Downing Street is tying itself in knots over Matthew Doyle’s peerage. At the post-PMQs huddle of journalists, Labour’s spokesman insisted there is “no established precedent for withdrawing a peerage after the nomination stage”, claiming that’s why the government ploughed on despite revelations about Doyle’s links to a convicted sex offender. The line from Starmer is that he was lied to…again…
Despite that, Sky News’ Sam Coates now reports that Lords clerks have told the Tories they “are not aware of any barriers to His Majesty’s Government stopping or delaying an appointment to the House before letters patent are sealed”. In other words: Starmer could have stopped Doyle’s peerage…
UPDATE: A House of Lords spokesman says:
“Under the Life Peerages Act 1958 a peerage is created when the letters patent are sealed.”
There were 12 days between The Times’ article and the confirmation of Doyle’s peerage – during which Starmer did nothing…
Speaking to Sky News off the back of Rachel Reeves’ Air Passenger Duty hike, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said:
“Labour is dependent on those Red Wall seats, and yet every move she makes poisons economic growth and damages the UK’s recovery… it’s the Chancellor who stumbles from policy misstep to policy misstep… I think her policy decisions are incredibly stupid.”