"I always had the perception that you only got an honour if you were rich or famous," says Clive Lawrence. The former head teacher, who grew up on free school meals in a Derbyshire council estate, has been made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) – part of what he calls a "quiet revolution" in the honours system.
That revolution has deliberately sought to make awards less socially exclusive, following a BBC analysis of the New Year Honours 2025. It found that among higher awards – Commanders of the British Empire (CBE), knighthoods and damehoods – only 4% of recipients came from working class backgrounds.
“Working class recipients of top honours rose from 4% to 31% in one year, matching national average.”
Just one year later, Cabinet Office figures for the New Year Honours 2026 show that figure has risen to 31% – a record level. Across all levels of honours, 38% of recipients were from working class backgrounds, matching the national average of 37%. The proportion is more than double what it was five years ago. The gap in the share of awards between London and the rest of the country has also narrowed, according to data from this year's Birthday honours.
The mechanism for change has been the Honours Diversity and Outreach Committee, created last year with the job of making awards better reflect UK society. Lawrence, a member of this new committee, says it encourages a wider range of nominations. A member from the diversity committee now sits on each of the other committees that sift through names put forward.
"Awards should be for everyday people doing extraordinary things," Lawrence says. He points to Michael Akers, a "young lad with a disability" who was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) last month. Akers, who has a speech disability, campaigned for schools to provide access to speech therapists.
While the press focuses on celebrity award winners, Lawrence says he was glad to showcase people like Akers. The quality of those receiving honours must remain high, he says, but there needs to be an overall picture of more even representation.