Outrage as Truss to ramp up cost of unelected Lords by handing out resignation honours
Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
Liz Truss was under renewed pressure to abandon her resignation honours list last night, with polling showing just seven percent are in favour of the gongs. A survey for Express.co.uk highlighted overwhelming opposition amongst the British public to the plans.
Peers are allowed to claim £323 for every day they attend Parliament and cost the UK taxpayer an average of over £30,000 a year each.
The former Prime Minister is understood to be preparing to hand out political honours to her aides and political allies despite spending just 50 days in the top job.
By tradition, outgoing residents of No10 are allowed to reward those who they believe have made a positive impact to the country during their time in office.
Ms Truss is facing outrage at plans to still take advantage of the privilege despite her short time in the job.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak hit by devastating poll showing ‘scale of anger’ at Tories
Ms Truss’s plans to bolster the numbers in the Upper House comes just weeks after its numbers swelled due Boris Johnson appointing a number of new political peers.
Earlier this month it emerged 13 new Conservative peerages would be created to reward those close to Mr Johnson. His list included former MPs such as Nicholas Soames and Hugo Swire.
The list is separate to his own resignation honours list, which is yet to be announced.
Warning Ms Truss not to go ahead with the honours list, Willie Sullivan of the Electoral Reform Society said: “A seat in the House of Lords should not be a reward for failure.
“It’s a lifetime appointment to make our laws, not a gift to be handed out by a prime minister as they head out the door.
“If Liz Truss chooses to pack the Lords with new peers on leaving office, it will only further damage Westminster’s legitimacy at a time when public faith in politics is already stretched to the limit.
He added: “We need a smaller, elected House of Lords, where lawmakers are chosen by the people they serve not hand-picked by the prime minister of the day.
“It’s time to end this farce and deliver the democratic second chamber our country needs.”