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As the UK’s shortest-serving Prime Minister, spending just forty-nine days in office, Liz Truss may not be the most memorable political figure of 2023. It is Truss, however, who found herself at the centre of media outrage over her resignation honours list. The former prime minister’s ‘lettuce list’ was released alongside the New Year Honours, despite calls for Sunak to block Truss’ ability to do this. Downing Street has denied that this convenient timing was an attempt to distract from the decision to allow Truss’ submissions to go ahead, amidst allegations of cronyism.
Notable honours recipients include ‘Vote Leave’ campaign chief Matthew Elliot, and vocally pro-Brexit Conservative party donor Jon Moynihan; both supportive of the former PM during her less than two months in power. There has been clear criticism of the list from many corners of the British political scene, given the length of her term: deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper publicly claimed that the Truss administration and its backers were responsible for ‘flatlining the economy’, and her resignation list was ‘an embarrassment’ and symbolised ‘everything that is wrong with the Conservative party’. Ben Bradshaw, Labour MP for Exeter, explained how it ‘makes a mockery of the honours system and is a sign of Sunak’s extreme weakness that he nodded it through’.
On the other side of the debate, there is the idea that resignation honours are standard practice and a right for any ex-prime minister, regardless of time in office. Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, knighted himself in the honours list of Boris Johnson, defended Sunak’s decision to let it go ahead, claiming that it is ‘political tradition’ to honour those close to the government. Close indeed, given that Jon Moynihan donated £20,000 to the Truss leadership campaign in 2022. When challenged during a Radio 4 interview by Nick Robinson to name a single achievement of Truss’ administration, Rees-Mogg only managed to muster up that Liz Truss took on ‘the most senior political job in the country’, a role which she is evidently still reaping the perks of. When approached for her opinion on the issue, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Exeter Tessa Tucker, simply stated that she was just focused on delivering for Exeter.
In an article published in August by the Electoral Reform Society, following the news that the list had reached the vetting process, Mike Wright claims two prospective recipients declined to be featured, fearing controversy. Most likely a wise decision in hindsight, considering the media attention it has received. Wright cites a 2023 study by think tank ‘Labour Together’ on potential reformation of the House of Lords, which finds that from the public’s perspective, the second most common problem within this parliamentary body is the ‘corrupt’ appointment system. For critics, this is especially true of the ‘lettuce list’ chosen by a prime minister who their ex-colleagues cannot praise for anything other than accepting the job, who has overall been seen as a political figure who failed to act.
In Truss’ own words, spoken in her final speech as Prime Minister, ‘I am more convinced than ever we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face.’ It could be inspired by these words that Labour pledged Keir Starmer would not have a resignation honours list should he be elected, something that the head of Exeter Uni’s Labour Society Rose Lelliot echoed. When asked her opinion, Lelliot stated that ‘Resignation honours are outdated and should be scrapped. There shouldn’t be any reward or privileges for those who played a role in the most catastrophic Prime Minister in history, who forced many into financial hardship through reckless economic policies.’ Both Rose Lelliot and Ben Bradshaw show the Opposition’s position is clear. Resignation honours as a system is outdated, but if it must be used, it should be honouring those who are more deserving than Truss’ cronies.
Image: Flickr, Prime Minister Liz Truss Resigns (2022) // CC BY 4.0 DEED
A very in-depth and intellectual analysis of a very outdated tradition! Definitely would like to hear more from the journalist.