Prime Minister's Resignation Honours

Honours granted at the behest of an outgoing British prime minister

The Prime Minister's Resignation Honours in the United Kingdom are honours granted at the behest of an outgoing prime minister following their resignation. In such a list, a prime minister may ask the monarch to bestow peerages, or lesser honours, on any number of people of their choosing. In 1997, an additional 47 working peers were created at the behest of the three main parties.

History

Since May 2007, the House of Lords Appointments Commission has had to approve proposed peerages, while oversight by the Honours Committee within the Cabinet Office ensures that other honours are appropriate. Some previous lists had attracted criticism. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair did not issue a list by June 2007, apparently because of the "Cash for Honours scandal". Gordon Brown did not publish a resignation honours list either, but a dissolution list was issued on his advice (to similar effect).

David Cameron revived the practice in his Resignation Honours published in August 2016, following his resignation a month earlier. Some names on the list were leaked to the press several days in advance. A number of proposed recipients were reportedly blocked on ethical grounds. His successors, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, followed suit in September 2019, 2022/23 and December 2023 respectively.

Criticism

Resignation honours have been denounced by some as an example of cronyism. The 1976 resignation honours of Harold Wilson—which became known as the "Lavender List"—had caused controversy as a number of recipients were wealthy businessmen whose principles were considered antithetic to those held by the Labour Party at the time. Cameron's list was described by The New Statesman as a "who's who of failed Remainers". May's list was criticised with SNP MP Pete Wishart likening it to "handing out peerages like sweeties to the same Tory advisers who got us into this Brexit mess".

Liz Truss was confirmed to be eligible for a resignation honours list, despite only having been prime minister for seven weeks; this caused considerable controversy, with Alastair Campbell saying that she and Johnson had "disgraced and debased an office they should never have held". On 25 March 2023, The Sun and i newspapers reported Truss had submitted a Resignation Honours list recommending four people for honours. The list was published on 29 December 2023 at the same time as the 2024 New Year Honours, and was greeted with criticism for containing a list of her political supporters. Willie Russell of the Electoral Reform Society said, "It looks like the political class dishing out rewards for failure at a time when many people are still suffering the effects from her turbulent premiership".

References

Blair's resignation honours list to be vetted The Guardian, 15 May 2007
PM resignation gongs to be vetted BBC News, 16 May 2007
"Blair misses deadline for resignation honours". The Guardian. 22 June 2007.
Moss, Vincent (16 May 2010). "Gordon Brown to award peerages to John Prescott and Sue Nye". Mirror Online. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
"Harman 'blocks' Brown's resignation honours list". PoliticsHome. Dods Parliamentary Communications. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
Kennedy, Maev (1 August 2016). "From Lloyd George to the lavender list: the history of honours scandals". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
"Resignation Honours 2016". Retrieved 4 August 2016.
Hope, Christopher; Swinford, Steven (12 July 2016). "Number 10 aides Ed Llewellyn and Craig Oliver to top 'Dave's cronies' resignation honours list". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
Stone, Jon (22 July 2016). "David Cameron's farewell honours list blocked by Whitehall over 'ethical' suitability of some appointments". The Independent. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
"Boycott 'doesn't give a toss' about award critics". BBC News. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
"Resignation Honours 2019". Cabinet Office. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019 – via Gov.UK.
"Liz Truss unveils resignation honours list". 29 December 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
^ Gill, Martha (12 July 2022). "Abolish the resignation honours list before Boris Johnson makes a mockery of us all". The New Statesman. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
Rea, Ailbhe (10 September 2019). "Is Theresa May's honours list normal?". The New Statesman. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
"Outrage as Liz Truss gets a resignation honours list". The Evening Standard. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
Catt, Helen; Seddon, Sean (25 March 2023). "Liz Truss resignation honours list criticised by ex-aides". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
Wheeler, Brian; Saull, Peter (29 December 2023). "Liz Truss unveils resignation honours list". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

v t e British honours lists
New Year Honours	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902† 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940† 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 † Not issued because of Birthday Honours of the new monarch (1902) and World War II (1940)
Birthday Honours	1860 1861 1862 1863§ 1864§ 1865§ 1866 1867 1868§ 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876§ 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887† 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897† 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911† 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937† 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953† 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 § Not issued † Not issued because of Jubilee Honours (1887, 1897) and Coronation Honours (1911, 1937, 1953)
Coronation Honours	1821 1831 1838 1902 1911 1937 1953 2023† † Not issued
Jubilee Honours	1887 (Golden) 1897 (Diamond) 1935 (Silver) 1977 (Silver) 2002 (Golden) 2012 (Diamond) 2022 (Platinum)† † Not issued
Demise Honours	2002 (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret) 2021 (The Duke of Edinburgh) 2023 (Queen Elizabeth II)
Dissolution Honours	1874 1885 1892 1895 1900† 1906† 1910† 1918† 1922 1923† 1924 1929 1931 1935† 1945 1950 1951† 1955† 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (February) 1974 (October) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017† 2019 2024 † Not issued
Prime Minister's Resignation Honours	1895 1905 1916 1923 1924 1945 1951 1955† 1957† 1963 1964 1970 1976 1979† 1990 1997 2007† 2010† 2016 2019 2022 (Johnson) 2022 (Truss) 2024† † Not issued
Special Honours	1923 1952 1972 1973 1974 1981 1982 1983 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1999 2001 2004 2006 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Additional Honours	1911 (Delhi Durbar) 1953 (Korea) 1969 (Investiture of The Prince of Wales) 1990 (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's 90th Birthday)
Honours by nation	Australia Canada Ceylon India New Zealand

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