Boris Johnson's crony resignation honours 'cast doubt on appointments process'

16 July 2023 , 23:01

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Boris Johnson came under fire for handing out gongs to pals and cronies (Image: Phil Harris)

Boris Johnson's controversial resignation honours list has "brought into question" the current appointments system for creating new peers, a House of Lords report has warned.

A cross-party committee of senior peers said the former Prime Minister "showed no interest" in slashing the number of peers during his three years in office.

Appointments he made "far exceeded" the target set by the upper House, a study warned.

The panel also noted that peerages were "granted predominantly to members of his own party" by the former Conservative leader.

In a report by the Lord Speaker's Committee on the size of the House, peers said: "In recent months, there have been further developments which have brought the appointments system into question.

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“Most notably, there was considerable controversy over the size and composition of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's resignation list, with over half of initial nominees not being approved by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.”

The shamed ex-PM’s decision to hand peerages to a string of aides triggered fury.

Former Tory London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, who took part in a lockdown-busting Christmas party in December 2020 at Conservative Party headquarters, and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen were among those given peerages.

But he failed to secure a gong for ex-Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, who announced she would quit as an MP but has yet to do so.

The Lord Speaker's committee recommended imposing a fixed-term limit, possibly of about 15 years, for service in the Lords and called for a fairer allocation of new appointments based on election results.

Peers in 2017 recommended the Lords be capped at 600 to make it smaller than the Commons, which has 650 MPs.

But it has continued to balloon, with the latest report suggesting there are 824 members - making it one of the largest scrutiny chambers in the world.

The committee renewed its call for an end to by-elections for hereditary peers to help reduce the overall numbers and provide a better gender balance, given all 90 are men.

The committee suggested that new appointments should be allocated on the basis of an average of each party's share of their Commons' seats and the national vote at the most recent general election.

"This would have a gradual impact on the political balance of the parties, reflecting each party's electoral fortunes over time while also allowing each party to refresh its own membership," the six-page report said.

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Lords Burns, chairman of the Size of the House committee, said: "The political leadership should focus initially on putting in place a sustainable and fair method of allocating appointments.

"This will set the basis for a cap and a sustainable reduction in the size of the House."

The Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith, said: "This report by a cross-party committee of peers provides recommendations which would reinforce the reputation and effectiveness of the Lords."

The Mirror has campaigned to abolish the unelected House of Lords.

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Ben Glaze