Ministers told not to expect a peerage
THERESA May has warned former cabinet ministers that they can no longer automatically expect a seat in the House of Lords when they retire as an MP.
In what appears to be a swipe at former Chancellor George Osborne, Downing Street has confirmed that the convention on senior public servants being offered a peerage has been ditched.
The new rule also affects top judges, retired bishops and senior police officers as Mrs May attempts to bring down the number of members of the Lords to 600 from the current figure of 792.
The Prime Minister has also appealed to other parties to get more of their peers to retire after the Tories took a lead with 11 quitting seats compared to four from Labour, three Lib Dems, one from the DUP and nine crossbenchers.
Attacks
The decision not to automatically give senior cabinet ministers a place in the Lords appears to confirm reports last month that Mrs May had decided not to offer a peerage to Mr Osborne.
Traditionally former chancellors have been offered a peerage after leaving the Commons.
But Mr Osborne’s assault on the Government, Brexit and personal attacks on Mrs May, including claims that he said he wanted her chopped up in his freezer, have reportedly led to him not being offered a peerage.
Mrs May has appointed eight peers since becoming PM in July 2016, including three political appointments as ministers.
She also appointed five “distinguished public servants” including the Lord Chief Justice, a former Bishop of London, a former Metropolitan Police commissioner, a former chief of defence staff and a former private secretary to the Queen.
Since Mrs May took office, Jeremy Corbyn has appointed one peer, the former Liberty director Baroness Chakrabarti, and the number of Lords has been reduced by 20.