Liz Truss’s honours list should be blocked, Opposition parties have said following reports they will be published this week after a long delay.
The UK’s shortest-serving Prime Minister followed precedent in submitting a list of allies to receive peerages and lesser honours following her resignation in October 2022.
The list was widely expected to be confirmed shortly after Boris Johnson’s resignation honours, which appeared in June last year.
But after an unexplained delay, The Sunday Times reported Ms Truss’s honours could finally be published this week when the usual New Year honours list of non-political awards comes out.
No 10 declined to comment and a source close to Ms Truss suggested she had not received an update on the issue.
But senior Opposition MPs hit out at the idea of the short-lived premier being allowed to give gongs to her colleagues and friends.
Labour party chair Anneliese Dodds said: “This Christmas, millions of people across the UK are still paying the price for Liz Truss and the Conservatives crashing the economy last year.
“Yet still, those who left millions to pay more for their mortgage and who undermined our economic institutions could receive an award. Rishi Sunak should block these honours, but his weak leadership and lack of grip over his own party has stopped him.”
Wendy Chamberlain, the Liberal Democrats’ chief whip, added: “People across the country are still suffering the impact of Truss and her chaotic 49 days as Prime Minister. Truss should not be allowed to reward those who help her plunge the country further into crisis with lifelong influence and privilege in Parliament.
“It’s extremely disappointing that Sunak has not stepped in and blocked this honours list from going ahead. Christmas might be a time for giving, but surely there’s a limit.”
By convention, the serving Prime Minister does not usually alter the list of honours submitted by their predecessor.
Ms Truss is understood to have nominated veteran Brexit campaigner Matthew Elliott, financier Jon Moynihan and her long-serving aide Ruth Porter to become members of the House of Lords, as well as lesser honours for other allies. One proposed peerage, for think-tank boss Mark Littlewood, was blocked by the Lords appointments watchdog.
The ex-Prime Minister told supporters in a pre-Christmas email: “In 2024 I will continue my work to push back on undemocratic wokeness, the unfair net zero agenda, and the lefty lawyers who want to facilitate more illegal immigration.
“As a committed Conservative I will keep calling for lower taxes, a smaller state and greater growth in our economy, building a popular conservative movement that works for the people of this country, and not the special interests.”