 1964, and is one of only three extant hereditary titles awarded outside the British royal family since 1965." Anyway, I'll keep up my gym going etc just in case I am inside an orphanage when it comes under attack. I'm not sure though whether the fact that new hereditary titles not being created is more or less egalitarian? It now means unless your family did something 800 years ago you're out of luck.
- balderdash 3y ago
  Something of a nit, but I thing Baronets are a bit of hybrid in that they are not peers, but it’s a hereditary title
  - gadders 3y ago
    Agreed, not a peerage but I'd take it.
- tialaramex 3y ago
  Because most of the peerages automatically extinguish in certain situations (e.g. no male heir, no heir at all, or sometimes if their holder is King / Queen), they will gradually die out over a long period. This is also a sign that they're not a modern (or even modernised) institution.

bell-cot 3y ago

Don't take this the wrong way, but...is that more because you wouldn't want to be associated with the rubbish recent crop of PM's, or more because you wouldn't want to be responsible for cleaning up the b*oody mess they've made?

gadders 3y ago
Honestly, I think it is rather because (being a parent) I'd like to leave something to my family for generations, rather than just me be famous for being the PM.
- notahacker 3y ago
  As the PM, you could lead a government that passed all sorts of things that benefited your family, possibly for many generations As a hereditary peer you'd get to be one of a few hundred people that could vote to veto some stuff which the Commons could then override if they felt strongly enough to persist with it. And lunch expenses, I guess. I don't think the few remaining hereditary peerages will outlast this generation either...
  - gadders 3y ago
    Actually, after googling the Thatcher Baronetcy above, I could be Prime Minister and then grant myself a hereditary honour when I leave office. Best of both worlds!