Rishi Sunak has finally approved Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, which includes appointments for Tory MPs and a senior official who worked in Downing Street during the partygate scandal.
The former prime minister nominated several senior Conservative MPs who are his allies. Jacob Rees-Mogg, Conor Burns, and Simon Clarke were knighted, while Priti Patel and Andrea Jenkyns received damehoods.
Johnson also nominated Martin Reynolds, who as principal private secretary in 2020 organised a “bring your own booze” gathering in the Downing Street garden during a Covid lockdown, to be a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, who faces questions about regeneration projects in his area, was nominated for a peerage.
The honours list was published on Friday, shortly after the Tory MP and Johnson ally Nadine Dorries announced she was quitting the House of Commons. Her move has triggered a by-election in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency that is likely to prove a headache for Sunak.
While Dorries secured a 24,664-vote majority in her constituency at the last general election, by-elections can produce upsets. Another Conservative majority of more than 24,000 was overturned by the Liberal Democrats in a by-election in Tiverton and Honiton last June.
An agreement on Johnson’s resignation honours was reached after months of wrangling between the former and current prime ministers’ teams.