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Jobs for the boys 18:05 - Jul 31 with 314 viewsBringBackTheRedRoom

Botham and PM's brother to join House of Lords

Former England cricket captain Sir Ian Botham is to join the House of Lords, the government has confirmed.

The 64-year-old, a strong supporter of Brexit, is among 36 new peers, who also include former Chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond.

Jo Johnson, the prime minister's Remain-supporting younger brother, who quit as a minister last year in protest at government policy, will join them.

Ex-Labour MPs Frank Field, Kate Hoey and Gisela Stuart become peers too.

And Philip May, husband of former Prime Minister Theresa May, gets a knighthood for "political service".

Sir Ian, who played 102 Test matches for England between 1977 and 1992, is an advocate of field sports and a prominent Brexit supporter who was knighted in 2007, in recognition of his services to charity and cricket.

His most famous moment on the field came in 1981 when he inspired a sensational defeat of Australia. After retirement, he became a commentator and started his own wine label.

He will sit as a crossbench - independent - peer.

Jo Johnson, who stood down as an MP at December's general election, resigned from the government last September, saying he was "torn between family loyalty and the national interest".

Mr Clarke and Mr Hammond were among 21 Conservative MPs who lost the party whip last autumn when they rebelled against Mr Johnson in a bid to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

Ruth Davidson - who quit as Scottish Tory leader last August after eight years in the role, saying the idea of spending long periods away from her young son filled her with "dread" - also becomes a peer.

She will not take her seat in the House of Lords until after she stands down from the Scottish Parliament at next year's election.

'Massive U-turn'

The Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Fowler, criticised the decision to award 36 peerages, calling the list "a lost opportunity to reduce numbers".

He said: "The result will be that the House will soon be nearly 830 strong - almost 200 greater than the House of Commons. That is a massive policy U-turn."

Evgeny Lebedev, owner of the Independent and the London Evening Standard, becomes a peer, as does Charles Moore, former Daily Telegraph editor and biographer of ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Mr Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds attended a party hosted at Annabel's nightclub, west London, by Mr Lebedev shortly after the Conservatives' election victory.

Other politicians who will enter the House of Lords include former Conservative Party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin, former Tory culture minister Ed Vaizey and Nigel Dodds, previously deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Of the Labour MPs honoured, Ms Hoey and Ms Stuart were prominent pro-Brexit campaigners during the 2016 EU referendum.

The prime minister's chief strategic adviser, Sir Edward Lister, gets a peerage, but there is no honour for former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, despite retired holders of the office usually joining the Lords.

The government did not put Mr Bercow's name forward, despite it being proposed by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Lord Newby, Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, said: "By giving a large number of his cronies peerages, [Mr Johnson] has shown that the Tories have abandoned any pretence of reducing the size of the bloated House of Lords."

For the SNP, MP Pete Wishart accused the prime minister of "handing out jobs for life in the unelected House of Lords to friends and those who have done him favours".

"The prime minister's idea of levelling up involves gifting his cronies, damaging policy facilitators, and family members with jobs as legislators for life - with no democratic mandate or accountability to people across the UK.

"It's the worst kind of cronyism that only highlights the rotten Westminster system that is detached from reality."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53606083

‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’

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Jobs for the boys on 18:12 - Jul 31 with 310 viewsspudgun

Perhaps the only surprise is that his attention-seeking, snout-in-the-trough father isn`t a beneficiary of his largesse.

Appalling, but totally in keeping with his shameless behaviour...
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Jobs for the boys on 18:46 - Jul 31 with 303 viewsspell_chekker

"Jo Johnson, the prime minister's Remain-supporting younger brother, who quit as a minister last year in protest at government policy, will join them."

I see there's a snooker player to go along with the cricketer.

Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
Poll: Would you like Wellens as Manager?

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Jobs for the boys on 20:48 - Jul 31 with 294 viewsspudgun

No John Bercow though...
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Jobs for the boys on 18:44 - Aug 1 with 276 viewsspell_chekker


Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
Poll: Would you like Wellens as Manager?

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Jobs for the boys on 21:31 - Aug 2 with 261 viewsBringBackTheRedRoom

Some shockers on that list, but Claire Fox takes the p***. Brexit Party MEP, who use to be chairperson of Revolutionary Communist Party, a truly nasty self centred person.

Nicked off wiki, one of her lesser crimes

Fox joined the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) as a student at the University of Warwick. For the next twenty years, she was one of the RCP's core activists and organisers. She became co-publisher of its magazine Living Marxism, which closed in 2000 after the courts found it had falsely accused Independent Television News (ITN) of faking evidence of the Bosnian genocide. In 2018, Fox refused to apologise for suggesting evidence of the genocide was faked.

‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’

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Jobs for the boys on 19:56 - Aug 5 with 235 viewsImperial

It is time to do away with the upper house. Instant savings and a popular action. When Boris works it out he will be all over it.
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Jobs for the boys on 20:26 - Aug 5 with 231 viewsspudgun

"When Boris works it out he will be all over it."

He`s a bit slow on the uptake then, eh Imp?

It certainly needs reforming, but Johnson will not be doing it, that`s for sure...
[Post edited 5 Aug 2020 20:34]
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Jobs for the boys on 20:42 - Aug 5 with 223 viewsImperial

Give Boris some credit Spud like his mate Donald he will have a light bulb moment when he needs a boost in the polls and it will be all his idea.
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