really, this rubbish again @Robbie p ? If your nan could drive the car then are saying Toto Wolf and the whole Mercedes AMG management team are making a huge mistake paying him that - really? You know more than multi-millionaire businessman Toto Wolf? Really? Yes, agree, and so does the honours system. There are many, many honours for folks who've raised money, worked hard in the NHS etc. so i'm not really sure what your point is? In case you've not read the whole list, here's just a small excerpt from BBC website: But it is the response to coronavirus which dominates, and an MBE for charity volunteer Anne Baker, 106, makes her the oldest ever recipient of an honour. Mrs Baker, from Salisbury, who has been involved with fundraising for the NSPCC since the 1950s, said it was a "great surprise and great honour" to be recognised. Ruth Saunders, aged 104, becomes an MBE for services to charity during Covid after walking a marathon to raise money for Thames Valley Air Ambulance this year. The same honour goes to airline pilot Emma Henderson, from Moray, who set up a first class lounge experience in more than 80 hospitals across the UK for NHS staff. There is an MBE for Mark Owen, from Clwyd, after he re-joined North Wales Police to support volunteer officers with tasks including delivering prescriptions and food parcels, and a British Empire Medal (BEM) for Catherine Fitzsimmons from Greater Manchester, a former palliative care nurse who came out of retirement. There is a BEM too for Carl Konadu, 28, who helped young people in London prepare for jobs applications during the pandemic through 2-3 Degrees, a not-for-profit group he co-founded. The recognition for hundreds of people involved in the Covid response continues the trend set in the delayed Birthday Honours in October. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a year when so many have made sacrifice, the list was a "welcome reminder of the strength of human spirit, and of what can be achieved through courage and compassion Didn't start out rich - second hand kart and his dad worked multiple jobs to be able to afford it. Not a kid - he's what, 35 years old? Not from Monaco. He's from stevenage, and also widely reported as being " among the top 5,000 UK taxpayers.". I get it - you don't like him. That's fine, that's your prerogative. But to post stuff that's either wrong or just plain garbage.. please stop.
Being the highest paid sportsman 'in the UK' doesn't really qualify Mr Hamilton for a knighthood . Under the rules he has to be a UK taxpayer, which he probably does on various other interests based in this country but the vast majority of his wealth is abroad . Not a problem but the powers that deliver these awards seem to think it's out of order , in that he has to be granted an overseas and diplomatic award due to his inability to pay full UK tax on his earnings. Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
Seems strange to me that sports people wave a flag when in reality they are racing for personal gain He pays tax at source in 9 countries and files tax returns in 4, so maybe he will get honour's from other countries as well His prefered residence of Monaco means he gets to keep more of his earnings.
James Hunt, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Nigel Mansell, Jensen Button all lived in Tax exile for much of their careers, many have been bestowed honours. No one has an issue with any of them? Didn’t think so. How about a different slant. Name a single English sportsman that reigns supreme over their sport. Name someone so obvious in the world stage as the most successful ever, 100% proven statistically. These Islands have rarely produced the Number 1 sportsman....a Michael Jordan, Maradonna, Gretzky, Rossi, Pele. A name synonymous with a sport and this country, not just by home fans, any fans of that sport. As stated at the start of the thread, many of the political classes are tax avoiding dongs, but we’ll keep voting them in.
We have both heavyweight champions, both liked/disliked for different reasons. Both still live here and don't seem to feel the need to move away. Some sports personalities are universally liked others not (no matter how well they do) It seems Hamilton divides opinions and as we all know......
I think it`s a first world problem Mr Hamilton is struggling with , i never saw any `older` generation of British champs in any sport getting involved in political / social movements , they were too busy enjoying themselves and just living the life I was happy to see Hamilton do well up to a few years ago . Then came the wingeing about everything and everybody , the final straw for me was him getting involved with the BLM lot and bullying the rest of the paddock into being dragged along - overnight i lost any respect i had for him . Contoversial - probably , but sport , even Formula 1 , isn`t a platform to voice your political opinions in my eyes ...
