Labour pledges to ‘clean up politics’ after outrage over Liz Truss honours list

The Labour Party stated that under Keir Starmer's leadership as prime minister, there will be no list of honors for those who resign from their positions. This comes as there is increasing anger towards Liz Truss for awarding peerages, knighthoods, and other rewards to individuals involved in her failed 49-day tenure.

Lucy Powell, who is the unofficial leader of the opposition within the House of Commons, expressed her views regarding Liz Truss's actions. She stated that the act of compensating her supporters for their part in causing a recession and resulting in a difficult situation for numerous individuals struggling to pay their mortgages is degrading the essence of political integrity.

Keir Starmer has expressed that he will not compile a list of honours for those who are resigning. A future government under the Labour Party will take measures to improve the state of politics by restricting MPs from having additional jobs and eliminating nepotism.

Powell also mentioned that the Labour party would explore options to revoke the bestowal of noble titles in particular situations, like that of Michelle Mone. Mone recently admitted to lying about her involvement with a company that gained huge profits from UK government PPE deals during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Truss revealed her list of honours recipients on Saturday, coinciding with the New Year honours list announcement. Despite allegations that this was a tactic to downplay Truss's list, sources from Downing Street have denied such claims. The controversy surrounding Truss's list has persisted for several months, causing the Labour party to request that Rishi Sunak prevent these appointments from proceeding.

Even though her time as prime minister had a very negative impact on the economy, she still managed to recommend 11 individuals for awards. Some of these people were Jon Moynihan, a supporter of the Conservative party, and Matthew Elliott, who was in charge of the Vote Leave campaign. Ruth Porter, who used to work closely with Truss, was also given a peerage.

Truss's assistants have compiled a "modest" list of honours, which includes other individuals. Among them is Alec Shelbrooke, a Conservative MP who formerly served as the defence procurement minister and supported Truss during the Conservative leadership campaign. He will be awarded the title of knighthood. Another individual, Jackie Doyle-Price, who served as the business minister during Truss's brief term in office and is also a close friend of hers, will be awarded the title of damehood. These honours are just a few of the names on Truss's list.

According to Willie Sullivan, who works as the senior director for campaigns at the Electoral Reform Society, giving peerages to Liz Truss's friends and supporters after her unsuccessful period as prime minister could be seen as an offense by some people. The act of rewarding failure by the political establishment during a time when many people are still experiencing the aftermath of her turbulent leadership might be perceived as unjust.

Shirley Conran, a novelist, has been awarded a damehood for her contributions to maths education through the Maths Anxiety Trust, a charity she founded. Despite being the only figure on the list without a political background, she was recognized for her achievements.

Truss expressed her admiration for the honourees by stating that they were very deserving of the recognition. She was pleased to acknowledge these individuals who championed conservative values such as freedom, limited government, and the importance of a strong and independent Britain.

In October 2022, she had no choice but to resign as the prime minister due to the chaos in the market caused by her mini-budget. Unfortunately, the reversal of her decision could not restore the damage that was done within a few weeks.

Jonathan Ashworth, who is the minister for Cabinet Office in the opposing Labour party, stated that recognition like honours should be reserved for individuals who have dedicated themselves to serving the public, and not given out as a prize for the Conservative party’s underachievement. Daisy Cooper, who is the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, remarked that the Honours system is being questioned by the decision to give out awards by Truss despite causing detrimental impact to the public's financial standing and causing families to suffer from high mortgage fees.

The officials at Downing Street said that Truss's selection list had passed through the customary evaluations and was issued alongside the New Year awards since it had recently finished.

A source from Downing Street has revealed that it is common practice for former Labour prime ministers to create a list of individuals who are recommended for peerage titles. This tradition has been around even before the Labour party was established. The current prime minister is not supposed to interfere with these proposals made by their predecessors. Some of these past selections made by the Labour party have been described as questionable by the source.

According to Hannah White, who is the head of the Institute for Government thinktank, the act of awarding resignation honours creates a negative impact on the entire system of honors and must be eliminated.

According to her, the distribution of peerages posed a specific challenge as it resulted in someone receiving a lifelong position in legislation, solely based on the recommendation of one individual.

Tobias Ellwood, a member of the Conservative Party in the UK, also expressed dissatisfaction with the process that enabled Truss to make the appointments. He is advocating for new guidelines to be created through cross-party collaboration in order to avoid similar mishaps in the future.

According to him, political favoritism, which includes giving promotions, usually favors those who exhibit loyalty, and sometimes flattery, rather than those who exhibit inquisitiveness and critical thinking within the realm of politics. This results in a decrease in the caliber of MPs that are given government promotions, and this is not beneficial for British politics.