MAJOR Tory donors, former MPs and the ex-Daily Mail editor are all tipped to become peers, according to a leaked list.
The full raft of House of Lords appointments is yet to be officially announced but a document seen by The Telegraph suggests staunch Brexiteers and allies of Boris Johnson are set to be ennobled.
There are 15 Conservative appointments on the list – which may be subject to last-minute changes – while Labour has eight, including two trade union chiefs and moderate ex-MPs.
Among the Tory nominations is Nicholas Soames, who was forced to apologise for making dog noises at then-SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh in the House of Commons.
He was named in 2005 as the most frequent source of misogynistic abuse in Westminster, with six female MPs naming branding him a sexist.
He also notoriously told SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford to “go back to Skye” during a debate in 2018.
The grandson of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, Soames was among the Tory rebels who were expelled from the party for blocking Johnson’s Brexit deal. He was ultimately readmitted but stepped down as an MP.
Tommy Sheppard, the SNP's constitution spokesperson, quipped that the Tory troll would "have a difficult time heckling SNP members" in the Lords as the party does not appoint peers because of its opposition to the unelected chamber.
He added: "With every action they take the Conservative Party show their utter contempt for the people of Scotland and its elected members, so it’s little wonder they’ve seen fit to award Nicholas Soames with a seat for life in the out of touch House of Lords.
"With their latest round of appointments they’ve handed peerages out to the furthest right of the Tory party, bloating even further the second largest legislative chamber in the world in a move that makes a complete mockery of our democracy.
“The House of Lords is long past its sell by date, but with both Labour and the Tories clamouring to stuff it to the brim it's clear that under Westminster control we will never be free of the stain it leaves on our society.
"Only with the full powers of independence can we escape the undemocratic House of Lords and failing Westminster system for good.”
Others said to be awaiting peerages from the Tories include Jacob Rees-Mogg’s business partner Dominic Johnson, who has been tipped for the Lords since the start of this month when he was prematurely announced as a minister for trade.
Paul Dacre, the former editor of the Daily Mail – who failed to become the chair of media regulator Ofcom despite a plot by the Government to effectively gift him the job – is also on the list.
Other former Tory MPs on the list include ex-Brexit minister Stewart Jackson, Hugo Swire, Angie Bray and Graham Evans.
Historian Andrew Roberts – a Johnson fanboy who has written gushingly about the former prime minister – is also said to be in line for a peerage, as are Tony Sewell, who investigated race disparities for the Government, and conservative thinkers such as Sheila Lawlor, the director of thinktank Politeia, and Ruth Lea, an economist and former civil servant.
The higher number of Tory appointments will make it easier for the government to pass legislation through the upper house, where the party does not have a majority.
Keir Starmer has put forward former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson – who it is believed was previously rejected for a peerage because of his involvement in the Operation Midland scandal.
Other of his proposed appointments are reported to include Frances O’Grady, the outgoing general secretary of the Trades Union Congress and David Prentis, the former general secretary of Unison.
Arlene Foster, the DUP former first minister of Northern Ireland – who lent her party’s support to Theresa May’s government – is expected to sit as a crossbench peer.
