Toby Young Toby Young

Should I become Lord Young of Loftus Road?

When the editor of this magazine called to congratulate me on being given a peerage, he said: ‘It’s QPR’s first win this season.’ Not quite right – we’ve actually won four games this season – but not far off. He touched a nerve because I’ve been thinking about what to call myself to maximise my chances of being appointed to QPR’s board. Would Lord Young of Loftus Road be too obvious?

The other joke Michael made is that it shows Keir Starmer isn’t completely opposed to hereditary peers, given that my father was also a life peer. I hoped to be the first son of a life peer to be made a life peer and toyed with the idea of writing a piece about the hereditary meritocracy (my father invented the word ‘meritocracy’).

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