Yes, Theresa May should give Nigel Farage a peerage – and he should abandon his outdated maverick stance and accept it

Ask what might seem like a silly question and you get.... well, an eloquent pause and a surprisingly Delphic answer. So it was that, in answer to an inquiry about whether Nigel Farage might be under consideration for a peerage, the Prime Minister neither confirmed nor, more to the point, denied that his name might feature somewhere on a list that, of course, is never, by custom, disclosed.

After all, as Theresa May did not say, you never really know whether someone who is nominated might turn down an honour – even one that comes with some rather palatial speaking facilities and some rather generous emoluments. And you don’t want that sort of information seeping into the public domain, do you, even though some of those approached like to boast that they have said thanks but no thanks to the proffered gong.

Let me lay some cards on the table. First, I am not a fan of the honours system, even after the last, somewhat puny, effort at democratisation. I am especially not a fan of political and Civil Service honours: an honour should not be assumed or automatic. If there is to be a system of state honours, awards should be for distinctive achievement or exceptional service, not for just doing your job.

Second, I believe that the House of Lords in its current form and composition is an anachronism. There are strong arguments for keeping an upper chamber, and for at least some of its members to serve ex officio: retired chiefs of the armed services; perhaps a sprinkling of university heads; the heads of major religions, say, rather than just those from the Anglican Church. And there is a case for at least some of its members to be nominated: distinguished scientists and others; individuals who have made a real mark on public life. A case can be made both for and against some element of direct election – though the terms for elected “lords” should not coincide with those of the lower house so as to reflect, as far as possible, the changing public mood.

For the time being, though, we have the system we have, and given that reform is not in the offing, the upper house should be made as representative as it can be. And to that end, I believe that the answer to the question Theresa May so unconvincingly ducked is this: Nigel Farage should be elevated to the peerage – and he, for his part, should abandon his outdated pose as a maverick and accept it.

There are self-interested reasons why May would be well-advised to recommend Farage for a peerage. One might be called the Boris defence: a Baron Farage safely quaffing his pints in a parliamentary bar might be less of a danger to the public order than a compulsive fomenter of discontent out in the country at large.

More obvious would be the bone such a gesture would throw to Conservative Brexiteers, inside Parliament and out. They are already showing signs of impatience about how long it is taking May and her ministers to get around to invoking Article 50. A Supreme Court judgment that upheld this month’s High Court ruling and required a vote by MPs would only rile them further. A peerage for the original Brexiteer might act as a pacifier, at least for a time.

There are pantomime reasons, too, why the House of Lords is where Nigel Farage now belongs. He is a true character, the likes of which the upper house needs more of. The robes would befit him. He would look and sound the part. Even if he – eventually – ceases to lead Ukip, he should not be lost to public life.

But there are also serious reasons why Farage should be recognised with a peerage, however awkward it might be for a Prime Minister who was herself a Remainer (albeit a lukewarm one) to appear to reward someone who so successfully represented the opposite view.

First, it would be compensation of a kind for the enormous flaws in our country’s democracy. Ukip under Nigel Farage’s leadership won more than four million votes at the last election. But the combination of our first-past-the-post system and the number of safe constituencies left his party with just one MP – and a former Conservative at that.

This is partly why the referendum result came as such a shock: our electoral system had contrived to filter out parties disruptive to the status quo. The referendum gave those thus silenced a voice.

Most of all, though, we should consider the change that Nigel Farage has wrought. Without him and his campaigning, it can be strongly argued, there would have been no referendum and, even if there had been a referendum, no victory. He articulated the arguments against UK membership of the European Union, and what he said and how he said it chimed with a significant section of the voting public. He was elected as an MEP and took his arguments to Brussels. You can agree or disagree with his arguments about sovereignty and the nature of the Britain – I profoundly disagree. But he is a politician of stature who submitted himself to the democratic system, and by force of persuasion prevailed.

But if Farage is nominated for a peerage, let’s – as a country, a nation – do it properly. It should be a peerage with bells, whistles and knobs on: triple ermine. In other words, a hereditary peerage of the sort revived by Margaret Thatcher.

Why should it be a title, and a seat, that he can pass on to an heir? Because the future he has almost single-handedly steered the UK towards is so different from the one almost half his fellow countrymen and women envisaged for their own progeny that his own heirs should have to live, breathe and take some responsibility for it.

Perhaps it will all turn out exactly as Farage hopes, with the UK – or, by then, its constituent independent parts – becoming a new force in the world and a source of pride. If not, though, or if the new reality is not to the next generation’s liking, then the next Lord Farage of Little England will have a public platform from which to voice his filial regrets and even contribute to doing something about it. He could demonstratively renounce that peerage for a start.