QUOTE (On the edge @ Sep 14 2016, 02:18 PM)
I must admit I was taken by surprise to find that the purse strings have been loosened and our constitutional Monarch's representative in our ceremonial county of Berkshire will benefit from the assistance of five new helpers. I'm not quite sure how that sits with reducing the Commons by fifty odd seats; even if austerity is becoming a distant memory.
So, I was even more surprised by
http://www.berkshirelieutenancy.org/theber...ieutenancy.htmlwhich explains what the thirty odd deputies get up to. Apparently we also have a Sherif of Berkshire no doubt with deputies too. Gosh, and I thought Alice in Wonderland was fiction!
Confirms a lot of my suspicions - that the people with real power & influence are not necessarily our elected representatives....
These are two of the 'duties' that leap out at me as being slightly undemocratic:
UK National Honours
The Lord-Lieutenant gives discreet assistance to the Cabinet Office’s Honour and Appointments Secretariat in supporting the assessment of nominations for honours and in encouraging good nominations and increasing public awareness of the honours system.
Magistracy
The Lord-Lieutenant is Chairman of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace for Berkshire. Advisory Committees are responsible for recommending the appointment of Justices of the Peace in the County to the Lord Chancellor and for ensuring the good conduct of magistrates.