Memo to Lib Dem peers: please drop the titles

Pinging into my inbox recently, a party press release started:

Commenting on the Labour leadership result, Baroness Brinton, President of the Liberal Democrats, said…

Regardless of the wisdom of the following words, what struck me most was the appellation, “Baroness Brinton”. Whilst it scores points for etiquette accuracy, steering clear of making Debrett’s wince with “Baroness Sal Brinton”, what is the point of “Baroness” at all? Especially with its overtones of establishment and privilege, it’s an odd label to voluntary assume in the party’s own output.

What do you think?

UPDATE: Good to see Sal Brinton’s response on this.