Have an OBE.

[firefly]

Why does the honours system seem to be so against writers, actors, musicians, etc?

[babthrower]

Well, it's pretty obvious. The contribution of artists is considered less important than the contribution of other groups to the economy.

[firefly]

And what do civil servant have to do with the economy, babthrower? I think they do help the economy, artists etc. Has anyone got a 'less obvious' answer?

[rekstout]

OBEs and MBEs are often awarded to long serving civil servants (not necessarily high ranking ones either - RAF/Army Warrant Officers and MOD Labourers are often recipients of MBEs)

Such people are often grossly underpaid in comparison to equivalent private sector workers and this is the governments way of ackowledging this imbalance

That aside I can name more actors and musicians with honours that I could civil servants.