Theresa May accused of 'hypocrisy' over Lords reform after naming ex-ministers as peers

Theresa May has been accused of “hypocrisy” after appointing nine new Conservative peers to the House of Lords, including several ex-ministers, despite vowing to end the practice.

The prime minister sent six former MPs – three of whom sat in the cabinet – to the upper chamber, which flies in the face of her claims that senior politicians should not expect automatic ennoblement.

Announcing the appointments on the eve of the royal wedding was branded “frankly pathetic” by critics, who called the prime minister “cynical” for seeking to sneak out the news when it would receive little attention.

Controversial appointments on the Labour side include Martha Osamor, who has been embroiled in the party’s antisemitism scandal, and also the DUP’s William McCrea, a Presbyterian minister who once called for airstrikes on the Republic of Ireland.

The row comes after peers inflicted a string of embarrassing defeats on the government over Brexit and has been seen as an attempt by the prime minister to bolster her support in the Lords.

Former communities secretary Sir Eric Pickles, ex-solicitor general Sir Edward Garnier and Peter Lilley, a former social security secretary, were among the new Tory peers tipped by Ms May, while her DUP allies put forward Dr McCrea.

Jeremy Corbyn nominated three new peers including Ms Osamor, a longtime community activist, Pauline Bryan, an author and campaigner, and Iain McNicol, who stood down as Labour’s general secretary earlier this year.

Mr McNicol had reportedly come up against Mr Corbyn’s office in private and his replacement by former Unite official Jennie Formby was seen by many as an attempt to find someone more favourable to a left-wing agenda.

The new peerages increase the Tory presence in the upper chamber but Labour and the Liberal Democrats combined will still have 35 more peers. There are also 181 peers sitting as crossbenchers.

Ms May shelved plans earlier this year to slash the number of peers, after a cross-party report recommended cutting the numbers in the Lords from nearly 800 to 600 in a decade.

The Lord Speaker’s Committee recommended limiting any peer’s term to 15 years and adopting a new “two-out, one in” system to accelerate a reduction in size.

However Ms May retreated from the more radical plans, which she said needed “careful thought” and instead pledged to show “restraint” in her appointments.

Meanwhile, Ms Osamor’s elevation was described as a “two-fingered salute” to the Jewish community, after the campaigner signed a letter protesting against the suspensions of party members over antisemitism.

Gideon Falter, chairman of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Mr Corbyn has promised action, not just words, against antisemitism in the Labour Party.

“Today his actions speak louder than ever. By elevating Ms Osamor to the peerage, Mr Corbyn has sent an unmistakable signal to those in the Jewish community who still harboured some hope that he might change.”

Ms Osamor said in a statement that she was “implacably opposed to antisemitism” and had spent her life campaigning against racism and discrimination.

Liberal Democrat leader in the Lords, Dick Newby, said the move was a “desperate bid” by Ms May to reduce opposition to her flagship Brexit legislation in the upper chamber.

“The fact that she is doing this on the Friday evening before the royal wedding is frankly pathetic,” he said.

“This is a desperate grab for power by a regime losing its grip on parliament, public opinion and even its own back benches. The Prime Minister is running scared of the mounting criticism of her disastrous handling of Brexit.

“These appointments show the PM isn’t serious about reforming the Lords and smacks of hypocrisy.”

Tommy Sheppard, the SNP’s Lords spokesman, described the decision as a “real affront to democracy”.

He added: “The Tories are not even trying to disguise this – it is a complete fix.

“By creating even more peers in a desperate attempt to force through their chaotic Brexit they are showing a despicable disregard. Even for the Tories this is shabby.’’

However Lord Fowler, the lord speaker, described it as a “relatively modest” list compared to previous prime ministers and it showed Ms May intended to keep her promise to slash numbers on the red benches.

He said: “When the prime minister wrote to me in February, she made it clear that the new peerages announced today are a long-planned list arising from the dissolution of parliament before the June 2017 general election.

“In that letter, she also committed herself to restraint when making new appointments to the House of Lords.

“The relatively modest size of today’s list when compared with those under several previous prime ministers has demonstrated a welcome commitment to that pledge.”

The new peers account for about a third of the 35 peers who have left the House since last year’s election, he said.