How many of this older generation were black? Of those that were, how many of them lived in a time when open racial abuse meant at best, you kept your head down and kept quiet? BLM started in America where there is definitely an issue.....so despite the smoke screen of ‘far left radicals’....most people view it as absolutely having merit both there and here. It isn’t a political issue, BLM for the huge majority of people have no party to vote for, no wishful candidates wanting your vote. So how is it political? Most white people don't see it, don’t experience it and understandably feel like they are being morally cajoled in to an area they believe they don’t need educating in. It’s easy to ignore something that doesn’t affect you directly, we all do it. I see no issue with him supporting whatever he wants, or should the black role models we all assume that community needs only support issues not related at all to the black community? Btw, rumour has it, and it’s only a rumour that this guy has a heritage he wishes to keep quiet. No idea what it is, he keeps it close to his chest in that non political way. Politicians want us to separate sport and politics. Not hard to see why, most sports people are intelligent, educated, diligent....they train hard when not in the public eye and achieve results when required. The antithesis of the average politician, the vast majority of whom are utterly unemployable with few transferable skills. If politics and sport aren’t interlinked can we not have politicians jumping on successful sports people’s bandwagons whenever a photo opportunity appears?
Are you sure this is not racism but in a different tone. Some attitudes shown in this forum are very close to the edge. The fact he has your attention on the subject is a good thing.
We could go around in circles all night , i don`t think Lewis deserves it but many do - never forget it was a TEAM effort from the day his dad signed him up to the academy . You see things very differently Mike , obviously never lived in a rough area where you`ve GOT to get on with the neighbourhood or it`ll bite you . Think Chapeltown Leeds in the late 70s early 80s where friends who still live there also think Mr Hamilton is a fool for aligning himself with BLM . Happy new year everyone - i`m off for a light ale
Not sure about that. Many Tory politicians earn more from moonlighting directorships than they do as MPs.
Being paid to ask questions twice a year, or simply having your vote bought is of use in which other job?!
Next they’ll try and tell us Morph, Chas and the nail brush dog were burnt to death in a terrible accident...
The whole honours system has lost its way and is just a popularity thing and who shouts the loudest. There are loads of people that have done more than the footballers and others that get it. Michael Eavis springs to mind he has raised millions for charities locally, nationally and worldwide plus his service to music.
Having been brought up in Harehills, adjacent to Chapel town, Lasty is totally correct. You have to have lived there to understand it, not just having read about it in some sectors of the press whilst living in a neat semi.
The way that black people are treated in the US is disgraceful. It’s without any justification and some of the stuff I’ve witnessed on tv makes me genuinely sick. But the correct way to deal with it is via the law and peaceful non violent protest. Perhaps the greatest loss to the American people was the murder of Martin Luther King. A man who understood that to effect change you must take the people with you. BLM is a radical, political organisation. A modern day black panthers, it never worked for Malcolm X and it won’t work for BLM. the way to a better civilisation for all is inclusion, not separation. The Provisional Irish Republican Army tried to murder and intimidate their way to power, thirty years of the troubles just ended in a stalemate. Peaceful negotiations are the only way. Without the good Friday agreement we would still be in a needless cycle of violence. You can’t compare the racially divided USA with the UK. The majority of young black men killed in this country are murdered by other young black men, not by the police. Every young black man in this country has a free education and free health care, same as every white, yellow, pink, green and purple other person. By Lewis Hamilton aligning himself to this overtly political movement, the alienates himself from a lot of moderate people. Couple that with the fact he plays the down trodden rags to riches, I grew up in a slum card, when actually he had a nice middle class upbringing and I can see how he rubs people up the wrong way. He certainly does me. My dad always told me to be magnanimous in victory and gracious in defeat. Listening in to Lewis sometimes it’s hard to detect these traits. plenty of other sportsmen have been at the top of their game and not got knighted. What about Joe Calzaghe for a start, retired undefeated world champion. Freddie flintoff. Carl Foggerty, four times world super bike champion and MotoGP champion as well I think. Rory McLlroy etc etc. Sir Lewis smacks of virtue signalling to me.
