Britain’s official class system should be left largely as it is, the labour party government has decided. It has rejected a recommendation by MPs that knighthoods and Orders of the British Empire (OBEs) be abolished. Instead the committees that recommend who should get such awards will be open to members of the public in the name of “transparency”.
Knights expect to be addressed as “Sir” so and so. Unlike Lords, who are above them in the class hierarchy, they are not entitled to a seat in the legislature. The continued award of OBEs is despite the loss of the British Empire some years ago.