May awards knighthood to Eurosceptic Tory MP
Theresa May has awarded a knighthood to a Eurosceptic Tory MP ahead of a knife-edge vote that could kill off her Brexit deal. John Hayes, who has been an MP for 21 years, is an influential backbencher and has expressed doubts over Ms May’s Brexit withdrawal agreement in recent weeks.
Mr Hayes was not among the Tory MPs who sent letters of no-confidence to 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady last week and he has not revealed how he will vote on the Brexit deal when it eventually reaches the Commons. He has held five ministerial and six shadow ministerial positions during his career and earlier this month called for the government to reintroduce the death penalty for people who commit
violent crimes.
The MP for South Holland and the Deepings has also served as a senior parliamentary advisor to the former prime minister David Cameron.
Shadow cabinet office minister Chris Matheson described the move as a desperate attempt from Ms May to win votes. “It would be a spectacular act of desperation for Theresa May to be giving away knighthoods in a bid to win votes for her botched Brexit deal,” Mr Matheson said.
Labour’s former director of communications and strategy Alastair Campbell described the decision to hand out a knighthood as corruption. “In a developing country we would call it corruption. Because it is. Disgusting,” Mr Campbell tweeted.
The awarding of a knighthood to an MP outside of the usual New Year’s and Queen’s birthday honours lists is rare but not entirely unprecedented. After the general election in 2017, ex-defence minister Mike Penning and ex-whip Robert Syms were removed from their roles and received knighthoods months later.