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The Guardian - UK

Politics

David Conn

Cash before honours: the Tory donors made peers who barely speak in Lords

Lords Boris Johnson Peter Cruddas Rami Ranger Tory Michael Spencer Anthony Bamford David Cameron HoLAC the House of Lords

Illustration of a hand gripping Big Ben and another hand holding banknotes — All three main political parties have for decades awarded peerages to financial backers. Composite: Alex Mellon for the Guardian; Getty Images/iStockphoto

When Theresa May appointed the businessman Rami Ranger to the House of Lords in her 2019 prime ministerial resignation honours list, he described his peerage as “the fulfilment of another lifelong dream”.

Ranger came to Britain from India in 1971 and built up a marketing and distribution company, Sun Mark. Having made his fortune, he became interested in joining the House of Lords.

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