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Constituency Casework: Honours

This Commons Library Briefing Paper is no longer being updated in this format. Please see Constituency Casework articles Honours: Nomination and Award and Honours: Refusal and removal for the information.

Honours are awarded by the King, on recommendation from the Prime Minister or other senior Government ministers. Many nominations for honours are made by the general public. Members of Parliament receive questions about how their constituents can nominate someone for an honour. They also receive comments about the award of honours and the length of time taken to consider a nomination. This information can be found in the Constituency Casework articles. 

More information on award of military medals can be found in House of Commons Library Briefing Paper How to apply for a military medal.

The modern honours system, involving the Order of the British Empire, was established in 1917. Almost from that beginning there was controversy about who should receive an honour. Details on reviews of the honours system and more information on political honours are available in Commons Library Briefing Paper SN0283, Honours: History and reviews.