Bottomley feels the pinch

Sir Peter Bottomley with his Knight Bachelor medal, presented by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II
during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on March 10, 2011
 (Image: Getty Images) Source: Sussex Live

Ten years ago in an entry Honour and Dishonour I compared two honours for loyal service. A knighthood for Peter Bottomley after 35 years as a Member of Parliament and an MBE for eighty-three year old Kathleen White who had worked at Claverley Post Office near Wolverhampton for 68 years.

Miss White became sub-postmistress in 1960. She also spent 38 years on the parish council and ran the Sunday school at nearby All Saints Church for more than 20 years.

Sir Peter Bottomley deserves recognition for his candour as a member of the parliamentary Ecclesiastical Committee. 

I wrote in that earlier entry: "In 1992 the Ecclesiastical Committee insisted that provisions must be made for those opposed to women bishops, something conveniently forgotten when the Church of England submitted to the will of Women and the Church (WATCH) who have been determined not to honour pledges given. 

"In 2008 Bottomley's response to this duplicity was "Essentially everyone knew that when you had the ordination of women as priests that this would lead to the ordination of women bishops after a decent length of pause. Some would say it has now been an indecent length of pause." 

"An odd sense of honour for someone in a trusted position. Perhaps having served on the Parliamentary Standards Committee and knowing so much about honesty, openness, evasion, misrepresentation and lying he felt well qualified to distinguish between honour and dishonour."

Ten years later and now father of the House of Commons, Sir Peter has been pleading the cause of 'struggling MPs'. 

Sussex Live reports that "the Worthing MP called for a pay rise for MPs as living on £81k can be 'really grim'.

"Sir Peter made his comments as Brits - whose average full-time salary is just over £31,000 - face a cost-of-living crisis this winter with rising energy bills and soaring inflation."

Sky News reported: "Within 24 hours of his comments being published, a JustGiving fundraising page was created titled 'Please help feed struggling Sir Peter Bottomley!' - with all donations going to foodbank charity The Trussell Trust.

Sir Peter told LBC that a pay increase could be achieved by cutting the number of MPs by 10%.

Were the 77 year old MP to put himself at the head of the retirement queue after 46 years of unremarkable service he would have to manage on a final salary scheme pension. 

Poor soul.

New Years Honours farce

While most people in this country and others are still licking wounds our bankers inflicted, one of the beneficiaries of our nation's downfall has been honoured with a knighthood. Personally I don't give a toss how much charitable work he or other undeserving recipients may have done. Most can well afford it far better than Mr and Mrs Average and pensioners who give regularly to charities and see philanthropy as its own reward. Even if Paul Ruddock were the most deserving name on the New Years Honours list in philanthropic terms, what sort of message does it send to people who have lost their savings and see their standard of living continuing to fall with many shivering because they cannot afford the cost of fuel? Thousands of people have lost their jobs, many their homes too, and a generation see no prospect of employment or a home of their own. That is their legacy from people who continue to reward themselves while the rest suffer. Why should we honour them too?

Happy New Year!   

Postscript

"David Cameron pledges end to city excess." - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Honour and Dishonour

Eighty-three year old Kathleen White has worked at Claverley Post Office near Wolverhampton for 68 years becoming sub-postmistress in 1960. She has also spent 38 years on the parish council and ran the Sunday school at nearby All Saints Church for more than 20 years. She has been awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List for her services as an unsung hero.

Sixty-six year old former south-east London MP Peter Bottomley (pictured left) receives a knighthood  after (only) 35 years in the Commons. "The former Tory minister, an MP since 1975, is honoured for public service in recognition of his "long and distinguished" parliamentary career."

Distanced greatly in their service awards , Miss White and Sir Peter share links of service to the Church of England. While Miss White has been busy teaching the Christian faith to children for over 20 years, Sir Peter has been busy on church business. He is a former Chairman of the Church of England Children’s Society and a trustee of Christian Aid but it is his service on the parliamentary Ecclesiastical Committee which is especially noteworthy, particularly for traditionalists in the Church of England. Asked for his views on the ordination of women bishops his response was "Surely people should be considered on merit. Sex is not merit. Sex is not a qualification or a disqualification." 

In 1992 the Ecclesiastical Committee insisted that provisions must be made for those opposed to women bishops, something conveniently forgotten when the Church of England submitted to the will of Women and the Church (WATCH) who have been determined not to honour pledges given. In 2008 Mr Bottomley's response to this duplicity was "Essentially everyone knew that when you had the ordination of women as priests that this would lead to the ordination of women bishops after a decent length of pause. Some would say it has now been an indecent length of pause." An odd sense of honour for someone in a trusted position. Perhaps having served on the Parliamentary Standards Committee and knowing so much about honesty, openness, evasion, misrepresentation and lying he felt well qualified to distinguish between honour and dishonour.

It is a pity Sir Peter doesn't know the difference between faith and political correctness. If he were to read Pope Benedict XVI's account "On the Church’s position on against women priests in "Light of the World" quoted here, or listen to Dr Priscilla Noble-Mathews linked here, he would be much better informed. Traditionalists in the Church of England must hope that his colleagues on the Ecclesiastical Committee are better informed and pray that God rather than political correctness guides them in their work in 2011 and beyond.