Boris Johnson to appoint string of Brexit supporters to House of Lords
Nigel Farage is not expected to be among those honoured for their part in the Leave campaign
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson is to create a swathe of Brexit peers to redress what he sees as an anti-Leave imbalance in the House of Lords.
But Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage is not expected to be among those honoured for their part in taking the UK out of the European Union.
The first tranche of six so-called “Brexit heroes” is set to be named some time after the UK finally quits the EU, if withdrawal goes ahead on 31 October as the prime minister plans.
Further names will be added in the following months, but it is not yet known how many Brexit lords will eventually be appointed.
Leave backers have long complained that a built-in Remain majority in the Upper House has been an obstacle to the passage of legislation needed to complete EU withdrawal.
While opponents of a no-deal Brexit have struggled to get measures passed in the Commons by wafer-thin margins, the Lords was able to muster a 103-vote majority in July for an amendment designed to stop Mr Johnson suspending parliament to force no deal through.
No names have yet been revealed of those who will be awarded peerages to mark their contribution to the Leave cause.
But among those who may be up for consideration are economists Patrick Minford and Gerard Lyons, who broke ranks with most of their profession to back Brexit, or Wetherspoons pub boss Tim Martin and inventor James Dyson, who argued the case in public for EU withdrawal.
Tory sources made clear that Mr Farage – who backed the a rival campaign to Mr Johnson’s Vote Leave and has loudly questioned whether the PM can be trusted to deliver Brexit on time – is not in line for elevation.
Prominent Brexiteers who are already in the House of Lords include former Conservative leader Michael Howard, ex-chancellors Nigel Lawson and Norman Lamont and former Ukip leader Lord Pearson of Rannoch.
Conservatives currently make up the largest group in the second chamber, but are well short of an overall majority, with 238 out of 777 members, making Mr Johnson’s legislative programme constantly vulnerable to defeat.
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