YP Letters: Nick Clegg did not deserve rough treatment over knighthood

From: Brian Sheridan, Lodge Moor, Sheffield.
Should Nick Clegg have received a knighthood?Should Nick Clegg have received a knighthood?
Should Nick Clegg have received a knighthood?

AS a constituent of Sheffield Hallam, I must take issue with Bill Carmichael’s excoriation of Nick Clegg (The Yorkshire Post, December 29).

The former Deputy Prime Minister may not deserve a knighthood, but your columnist’s rant contains a gross misrepresentation of Clegg’s standing in his former constituency.

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There was some consternation here at his demise, not least among some traditional Labour voters who had been shocked at the nomination of nonentity Jared O’Mara, which sent the message that Labour didn’t expect to win the seat.

O’Mara’s success in the election – a Pyrrhic victory for his supporters – was engendered on social media by left-wing activists who mobilised the huge student population of Sheffield Hallam, many of whom will not become permanent residents.

The only bit Bill Carmichael gets right is that South West Sheffield is now effectively unrepresented in Parliament. That isn’t Nick Clegg’s fault.

From: Alec Denton, Guiseley.

REGARDING Bill Carmichael (The Yorkshire Post, December 29), I believe politicians should be treated the same as the many ‘ordinary’ people who thoroughly deserved their awards and that knighthoods should be reserved for a handful of truly outstanding citizens. When Nick Clegg was an MP, he certainly did much more for his constituency than his replacement and more for this country than Nigel Farage, whose substantial index-linked pension, to be paid for out of our future contributions to the EU, is a more than adequate reward for 20 years of disruptive behaviour.

From: David Dunk, Nethergate, Nafferton.

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HERE we go again! First it was a lordship to John Prescott. Now it is a knighthood to Nick Clegg.

Is it not about time that we stopped awarding honours to political mediocrities and indeed any politician, civil servant or diplomat simply because they happen to have held a particular office at any one time? The honours system is outdated, needs radical overhaul and should be restricted to people who have made an exceptional contribution to the community.

From: Andrew Mercer, Guiseley.

WHERE was the recognition for the emergency services in the New Year Honours or were our politicians too busy looking after their own?