This year’s Christmas peerages have been announced, including four former MEPs, four former MPs, and the former Archbishop of York. There are 16 new lords a leaping this Christmas…
Former Tory co-treasurer and donor Peter Cruddas finally makes the list, after Boris personally forced his appointment through, along with former MEPs Daniel Hannan, Syed Kamall, and Dame Jacqueline Foster.
On the Labour side, Jenny Chapman, who lost her Darlington seat in the 2019 election and went on to run Keir Starmer’s leadership campaign, is amongst the nominations, as is veteran former MP Vernon Coaker, and Board of Deputies of British Jews Chief Executive Gillian Merron.
See the list in full:
Expelled Tory MP, Richard Benyon, on the short three-day Programme Motion for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill:
“Whether you had three days, three weeks or three months debating this, you would not hear one original argument that we hadn’t otherwise heard in this process…”
Only five of the 21 expelled Tory rebels still wish to return to the Conservative Party, according to a senior One Nation source. Namely, Amber Rudd, David Guake, Richard Benyon and Stephen and Philip Hammond. You couldn’t guess some of them want to return given how they’ve been behaving since losing the whip…
Whilst it was obvious some of the cohort – such as Sam Gyimah who is now a Lib Dem, and Rory Stewart who plans on standing as an independent – had given up on rejoining to Tory Party’s loving embrace, it was still assumed the majority of independent remainers would look at regaining the whip once Brexit is sorted. It’s also believed that only Rory has any chance of keeping his seat if standing as an independent…
In other wet Tory news, the Tory Reform Group held their one nation drinks reception yesterday, during which Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said multiple times “I am the law” and one member fainted. They’re truly dropping like flies…
UPDATE: A sign of further Tory independents to Lib Dem defections? Anne Milton and Guto Bebb spotted plotting with Phillip Lee and Sam Gyimah in PCH…
