# what's the difference between honourable vs. "right honourable" in UK parliament. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434 "2019-03-24T00:40:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/1 "2019-03-24T00:40:44Z")
In watching videos of the UK’s House of Commons I hear MP’s referred to as the “the honourable gentleman” or “the right honourable gentleman” (or lady). Why are some people called called ‘honourable’ and others are called ‘right honourable’? I haven’t been able to figure out the pattern. I find some of the antics and interplay quite amusing. Bercows “Or-Derrr” just sounds funny for some reason (except when he’s being very serious or stern). I’d swear it’s a french word for something gross or nasty (e.g. manure, offal, a week-old battlefield). No disrespect intended, of course. (As an American, I don’t really get to mock other governments right now.) ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/2 "2019-03-24T01:24:23Z")
> [@dstarfire](#): > > In watching videos of the UK’s House of Commons I hear MP’s referred to as the “the honourable gentleman” or “the right honourable gentleman” (or lady). Why are some people called called ‘honourable’ and others are called ‘right honourable’? I haven’t been able to figure out the pattern. My understanding is that all MPs are at least “honourable”, but the PM and members of the [Privy Council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_Council_of_the_United_Kingdom) are “right honourable”. > [@](#): > > I find some of the antics and interplay quite amusing. Bercows “Or-Derrr” just sounds funny for some reason (except when he’s being very serious or stern). I imagine that he says it such a sing-song-y way because it is the loudest word he has to say, and if he just yelled it he’d wear out his voice pretty quick. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/3 "2019-03-24T01:33:35Z")
MPs who have been members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom are styled The Right Honourable. I was once an intern for [The Right Honourable Terence Higgins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Higgins,_Baron_Higgins) (amazingly still alive and now Baron Higgins). In my mind, I never think of him as anything other than "The Right Honourable Terence Higgins. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/4 "2019-03-24T01:48:51Z")
Honourable is just a fellow MP. Right Honourable is for a fellow MP who is also a member of the Privy Council\*. There’s a few other variants - Learned means that the fellow MP is also a QC (Queens Counsel - a senior lawyer), Reverend, and Gallant. The last two have pretty much fallen into disuse I think. So, a Conservative MP might refer to someone like Ken Clarke (same party, but he’s just a backbencher now) as “My Right Honourable and Learned friend”, whereas a Labour MP might go with “The Right Honourable and Learned member” People who have current Ministerial responsibilities are usually referred to in Parliament by their job title, but the whole thing is way less formal than it used to be. \*The Privy Council is the body that comprises the Monarchs advisers, essentially, so anyone who has ever made it to Cabinet rank, and also senior members of the Opposition. And various other people too. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/5 "2019-03-24T02:01:13Z")
Note as well that it is not appropriate to refer to another MP by name while in the Commons. They are referred to by their constituency (“the Honourable Member for Lower Threepwood”) or their position (“the Right Honourable Minister of Silly Walks”). Being “named” by the Speaker is actually a mark of discipline: " I direct that Mr Rees-Mogg is guilty of contumacy to the chair and I direct that he do leave this House until he apologises to the Honourable Members from the Bar of the House.") ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/6 "2019-03-24T07:01:03Z")
I think I’m right that he also uses personal names when calling members, other than ministers, to speak or put a question. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/7 "2019-03-24T09:37:49Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > There’s a few other variants - Learned means that the fellow MP is also a QC (Queens Counsel - a senior lawyer), Reverend, and Gallant. The last two have pretty much fallen into disuse I think. Reverend was used regularly w.r.t the late Ian Paisley, and Gallant is in recent [regular use](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30184063). ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/8 "2019-03-24T10:23:35Z")
