Wednesday, 3 January 2018

Who runs Scotland?

I came across a reference to a 'Lord Lieutenant' in something I was reading today and realised I'd no idea who this person is or what he or she does.

So I googled it:

<<The Lord-Lieutenant is the British monarch's personal representative in each county of the United Kingdom...the Lord-Lieutenant is largely an honorary position, usually awarded to a retired notable person in the county>>.

I'm guessing here that the LL is picked by her maj from a suitable list of notable persons and that's not going to be made up of the local butcher or the crossing patrol woman who retired last year or the village postmaster. So who are these people? The last LL of Ayrshire was a retired soldier (officer class). The current one is a former sheriff in Kilmarnock. There doesn't seem to be any information about the LL in other areas.

The Lord Lieutenant it seems has deputies. They don't get paid a wage but they do get a military-style uniform and expenses to cover their costs, secretarial help, mileage allowance and a driver.

A driver of what, I wonder? 

The 'modern' responsibilities of Lords-Lieutenant include:
  • Arranging visits of members of the royal family and escorting royal visitors;
  • Presenting medals and awards on behalf of the sovereign, and advising on honours nominations;
  • Participating in civic, voluntary and social activities within the lieutenancy;
Well, this is just so much flannel - the kind of stuff I associate with the royal family. Utterly irrelevant to real life. But wait, there's more...
It's these last bits I'm bothered about. Well, no, I'm a liar: I don't like the idea of the monarchy having any role in my life. But this is starting to look like another layer of government. Or an alternative government that we don't get to vote on. Who pays for this liaison with the troops, and the chairing of this and that? I'll bet it's not her maj. And what on earth can a LL possibly contribute to HM Revenue and Customs appeals or the appointments of justices of the peace? 

I expect a lot of the people who take up these 'grace and favour' positions are thrilled to be asked to do so. And, I'm sure, they carry out their duties to the best of their ability. But we don't need them and, above all, they are not accountable to the voters of the country. 

It's just like the House of Lords, which is a racket in my opinion: a way of keeping a layer of government in place that is not answerable to any of us and is, thus, above the people and not of the people. The House of Lords is the opposite of democracy: it's a way of perpetuating the 'ancien régime' that the French got rid of in 1789. And as long as we keep allowing this group of people to go on promoting each other, making decisions on the future of the UK and - most of all - raking in enough cash in expenses so they don't have to actually earn a living, there can't be democracy here. 

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