The UK government has published Boris Johnson's resignation honors list, awarding prestigious titles to several of his key allies, including MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel, as well as aides who worked in Downing Street during the "partygate" scandal. Rees-Mogg and Patel, both former Cabinet ministers under Johnson who supported Brexit, have received a knighthood and a damehood respectively. Other MPs awarded knighthoods included former ministers Simon Clarke and Conor Burns.
The list was notable for what wasn't included, as months of media reports had suggested that Johnson was considering controversial peerages for his father, Stanley Johnson, and MPs Nadine Dorries and Alok Sharma. However, they were left out of the list, though Dorries announced before it was published that she is stepping down from her position, giving no reasons. The Liberal Democrats immediately announced plans to target her Mid Bedfordshire seat. There was no immediate clarity on whether their names had been removed by the government or were never included.
Any suggestion that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak or the government had intervened would be controversial and would further exacerbate ill-feelings between Sunak and Johnson. Both were fined by police for rule-breaking during the pandemic, with Johnson blaming Sunak for his ultimate downfall, as various scandals continued to pile up.
Despite this, Johnson's honors list still sparked criticism. Peerages were granted to Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, a close ally, and his former chief of staff, Dan Rosenfield, who served during the 'partygate' era. Martin Reynolds, Johnson's former principal private secretary who infamously sent an email inviting staff to bring their own bottle to a drinks event during the pandemic, also received an award.
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner called it "shameful" that Sunak "has failed to stand up...and agreed to hand out prizes to this carousel of cronies." She accused Johnson of showing "appalling judgment."
Dorries's Mid Bedfordshire seat was traditionally viewed as safe for the Tories, but Sunak cannot be complacent. The Conservatives have trailed the main opposition Labour Party in national polling for months, and are under pressure in their rural heartlands from the Liberal Democrats, England's third-party.