Boris Johnson’s resignation honours revealed as Nadine Dorries quits as Conservative MP

Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list has been published - shortly before the former Prime Minister quit Parliament himself - with some of his closest allies being recognised.

Jacob Rees-Mogg gets a knighthood while former Home Secretary Priti Patel is made a dame. But despite expectations she would receive a peerage, Nadine Dorries was left off the list. She announced she too would resign from the Commons with immediate effect.

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Who’s been recognised on Johnson’s list?

It’s become a controversial tradition in recent years that Prime Ministers leaving Downing Street give honours to a number of their aides and allies. After long-running speculation at Westminster about the names that would feature, the list was made public on Friday (9 June).

Those recognised include:

• Sitting Tory MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg, Conor Burns, Simon Clarke and Michael Fabricant - who’ve all been given knighthoods

• Fellow MPs Priti Patel, Andrea Jenkyns and Amanda Milling - who are made dames

• Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, Shaun Bailey (who ran unsuccessfully for London Mayor in 2021) and former journalist turned Johnson’s spokesman Ross Kempsell - who are among seven people given peerages in the House of Lords

• Former Downing Street staff Jack Doyle and Rosie Bate-Williams, who were both implicated in the Partygate scandal that began Johnson’s downfall

• Ex-Johnson communications chief Guto Harri - who’s made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire - and the former PM’s Parliamentary hairdresser Kelly Jo Dodge

Why was Nadine Dorries not on the list?

One of Johnson’s closest friends and biggest supporters in Parliament, it was widely expected Dorries would receive a peerage in his resignation honours. He’d made her his Culture Secretary while in office - in a tenure marked by frequent attacks on the BBC and a since-abandoned plan to privatise Channel 4.

But it’s understood Dorries - and the president of the Cop-26 climate summit Sir Alok Sharma - were taken off the list at the last minute to avoid potentially damaging by-elections for the Conservatives.

Earlier today, she told TalkTV “the last thing she wanted to do was trigger a by-election”. A few hours later, she announced she would do just that - by resigning from the Commons with immediate effect.

Dorries’ decision means there will now be a by-election in her Mid Bedfordshire seat.

She won 60% of the vote at the last general election in 2019 and increased her majority to 24,664; Labour were in second place on 22%.

The Liberal Democrats came third with 13% of the vote, while the Greens were fourth on 4%.

What have opposition parties said about the honours?

Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner accused the Conservatives of “doling out rewards for those who tried to cover up rule-breaking and toadied to a disgraced former Prime Minister”.

“As Boris Johnson faces yet more allegations and investigations about his conduct, the privilege of an honours list is spectacularly ill-judged and wholly undeserved”.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper added: “Boris Johnson has been allowed to hand out gongs to his partygate pals, and Rishi Sunak has just waved it through”.

“We’ve gone from the lavender list to the catalogue of cronies. This is corruption pure and simple”.

Who else has announced they’re quitting Parliament?

In a separate announcement, Tory MP and Health Minister Will Quince announced he would step down at the next general election. He said the role had been “all consuming” and was having an impact on his young family.