Let’s get one thing straight: I have not – repeat not – been offered a peerage. And if I had been, I would not accept it.  What was once held to be an “honour” has become a mark of shame.

The House of Lords has always had its “maverick” members – anybody remember old Bob Boothby, or Joe Kagan ?  But, as with so much we once held dear, under the Flatulent Leader, the place has taken on the aroma of a byre.

La famille Johnson, whatever they might like to think, are not royalty. In fact, they are one of the most hated and despised families in the kingdom – united as it, for the moment, remains.  Jo Johnson, who resigned from government and as an MP, to avoid the quandary in which he found loyalty to his brother diametrically opposed to duty to his country, nonetheless stoops to accept a peerage, granted by that same brother in face of his “achievements” – true he was a junior minister for a while, but his career was hardly distinguished. And in any even, if he were a man of honour he would tell his brother where to stick his ermine.

Other new peers include Ian Botham and Evgeny Lebedev.  The House of Lords is an antiquated second house, arguably beyond time for serious reform, but is still a body politic and has an important part to play in our national affairs (its role as a debating chamber, and more, during the Brexit discussions  cannot be over emphasised).  I will leave readers to judge for themselves whether Messrs Botham and Lebedev are of requisite calibre to participate in the drafting of our laws.