From Gove to Cleverly: Who is on Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list?

Rishi Sunak has unveiled his resignation honours list, with former cabinet minister Michael Gove, ex-chief whip Simon Hart and former Scottish secretary Sir Alister Jack all receiving gongs from the former prime minister.

It is a well-established tradition for outgoing prime ministers to hand peerages and other gongs to key allies after they leave office.

Mr Sunak has already awarded honours to a number of close aides, including a peerage for his former chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith and a knighthood for deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, which were handed out in a separate dissolution honours list to mark the end of the last parliament following the general election.

But who features on today’s list, and why have they made the cut?

Michael Gove has been handed a peerage in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours. He held multiple cabinet posts over his political career, including education, environment, and housing secretary, but never held one of the UK’s three great offices of state.

However, he was a highly influential figure in successive Conservative governments and built a reputation for being able to make or break leadership bids or campaigns. He ran for the party leadership himself in 2016, scuppering Boris Johnson’s bid and sparking a long-standing rift between the pair.

Mr Gove went on to serve in Mr Johnson’s cabinet but was sacked in the final hours of his time in office after calling for the then PM to resign. He is also said to have betrayed David Cameron by taking a more prominent role in the 2016 Vote Leave campaign than he was ever expected to.

Asked about Mr Gove’s ennoblement, a close ally of Mr Johnson’s told The Times he is a “more worthy recipient than many”, but dubbed him “one of the most treacherous people in politics”.

Alister Jack, also handed a peerage, was secretary of state for Scotland under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak – serving in the post from July 2019 up until the 2024 general election, when he stood down as an MP. He served as the Scottish Conservative MP for Dumfries and Galloway from 2017 to 2024.

He was previously expected to be offered a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, but declined to step down as an MP early, ruling him out of the running. He received a knighthood in Mr Sunak’s previous round of honours in July 2024, which were handed out to mark the end of the last parliament following the general election.

Sir Alister’s nomination is controversial as he was the most senior politician caught up in the general election betting scandal. In April 2024, the former MP placed a successful bet that the election would fall between July and September, after losing two similar bets in March.

Simon Hart – who served as an MP from 2010 to 2024 – was chief whip under Rishi Sunak from October 2022 to 5 July 2024, serving as the main point of contact between MPs and No 10 and becoming a close ally of the then prime minister. Before that, he served as secretary of state for Wales from December 2019 to July 2022.

But more recently, the former chief whip – who has now been given a peerage – made a name for himself after publishing a scandalous account of his time in Westminster.

The memoir offers a behind-the-scenes account of life inside the Conservative government during one of its most chaotic periods, offering up stories about MPs being extracted from brothels and aides attending sex parties.

Mark Harper, who served as transport secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government, also featured on the former prime minister’s resignation peerages list. Mr Harper served as MP for the Forest of Dean from 2005 to 2024 and became a close ally of Mr Sunak, regularly going out to bat for the Tory leader in the more turbulent periods of his premiership. Before his time in Mr Sunak’s government, he served as chief whip in the final year of David Cameron’s premiership.

Victoria Prentis, who was a Tory MP for almost a decade before standing down at the last general election, was attorney general under Rishi Sunak, serving in the role from October 2022, and has now been handed a peerage.

She said it is a “huge privilege” to have been recognised in Mr Sunak’s resignation peerages list, adding: “In the Lords, I hope to focus on my areas of interest: the law and the countryside, and to continue to support justice for Ukraine.”

Eleanor Shawcross, who has been given a peerage, served as director of No 10’s policy unit while Rishi Sunak was prime minister, responsible for shaping the party’s approach in the lead-up to the general election. Ahead of her appointment, she donated £20,000 to Mr Sunak’s Tory leadership campaign.

She is married to Simon Wolfson, CEO of clothing retailer Next and a Tory peer who was elevated to the House of Lords in 2010 by David Cameron. He has also made significant donations to the party over the years, amounting to more than £100,000 in total.

Stephen Massey is a more unknown figure on Rishi Sunak’s resignation peerages list, having previously served as CEO of the Conservative Party headquarters. He announced his departure from the role in December, after Kemi Badenoch took over as party leader, having served in the position for two years.

He had been involved in the Tory party for more than 50 years, and notably handed a generous £25,000 donation to Mr Sunak’s failed campaign to become leader of the party when he went up against Liz Truss.

James Cleverly, who has held two of the great offices of state – having served as both home secretary and foreign secretary under Rishi Sunak – has been awarded a knighthood. He has been the MP for Braintree since 2015, and came third in the race to succeed the former Tory leader. He unexpectedly crashed out of the race in a vote of MPs, leaving Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch to battle it out.

Jeremy Hunt served as chancellor under Rishi Sunak, after being brought in at the end of Liz Truss’s disastrous premiership to steady the ship following her mini-Budget. He became a key figure in the Sunak administration, presiding over record increases to the overall tax burden in the UK. He has been handed a knighthood.

Mel Stride, who served as work and pensions secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government, has been awarded a knighthood. The now shadow chancellor became a key figure in Mr Sunak’s failed election campaign, being wheeled out almost every week to defend the government’s record on the morning broadcast round. He stood for the party’s leadership following Sunak’s resignation, but was knocked out in the first round.

Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk