Did they deserve these honours?

I read with interest those from the region to be recognised for exceptional acts, above and beyond the call of duty, in the New Year’s Honours list.

As usual, it’s the junior awards that tend to be given to those who have given so much voluntarily to support the various good causes and charity work in the region.

The Knighthoods and CBEs instead go to a bunch of politicians who have done absolutely nothing exceptional other than get well paid for a mediocre performance as MPs, civil servants or councillors.

So just what sustained, exceptional and unpaid work, that was ‘beyond the call of duty’ have MP Alan Campbell and Coun Nick Forbes done to deserve a Knighthood and CBE respectively?

I ask, because from what I can gather, absolutely nothing, other than being well paid as an MP and a councillor.

Campbell, Labour MP for Tynemouth since 1997, has never held a cabinet position, and did nothing inspiring politically either at home or abroad.

Forbes, as leader, has overseen a Newcastle City Council that for years has, in my opinion, systematically failed to deliver, has cut vital services and wasted millions on useless projects.

In contrast, there are tens of thousands of people who have done many years sterling work, day-in, day-out, come rain or shine, as teachers, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, carers, refuse collectors and scores of others.

Many of them have worked without expenses, done unpaid overtime and gone the extra mile to deliver, some of them risking personal danger too.

So incensed I am over this, I intend to write to the honours select committee to ask for the reasons and detail for Campbell’s Knighthood and Forbes’ CBE.

If, as I suspect, they are nothing more than for being time served political toadies, then I will request they be rescinded to protect the very reverence the honours system represents.

I hope too that any likeminded readers, also exasperated by underserving awards, do likewise.

C JACKSON, Kenton, Newcastle