ALISTER Jack and Nadine Dorries are both to be given peerages by Boris Johnson.
The Scottish Secretary and the former culture secretary, both fierce allies of the ousted prime minister, are two of four sitting MPs promised life seats in the Lords in Johnson’s resignation honours list.
The Times reported that the full list, of 20 people, also contains COP26 president Alok Sharma and former Cabinet office minister without portfolio Nigel Adams.
A member of the House of Lords cannot also sit in the Commons, meaning there is the prospect of up to four by-elections in Tory seats, including Jack’s.
Guardian reports in July suggest Johnson’s team was aware of the issues that such nominations would bring.
A source told the paper in the summer: “You can’t announce a peerage and say they won’t kick in for two years [after the next general election]. Elevating MPs will mean those seats will be freed up to be contested. It will be a very early test for the new leader.”
However, PA reported that Johnson (below) has asked the MPs he has nominated for peerages to delay taking them up so they do not trigger by-elections.
The politicians are all understood to have agreed to delay heading to the Lords until the end of the current Parliament to spare Rishi Sunak the challenges.
Jack remaining in the Commons would save Tories the battle of retaining his Dumfries and Galloway seat, which he won at the last General Election with less than 2000 votes over the SNP.
Johnson had reportedly been planning on nominating up to eight sitting MPs on a list of 30 peerages. However, he cut the numbers down after the plans were attacked by Sunak's team during the first Tory leadership election race over the summer.
Also reportedly set to be nominated are Ross Kempsell, 30, and Charlotte Owen, who the Times said is in her late twenties. The paper claimed they are set to be the youngest life peers ever.
Owen was a parliamentary assistant to Johnson, while Kempsell is said to be one of the former prime minister’s wife Carrie’s “best friends”.
Johnson’s peerage recommendations will have to be approved by the House of Lords Appointment Commission. However, the current prime minister would have a veto, as Johnson previously used to give a title to Peter Cruddas.
