Johnson faces backlash over peerage for rebel Hammond
BORIS JOHNSON faces a Cabinet backlash after awarding Philip Hammond – whom one minister said had “tried to bring down the Government” a peerage.
The Prime Minister nominated Mr Hammond and Kenneth Clarke for seats in the House of Lords despite expelling them from the Conservative Party over Brexit. The two former chancellors were among 21 rebel MPS who had the whip withdrawn last year after voting to block a no-deal Brexit.
Yesterday a Cabinet minister praised the decision to allow Mr Clarke, until December the Father of the House, into the upper House and said: “It would have been a national outrage not to.”
Although the nominations in general signalled “forgiveness”, the minister was less gracious about Mr Hammond: “He tried to bring down the Government. It should not be automatic just because you were chancellor.”
And a source close to a Brexiteer Cabinet minister yesterday said: “Hammond has been trying to thwart Brexit for years. On paper he was foreign secretary, defence secretary and chancellor. There is an unwritten rule that senior Cabinet ministers get [a peerage]. On paper John Bercow gets a peer- age – but we are not supporting that.”
The ex-chancellors stood down as MPS ahead of December’s election but remained critical of the Government over Brexit. They were not expected to have the Tory whip restored, so would be nominated as “non-affiliated” peers.
Mr Hammond has since joined the board of Ardagh Group, the Irish packaging company, on a reported £125,000 salary. This week, Theresa May’s former chancellor hinted he would like to return to politics, telling The Daily Telegraph: “Anybody that’s been in government will miss the sense of being at the centre of power and knowledge.”
Yesterday Daniel Hannan, a former Tory MEP, told the BBC: “Ken Clarke was a hugely distinguished figure and Philip Hammond also was an ex-chancellor. I think it would be an unusual thing if they were to be excluded.”
But Ben Habib, the former Brexit Party MEP, accused the Government of “Conservative Party cronyism”.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a prominent Brexiteer, said: “No one will object to the award of a peerage to Ken Clarke, a great British politician whose record of
‘It should not be automatic just because you were chancellor’
service is unparalleled. Brexiteers will raise an eyebrow at the award of a peerage for Mr Hammond, who is seen to have played such a prominent role in government of frustrating Boris in his drive to deliver Brexit, but recognise this is rightly part of a drive to bring the country back together.”
No10 is also expected to nominate Ruth Davidson, the former Scottish Conservative leader, for a peerage. Two former Labour MPS – Ian Austin and John Woodcock – have been proposed as non-aligned peers. In the runup to the election both urged the country to vote Conservative to stop Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister, saying the Labour leader was not fit to run the country.
Peter Cruddas, ex-tory Party treasurer, is also reportedly being put forward by Mr Johnson for a peerage. Michael Spencer, a billionaire financier and ex-party treasurer, also appears to be in line. Mr Corbyn has put forward Tom Watson, his former deputy; Karie Murphy, his former chief of staff; and Mr Bercow. The House of Lords Appointments Commission vets appointments and is due to meet on Tuesday. It has refused to comment on the peerage nomination reports.