Liz Truss sparks outrage with resignation honors for allies

Despite only serving as the UK’s Prime Minister for a brief 49-day period, Liz Truss has caused controversy by granting peerages and honors to 11 of her political supporters.

In her resignation honors list, she granted seats in the House of Lords to a significant donor to the Conservative Party and a critical figure in the Brexit movement.

Ex-prime ministers have the power to bestow honors like knighthoods and peerages to their associates and supporters when they step down from office. However, the current UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has been urged to prevent Liz Truss from presenting a list of people for such recognition. This demand comes as Truss had a brief and controversial stint, which concluded with her departure in October 2022. Her suggested budget cutbacks caused quite a stir in the markets and may have incited the calls for Sunak to take action.

However, Truss was given permission to appoint three trusted friends to the House of Lords. These individuals were Matthew Elliott, who served as the CEO of Vote Leave during the Brexit campaign, Jon Moynihan, a donor for the Conservative party and chairman of Vote Leave, and Ruth Porter, who previously worked as Truss' deputy chief of staff. In addition, Truss recommended a number of former advisors and lawmakers for lower-level honors within the Conservative party.

The opposition politicians heavily criticized Truss and Sunak for proceeding with the roster.

According to Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth, Liz Truss held the position of prime minister for about 40 days and her conservative companions made decisions that caused the economy to plummet. Mr. Ashworth stated in an interview with the BBC that as a result of these decisions, families in the UK are being burdened with increased mortgage payments, taxation, and credit card costs. He continued by calling these outcomes "rewards for failure."

Daisy Cooper, who is the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, expressed her disapproval regarding the recognition given to Liz Truss's associates. She believes that this is a disgraceful act, and it appears that Sunak lacks the authority to stop it. She considers the awarding of accolades by Truss inappropriate, given the fact that she put a strain on the economy and caused mortgage rates to skyrocket, which has left many families struggling. Therefore, the whole honors system is now questioned due to her actions.

There has been a disagreement between Sunak and ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson regarding the list of honours he released over the summer. This has caused a lot of discussion and differing opinions among the public.

Truss issued a statement expressing her pleasure that individuals who champion conservative values such as freedom, limited government, and a strong and independent Britain have received appropriate recognition.