Nadine Dorries isn’t holding back in the war of words over Rishi’s refusal to endorse Boris’s honours list in full. Speaking last night on Piers Morgan Unwatched Uncensored, alongside a column in the Mail, she accused “privileged posh boys” Rishi and James Forsyth, his political secretary, of “cruelly” denying her peerage. Nadine went further:

“This story is about a girl from Breck Road in Liverpool, who worked everyday of her life since she was 14 years-old, had something offered to her that people from that background don’t get offered, removed by two privileged posh boys who went to Winchester and Oxford. Taken away duplicitously and cruelly because they have known for months that it wasn’t the case. And yet, they let me and they let Boris Johnson continue to believe that was the case.”

Unsurprisingly, she pledged to “keep on fighting”…

The New Year’s Honours list is out and has the usual handful of gongs for politicians; well-deserved awards handed out to people for basically just doing their jobs. The list in full:

Knighthoods:

• Mark Sedwell – for his career in public service spanning domestic and international policy across seven Prime Ministers.
• Alok Sharma MP – for his contribution to combatting climate change through his leadership at COP26 and driving the UK to agree a historic agreement from individual countries that will have a major impact in addressing climate change in the future.
• Richard Graham MP – For services to Trade and Investment in South-East Asia.
• Tom Scholar – Former Treasury Permanent Secretary, for public service
• John Benger – Clerk to the House of Commons, for services to Parliament
• Chris Bryant MP – For political and public service
• Julian Lewis MP – For political and public service
• Matthew Rycroft – Home Office permanent secretary, for services to British Diplomacy, Development and Domestic Policy.

Damehoods:

• Norma Redfearn CBE – Mayor of North Tyneside Council, for political and public service

CBEs:

• Fergus Cochrane – Clerk to the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament, for services to the Scottish Parliament
• Elinor Mitchell – Director of Economy, Scottish Government. For Political service during Covid-19
• Samuel Pollock OBE – For public service in Northern Ireland
• Frank Roy – Labour MP for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1997-2015, for political and public service
• Andrew Stephenson MP – For political and public service
• Fiona Tudor – Former Clerk of Committees in the House of Lords, for services to Parliament

OBEs:

• Helen Belcher – LibDem councillor and trustee of Trans Media Watch, for services to the Transgender community
• Peter Kellner – Founder of YouGov, for Charitable Services
• Andrew Colborne-Baber – Senior Volunteer for the Conservative Party and CCHQ Chairman of the Governance & Risk Committee, for Political service
• Jennet Davis MBE – Former senior advisor to the COP26 Cabinet Office unit, for political service
• James Gilbert – Former deputy director to the Scottish Government, for services to housing
• Helen Grant MP – For political and public service
• Richard Horton – Editor in Chief of The Lancet, for services to health and medical journalism
• Gotz Mohindra – Senior volunteer at the Conservative Party and Vice President of the National Convention, for political science
• Elinor Wakefield – Former deputy COP26 envoy at the COP26 unit in the Cabinet Office, for political service

MBEs:

• Catherine Belton – Journalist at the Washington Post
• Louise Davies – Former director of Christians on the Left, for political and charitable services
• Joanna Dodd – Former Clerk of Divisions, Elections and Supply in the House of Lords, for services to Parliament
• Margaret Joachim – Chair of the LibDems’ English Candidates Committee, for service to women in politics
• Susan Murphy – Mayor of St Helens Council, for public and political service
• Dewi Owens – For political and public service in North Wales
• Sheila Ritchie – For political service in Scotland
• Aurfron Roberts – Member of Rhondda council, for public and political service

Guido’s still looking forward to seeing the details of Boris’s resignation honours; current rumours include a knighthood for Guto Harri, and peerages for Nadine Dorries, Paul Dacre and Nigel Adams. While we’re not expecting the honours for another month or so, it looks like Boris’s chums may have to wait a while longer before they receive their gongs.

It turns out Kwasi Kwarteng’s excellent decision to sack Treasury Permanent Secretary Tom Scholar didn’t just affect Whitehall’s economic outlook. A Cabinet Office update today reveals Scholar’s also lost his job as chairman of the main honours committee, the top body in charge of reviewing nominations.

The i previously reported Scholar was “keeping a close eye” on Boris’s honour nominations before being sent to the Palace to avoid embarrassing the Queen. There’s now a vacancy as the body’s chairman, with the government’s website merely saying it remains “to be confirmed.” Hopefully they can sort a replacement out quickly – Nadine needs to book an ermine fitting…

While Blair, Whitty, Jenny Harries, Daniel Craig and Emma Raducanu all lapped up honours on New Year’s Eve, Guido’s come to understand one name was deliberately absent from the list: co-conspirator favourite AC Grayling. A government source has come forward to reveal the loony anti-Brexit professor had been recommended for a knighthood, only for advisors to take one look at the suggestion and veto it. A government source elaborates:

“From Prime Ministers to paramedics, the honours system rewards the best of Britain and highlights our common history and shared achievement as a nation. However, people who have spent the last few years attacking this country and spreading increasingly erratic fake news about it should not be recognised in the same way as sports stars and scientists.”

Hopefully this news should act as a spoonful of sugar to help Sir Tony’s gong go down…