Leader: It's an honour to be here

Oh dear. Inadvertently knighting Christopher Patten in this space yesterday is one matter - but to do so on a day when Her Majesty's politics are already under question is quite another. Well, there is only one excuse: subliminally, we clearly think the noble and saintly Mr Patten really should be Sir Chris.

Of course, this set us wondering who else we might honour for a day. Perhaps we should have a sort of transient Independent ennoblement, a kind of Warholian 24 hours of illustriousness. This week alone we might have chosen Sir Ian Greer, for services to democracy, Dame Harriet Harman, for dress sense in the face of adversity, and Sir Ben Pimlott, because anyone who gets that close to the Queen deserves a sword on his shoulder. Any other suggestions?