I think that the rule about not using names was changed when they started to broadcast debates. While some of us may know our own MP, very few could say who “The honourable member for Maidenhead” or the “member for Islington North” are. (T May and J Corbyn). ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/9 "2019-03-24T11:49:04Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Being “named” by the Speaker is actually a mark of discipline: " I direct that Mr Rees-Mogg is guilty of contumacy to the chair and I direct that he do leave this House until he apologises to the Honourable Members from the Bar of the House.") Similarly in the Australian Parliament. MPs are known either by their constituency or their Ministerial (or shadow Ministerial) title. Being “named” usually is followed by the Leader of Government Business putting a motion that the named MP be suspended from the House, typically for 24 hours. But the Speaker uses the phrasing “I name the Member for Bed Wetting”, they do not use their personal name ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/10 "2019-03-24T11:54:12Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I think that the rule about not using names was changed when they started to broadcast debates. I suspect following other parliamentary conventions, in broadcasts of the Australian Parliamentary the Speaker will call the “Member for Woolloomooloo” and the compere states \*sotto voce \*"Fred Nerk, National) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/11 "2019-03-24T13:04:03Z")
At Westminster, AFAIK there’s no voiceover commentary on the live TV feed, but an onscreen caption (unless there’s an Audio Description feed? I’ve never checked). ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/12 "2019-03-24T14:30:32Z")
Since the OP also mentioned Mr Speaker’s call for Order, he’s a short clip where Mr Bercow explains why. > ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/13 "2019-03-24T15:22:27Z")
Oops -you’re right. Had forgotten about that. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/14 "2019-03-24T16:05:10Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > \*The Privy Council is the body that comprises the Monarchs advisers, essentially, so anyone who has ever made it to Cabinet rank, and also senior members of the Opposition. And various other people too. Due to her long experience of governments and policy on occasion the Queen is the one advising the privy council. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/15 "2019-03-24T18:38:33Z")
Thank you, for explaining. All the titles and optional titles are very confusing for an outsider (though I imagine they’d become second nature if you were around that often enough). Are there other circumstances where a member might be introduced by the Speaker as “Mr. Ian Blackford”?. He’s introduced by name at the start of the video (by the Speaker), and invited to speak. Later in this discussion he’s addressed (again by the Speaker) as ‘the right honourable member …’. I don’t see (or hear) anything in what he says or how he acts that is inappropriate, at least not until well into the discussion. Here’s the video: [https://youtu.be/ADYQ9ZxpkyU](https://youtu.be/ADYQ9ZxpkyU)) Also, are those speakers (i.e. audio equipment) on the Speakers chair? If so, to what/whom are they connected? I’ve been watching quite a few videos about the House of Commons lately and am quite impressed with Mr. Bercow’s work. Being Speaker is clearly a \*\*very \*\*difficult and demanding job. Do they practice by teaching large groups of children or trying to herd cats? ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/16 "2019-03-24T18:51:34Z")
Forgot to add that being an MP looks like a rather good workout. Stand up (‘may I speak now?’), sit down (‘no’), stand up (‘how about now?’), sit down (‘not yet’), stan (‘now?’), sit down (‘still no’), slump and take a nap (‘oh forget it’). ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/17 "2019-03-25T00:09:22Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > I suspect following other parliamentary conventions, in broadcasts of the Australian Parliamentary the Speaker will call the “Member for Woolloomooloo” and the compere states \*sotto voce \*"Fred Nerk, National) And although state and federal members are still given the title “Honourable” unless they specifically reject it, it is used in speech only by old-line conservatives, often people who have been in parliament for a long time, or on the cover of documents or letters. The Speaker of the House may call a member “Honourable” at the start of business, but after that it’s just “Member for”. And Hansard doesn’t include “Honourable” in the meta-data of online records. Nobody here has The Right Honourable since the government re-aligned the court appeal system from the British Privy court to the European International court of appeals. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/18 "2019-03-25T01:14:33Z")
In Canada, “Right Honourable” is the PM, the Chief Justice of Canada, and an occasional long-serving member of Parliament and Cabinet that the PM wants to recognise for their service. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/19 "2019-03-25T03:37:46Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > In Canada, “Right Honourable” is the PM, the Chief Justice of Canada, and an occasional long-serving member of Parliament and Cabinet that the PM wants to recognise for their service. Yes, but in Canada saying “Mr. Trudeau is a right honourable member” would mean something completely different and rather uncomplimentary. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-honourable-vs-right-honourable-in-uk-parliament/831434/20 "2019-03-25T03:39:28Z")
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